- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema and a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate have filed an amicus brief in federal court, urging the court to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The bipartisan and bicameral brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans as the court re-opens its August ruling, which affirmed the Indian Child Welfare Act’s constitutionality in Brackeen v. Bernhardt. The decision the Fifth Circuit issued in August reversed a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas which wrongly struck down the Indian Child Welfare Act as unconstitutional, according to a news release from Sinema’s office.
“Native American children in Arizona and across the country deserve to be able to grow up with the support of their communities,” Sinema said. “Protecting the Indian Child Welfare Act ensures tribal families can stay together.”
The amicus brief urges the Fifth Circuit to uphold the court’s previous decision affirming the constitutionality of the law.
Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978, after receiving testimony that 25 to 35 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native children were removed from their homes by state and private adoption agencies. The law sets best-practice standards for child welfare and adoption proceedings involving children who are members of a federally recognized tribe or are eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.
More Stories Like This
Lawsuit Filed by Fort Belknap Indian Community Against Greenberg Traurig, LLP Reads Like a Movie ScriptSpecial Edition Native Bidaské: Oglala Composer Mato Wayuhi
Ho-Chunk Trucker Spreads MMIP Message, Offers Safe Haven from Domestic Violence
Native News Weekly (September 24, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Assemblyman Ramos Honored with Award for Long Service to California Native American Commission
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
