Calls judge’s ruling ‘an outlier, out of step with the law and constitutional jurisprudence’
The Partnership for Native Children strongly disagrees with and is disturbed by Judge O’Connor’s decision in Brackeen v. Zinke which
has stricken down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) four decades
after it was enacted. This is the first decision of its kind, and is an
outlier—out of step with the law and decades of constitutional
jurisprudence.
With the support and guidance of a longstanding coalition of anti-ICWA activists, the plantiffs in Brackeen
want to remove ICWA’s provisions that protect against removing Native
children from their parents and culture, leaving unfettered access to
Native children. Not content with that outcome, they wish to undermine
the U.S. Constitution and centuries of established law by eradicating
tribes’ Constitutionally-protected relationship with the United States
government.
Although this decision is limited in application, it serves as a roadmap
for other ICWA litigation intending to overturn ICWA and we should
expect future litigation seeking to undermine tribal sovereignty and
federal Indian law writ large.
Emboldened by the Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl decision in
2013, these anti-ICWA forces—led by the adoption industry, religious
coalitions, and a conservative think tank—have spent years bringing
forth suit after suit in courts throughout the country, sometimes even
using identical briefs in different forums, all in the attempt to have
ICWA declared unconstitutional. After losing each case, due in part to
their outrageous contention that ICWA is a race-based law (it is not),
they have finally found a judge in the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Texas sympathetic to their arguments.
While they choose to ignore thousands of testimonials from Native
families who assert that those who will be most hurt by this decisions
are our most sacred and vulnerable children, the Partnership for Native
Children stands with Indian Country and affirms that we will continue to
fight for them. We support legal efforts to appeal this unprecedented
decision. We will work tirelessly to demand the media cover these issues
thoroughly and responsibly. And we will work closely with those
children, families, and tribes who want their perspectives finally
included in the national dialogue about the best interests of our
children. Their voices have been ignored for far too long.
The Partnership for Native Children refuses to go back to those the days
where tribal children were removed simply because of cultural
misunderstandings, for financial gain, and due to pure prejudice. We
also refuse to let extremist groups use our children as a tool to
undermine the foundations of Indian law and tribal sovereignty.
The Partnership for Native Children remains unwavering in our commitment
to defend the constitutionality of ICWA by all available means and will
continue to work in support of tribes and Native people throughout the
country to ensure that Native children, families, and tribes are
protected.
Here is our press release.
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Partnership for Native Children PR on Texas ICWA Caseby Matthew L.M. Fletcher |
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