Petition urges Congress to amend the Indian Child Welfare Act

Tuesday, April 23, 2013  

A petition with 23,000 signatures calls on Congress to amend the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The law is making headlines due to Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, an ICWA case that was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court last week. Petition supporters say tribes shouldn't get to intervene in disputes involving Indian children.

“If there was an African-American Child Welfare Act, or an Asian Child Welfare Act, everybody would be making a fuss. But because it’s happening to Indian children, nobody cares," Ross Harp, who had an Indian foster child, told the Associated Press.

The Cherokee Nation intervened in the case after a tribal member's daughter was put up for adoption with his consent. Chrissi Nimmo, the tribe's assistant attorney general, said disputes can be avoided by complying with ICWA.

Get the Story:
Baby Veronica inspires petition to change ICWA (AP 4/22)
State of Miss., Choctaws want federal adoption act left intact (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 4/22)

Oral Argument Transcript:
Adoptive Couple v. Cherokee Nation (April 16, 2013)

South Carolina Supreme Court Decision:
Adoptive Couple v. Cherokee Nation (July 26, 2012)

Related Stories:
Letter: Adoption lawyers circumvent Indian Child Welfare Act (4/22)
Supreme Court decision in ICWA case expected by end of June (4/17)
Jackie Pata: Baby Veronica and Native American family values (4/17)
NARF/NCAI/NICWA: Case shows ugly side of adoption industry (4/16)
Jacqueline Davis: An Indian family torn apart in South Carolina (4/16)
Turtle Talk: More interruptions for tribal interests in ICWA case (4/16)
SCOTUSBlog: No easy answers in Indian Child Welfare Act case (4/16)
Supreme Court takes up dispute over Indian Child Welfare Act (4/16)
Editorial: Supreme Court should take Cherokee girl from father (4/16)
Editorial: Congress may need to limit Indian Child Welfare Act (4/16)
Tribes gear up for big battle with Supreme Court's ICWA case (4/15)
Column: Supreme Court set to hear racially-tinged ICWA case (4/15)
ICT interview with Cherokee Nation attorney on ICWA dispute (4/11)
Supreme Court sets times for oral argument in ICWA dispute (4/2)
Turtle Talk: Guide to briefs in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/29)
DOJ submits brief in support of Cherokee father in ICWA case (3/18)
Wisbar News: Possible brief in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/8)
Tribes line up support as Supreme Court takes up ICWA dispute (3/6)
Blog: Supreme Court hears Cherokee Nation ICWA case in April (3/5)
Supreme Court to hear Cherokee Nation ICWA case on April 16 (02/14)
NYT Debate: Indian Child Welfare Act and the Supreme Court (01/25)
Supreme Court ruling could impact ICWA cases nationwide (1/14)
Analysis: Media fails in coverage of Cherokee ICWA dispute (1/14)
Supreme Court takes first Indian Child Welfare Act case in years (1/7)
Supreme Court considers petition in Cherokee Nation ICWA case (1/4)