- Details
- By Kelsey Turner
Sandy White Hawk was just 18 months old when she was removed from her Sicangu Lakota family on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. A white couple adopted her that year, in 1955. White Hawk spent her childhood separated from her family, her culture and her heritage — a trauma that still impacts her to this day.
Now, White Hawk is fighting to defend the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law meant to protect Native American children from being removed from their tribes and sent into adoption or foster care systems. The law is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court this fall to determine whether it is constitutional.
ICWA was passed in 1978 in response to the hundreds of thousands of Native children who were separated from their families by state child welfare and private adoption agencies. More than 80 percent of these Native children were placed in homes outside their families and tribal communities, even when fit and willing relatives were available, according to the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
In a conversation with podcaster Robin Chenoweth on the Ohio State University Inspire podcast, White Hawk tells her story and talks about the ongoing importance of ICWA. She also discusses her first-of-its-kind study on the effects of adoption and foster care on Native American children and families, completed in collaboration with Ohio State Assistant Professor Ashley Landers.
The study found 64 percent of American Indian respondents reported experiencing physical abuse in foster and adoptive homes, compared to 38 percent of white respondents. Nearly half of American Indian participants reported spiritual abuse and a third percent reported sexual abuse. This victimization in childhood caused many Native adoptees to develop mental health struggles like depression and suicidal ideations later in life.
The research by White Hawk and Landers will be included in an amicus brief for a Supreme Court case that is putting ICWA at risk, according to the podcast. Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, along with several individual plaintiffs, claim ICWA is unconstitutional because it is based on race, violating equal protection laws.
White Hawk, also the founder and executive director of the First Nations Repatriation Institute, disagrees.
“ICWA is not a race-based law,” she said in the podcast. “It was founded on the fact that we belong to sovereign nations.” Being a sovereign nation gives tribes the right to protect their culture and heritage, she argues.
To hear more about White Hawk’s story, ICWA and the Supreme Court case seeking to overturn it, listen to Ohio State University’s latest podcast episode, “Stolen from her tribe, now she’s fighting back” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. The episode transcript can be found here.
More Stories Like This
50 Years of Self-Determination: How a Landmark Act Empowered Tribal Sovereignty and Transformed Federal-Tribal Relations2025 Pottawatomi Gathering Expected to Attract 5,000 to West Michigan
Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Bringing Together a New Coalition to Do a Reset
Navajo Nation Council Approves Delay of Nicotine Product Tax Implementation
Shinnecock Nation Asserts Fishing Rights in Long Island Waters
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher