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The Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr. celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act.
“It’s a wonderful day for Indian Country, and it’s a wonderful day for anyone in the country that cares about the rights of Native children.”
The decades old law is intended to keep Native children with Native families.
Some states and individuals were fighting to overturn ICWA, claiming its unconstitutional.
Chief Hoskin says Indian Country was on edge, concerned about losing on any number of grounds including on equal protection.
He says it’s one of the most important parts of the case, the bedrock principle of Indian law, that tribes are sovereign.
“The equal protection attack was to suggest that ICWA was a race-based preference, in addition to that being a potential fatal blow to ICWA, it could have put in doubt a large number of statutes and even previous decisions that stand for the proposition that citizens of Indian nations hold a different status that it’s not a racial classification that the preferences and benefits afforded to tribes and their citizens really are part of respecting tribal sovereignty and again in some measure to achieve some justice for the a group of people in this country that we know have suffered greatly.”
Hoskin says now that the case is decided he hopes Indian Country can move forward to focus on what’s best for children.
He says Cherokee Nation will continue to devote resources to child welfare, but also says this case shows Indian Country is ready for any future challenges.
“We also know another attack could be around the corner whether it’s in the Congress or in the courts. We will be ready and I think the country knows we’re not just going to be pushed over on these cases.”
Tribes across the country and Native organizations were among those to advocate for the Indian Child Welfare Act. In a statement, the National Congress of American Indians said its “overcome with joy that the Supreme Court has upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, which is widely regarded as the gold standard of child welfare.”
The statement went on to say to fully understand the implications of this decision, they’re conducting a thorough legal review and will later provide in-depth analysis.
And that “ICWA is crucial for the safety and well-being of Native children and families and the future of Native peoples and Tribal Nations.
NCAI called it a positive impact that will felt across generations.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, applauded the decision.
In a statement he said, “the Supreme Court just validated what Indian Country and Tribal advocates have been saying for generations: the Indian Child Welfare Act is the gold standard of child welfare policy.”
87 members of Congress had advocated for ICWA in the case.
Read the decision and stay connected to National Native News and Native America Calling for the latest updates and analysis
A new law aims to silence a controversial siren in western Nevada.
It’s part of the region’s painful legacy of sundown towns.
KUNR’s Maria Palma reports.
In 1921, the town of Minden began sounding an evening siren, warning Indigenous people it was time to leave the city limits – or face violent consequences.
For citizens of the Washoe nation, the sound carries painful memories.
Until 1974, anyone who wasn’t white had to leave Minden and neighboring Gardnerville at the end of every day.
Some Minden residents insist the siren is simply meant as a tribute to first responders.
But a new state law says sirens can only be sounded for an emergency and a couple other exceptions.
Counties could be fined up to $50,000 for every violation – meaning Minden would have to pay $100,000 per day for the two times the siren now sounds.
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