The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law aimed at keeping Native American foster children and adoptees with their tribes.
Justices upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, in a seven to two decision released Thursday.
It was designed to address the longtime issue of Native children frequently getting separated from their families and being placed with families with no connections to their tribe or culture.
A 1978 congressional report found 25 to 35 percent of Native children were being removed from their families. Of these, 85 percent were placed outside their tribe, even when relatives were available.
South Dakota advocates react
“I’m super happy," said Republican Rep. Tamara St. John, a Dakota from Sisseton. She’s chair of the state tribal relations committee.
St. John wants the committee to sit down with DSS and tribal partners about where to go next.
“Identify any gaps or what we can do to strengthen current policies and how the state and tribal partners are working with the federal law," St. John said.
Native American children make up about 60 percent of kids in the welfare system, according to Rep, Peri Pourier, a Lakota Democrat who represents the district that covers the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Pourier said this is a big moment for Indian country.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a resounding recognition of the inherent rights of tribal nations to protect their children and the imperative of preserving our cultural identity, political statues as tribal citizens.”
Pourier said there’s work still to do. Last session, Pourier and other native lawmakers sought to establish a task force to look closer at elevated levels of native children in DSS. That bill, and another to codify ICWA, failed.
Stephanie Amiotte is the legal director for the ACLU South Dakota. She said while the ruling is a victory for tribal sovereignty, the state should pass its own ICWA legislation.
“We think that the legislature should definitely look at that again and this time they should pass it,” Amiotte said.
Law upheld in 7-2 vote
Former South Dakota Sen. Jim Abourezk played a major role in ICWA's creation 45 years ago.
Critics say the system is based on race. A Texas couple challenged the law in a dispute over custody of a Navajo child.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion. She acknowledged the issue is "complicated," but ultimately rejected the petitioners' challenges.
Justices Samuel Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas dissented.
