Chairman Harold Frazier of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, center left, talks with fellow leaders at a meeting of the United South and Eastern Tribes in Arlington, Virginia, on March 4, 2019. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Law | Opinion

Harold Frazier: Victory for our children and the Indian Child Welfare Act

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Statement on United States Fifth Circuit Court Overturning lower court ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act constitutionality

By Harold Frazier

Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

@CRSTChairman

It is with great pleasure that I applaud the decision of the US Fifth Circuit Court’s ruling regarding the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act. On August 9th 2019 the Court of Appeals overturned a lawsuit filed by multiple states challenging United States law which protects the sanctity of our families.

It is imperative for the United States to honor the laws to protect our children and the begin to heal the damages done to our families. Without these crucial laws our children would be stripped away from our people which would rob them of the chance to learn who they are and from where they come.

I cannot understate the importance of our children staying with our people and continuing to share the life our forefathers shed blood to protect. Family is the core of our people. It is who we are.

Affirming this important act allows the governments of both the United States and Tribal nations to honor our ancestors and protect their blood today and for future generations.

Harold Frazier is serving his third term as chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, based in South Dakota. He also serves as chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association, an inter-tribal organization representing 16 tribal nations in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska.. He previously served as vice chair of his tribe and previously as an area vice president for the National Congress of American Indians.

5th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision

Brackeen v. Bernhardt (August 9, 2019)

Tribal Statement

Principal Chief Bill John Baker of the Cherokee Nation, Chairman Robert Martin of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Chairman Tehassi Hill of the Oneida Nation and President Fawn Sharp of Quinault Nation issued the following joint statement in response to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Brackeen v. Bernhardt. The four tribes intervened in the lawsuit after it was filed:

“The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed what we already knew: the Indian Child Welfare Act is constitutional and serves the best interests of children and families. We are pleased that the court followed decades of legal precedent in its ruling, preserving a law that protects Indian children and allows them to retain their identity by staying within their families and tribal communities.
“Despite the misguided attacks on the law, today’s ruling speaks for itself. ICWA ensures that we have a process in place focusing first and foremost on the welfare and safety of children. This is why so many Americans from across the political spectrum have supported upholding the law. We want to thank the Trump administration, the Department of Justice, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Grant, and the Department of Interior for their hard work fighting on behalf of children.”

ICWA and Congress

In passing the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978, Congress reacted to a crisis of Indian children being taken from their communities at high rates, often without input from their families or their tribal governments. Key findings from the law:

• "[T]here is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children and that the United States has a direct interest, as trustee, in protecting Indian children who are members of or are eligible for membership in an Indian tribe"

• "[A]n alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions"

• "The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture, and by providing for assistance to Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs."

ICWA and the Media

The Native American Journalists Association recently updated its guide to ethical reporting on the Indian Child Welfare Act.

"It’s not a journalist’s duty to determine if a child is Native 'enough,' but whether or not they are citizens under Tribal law," the guide states. "Reporting phenotypes and blood percentages is culturally offensive, and disregards and diminishes the political rights of Indigenous people."

The document can be found on naja.com.