After a mid-1970s congressional investigation revealed that state agencies and courts were disproportionately removing American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families and communities and placing them in non-Native foster or adoptive homes or residential institutions, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The law has been largely successful, resulting in better outcomes for Native children, helping to increase tribal participation in children’s cases and protecting the rights of Native children. That success is now being challenged, including through a Supreme Court case, Haaland v. Brackeen.
The recording of this virtual program, which took place on December 15, 2022, features Erin Dougherty Lynch and Beth Wright of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) for a discussion of Haaland v. Brackeen, for which Supreme Court oral arguments were heard on November 9, 2022. The speakers offered historical context for the creation of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 and its affect on Native children and communities, an explanation of the case brought before the Supreme Court, and a reflection on the arguments and justices’ questions and comments.
All briefs filed in the case are on the Tribal Supreme Court Project’s case page (sct.narf.org/c.... In addition, summaries of each of the pro-ICWA amicus briefs and links directly to each brief are available here: icwa.narf.org/. Learn more about the case and the Native American Rights Fund’s involvement and the litigation process on the NARF Brackeen v. Haaland web page: www.narf.org/c....
Learning about ICWA and other issues affecting Native communities is one of many ways that non-Natives can support Indigenous sovereignty and peoples. Other ways include challenging racial stereotypes, supporting one’s local school system in implementing Tribal History/Shared History (www.oregon.gov...) in Oregon, and learning about the histories of the Native communities where you live.
About the Presenters
Erin Dougherty Lynch is a senior staff attorney in NARF’s Anchorage, Alaska, office. At NARF, Lynch litigates a variety of federal Indian law issues, including tribal child welfare, subsistence hunting and fishing rights, voting rights, tribal jurisdiction and sovereignty, tribal sovereign immunity, and issues related to Alaska Native communities and climate change. Lynch leads NARF’s tribal child welfare work and is heavily involved in national efforts to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). With co-counsel she has authored tribal amicus briefs in all three of the federal court challenges to ICWA, including most recently, Brackeen v. Haaland. Lynch received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and received her B.A. from Willamette University. She is a member of the Alaska bar as well as the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court; the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Eight, Ninth, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits; and the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
Beth Margaret Wright (Pueblo of Laguna) is a staff attorney at NARF. Throughout her education and career, Wright has focused on advancing Indian Country’s next generation. Her work is inspired by a desire to uplift Indigenous joy, strength, and success. Wright devotes much of her attention to Indian Boarding School Healing, history, and policy, but she also tackles issues related to Indian child welfare and Indigenous methods for dispute resolution (through the Indigenous Peacemaking Initiative). Wright received a bachelor of arts in economics from Syracuse University. After graduating from Syracuse, Wright combined her passions for running and working with Native youth and began work at the nonprofit Wings of America. Wings’ mission is to promote the health and wellness of Native communities through running and advocating for Native youth on reservations. Wright received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
27 авг 2024
