POLICY ALERT: Indian Country Fights To Protect ICWA: Haaland v. Brackeen to be heard by SCOTUS on November 9, 2022
On November 9, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear the alarming case, Haaland v. Brackeen. The questions of the case are (1) whether the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) interferes with a State’s power over adoptions and foster care and (2) whether the ICWA unfairly limits adoptions by parents who are not members of the Native child’s tribe. The case is alarming because of its potential to upend the foundations of culture and Indian Law.
If SCOTUS finds the ICWA provisions to be unconstitutional, critical prioritizations of the cultural and familial ties of Native children will lose federal protection in cases of adoption and foster care. Invalidation of the ICWA will result in Tribes being vulnerable to loss of cultural identities, values, and practices through assimilation of their youth in non-Native adoption or foster care situations.