Native American kids are at the center of a high-stakes SCOTUS case
The Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case challenging laws surrounding the care of Native American children that, depending on the ruling, could fundamentally alter the foundations of tribal sovereignty that have been in place for more than two centuries.
The case, Brackeen v. Haaland, centers around the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law passed in 1978 in response to the alarming rate at which Native children were being taken from their homes, often to be placed in non-Native families. Under the ICWA, state authorities handling child custody cases involving Native children are required to place them in another Native American home whenever possible, preferably with members of their family or within their own tribe.
Three white families, with the backing of a handful of conservative states, have filed a lawsuit claiming that the ICWA puts the interests of tribes ahead of those of children and violates constitutional protections against race-based discrimination. Hundreds of Native American tribes from across the country have asked the court to reject the challenge, arguing that the word Indian in the law refers to the unique political status of tribe members — not their race.
For more than 200 years, U.S. law has considered Indigenous tribes to be distinct governments with the power to make and enforce their own laws. Because of this distinction, the 574 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States have the right to run their own health services and criminal justice systems, set gaming laws, determine land rights practices and carry out a long list of other functions independent of the state and federal governments.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/native-american-kids-are-at-the-center-of-a-high-stakes-scotus-case-184839467.html
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