{"id":2560,"date":"2020-10-12T00:06:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T05:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=2560"},"modified":"2020-10-30T08:33:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T13:33:55","slug":"indian-country-today-fate-of-indian-child-welfare-act-up-to-federal-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/10\/12\/indian-country-today-fate-of-indian-child-welfare-act-up-to-federal-courts\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Country Today: Fate of Indian Child Welfare Act up to federal courts"},"content":{"rendered":"\"amyconeybarrett\"\r\n
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett and members of her family at the White House on September 26, 2020. Barrett’s spouse and six of their children, including two who were adopted, also visited the White House on the day Trump announced her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo by Andrea Hanks \/ White House<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Amy Coney Barrett and the fate of Native adoption law<\/div>\r\n
Some Indian Child Welfare Act supporters are raising questions about President Trump’s high court pick<\/div>\r\n
Monday, October 12, 2020<\/div>\r\n
By Mary Annette Pember<\/div>\r\n
Indian Country Today<\/div>\r\n
indiancountrytoday.com<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nPresident Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett<\/a>, is raising red flags for supporters of a federal law designed to preserve Native American families and culture.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Indian Child Welfare Act<\/a> is not currently before the nation\u2019s top court, but there is a very real possibility it could end up there.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe constitutionality of the 1978 law \u2014 which aims to keep Native American children from being adopted or placed in foster care outside their families, tribes or Indian Country \u2014 is being considered by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe 5th U.S. Court of Appeals last fall made the unusual decision to vacate one of its rulings that upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

<\/img>\r\n
From left: President Fawn Sharp of Quinault Nation, Council member Teresa Sanchez of Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Chairman Tehassi Hill of Oneida Nation and Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr of Cherokee Nation pose together outside of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, following a hearing on the Indian Child Welfare Act on January 22, 2020. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\r\nThe court announced it would review the case, Brackeen v. Bernhardt<\/em><\/a>, \u201cen banc,\u201d a proceeding in which the full court rehears a case that was decided by a three-judge panel. An en banc review is a rare legal procedure reserved for maintaining uniformity of the court\u2019s decisions or to show the proceeding involves a question of exceptional importance.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIf the full 5th Circuit Court strikes down the Indian Child Welfare Act, the case will undoubtedly head to the Supreme Court.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSupporters of the law say they have good reason to scrutinize those, including Barrett, who will potentially decide its fate.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cIf we were to walk back the act, we would be walking back into a world where we had tremendous numbers of children separated from their families unnecessarily and placed in homes that don\u2019t reflect them or their culture,\u201d said David Simmons, government affairs and advocacy director for the National Indian Child Welfare Association.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

LISTEN: A federal appeals court just heard arguments in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, a critical Indian Child Welfare Act case, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The outcome will determine whether ICWA can continue to protect tribes and their children. #DefendICWA<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/rlyFbc1V2R<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) January 22, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>