Indigenous organizers are holding a rally in support of the Indian Child Welfare Act on Sunday, Nov. 6 at Marion Square Park as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case which could significantly alter the federal law.
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was enacted to address the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their communities through adoption to non-Indigenous families. Children were often taken without evidence of abuse or neglect according to the United States Children’s Bureau, a federal agency.
Among its measures, the act prioritizes the placement of adoptees within their families or Indigenous communities.
Little Hawk is one of the organizers for the event, which is being put on by the Socialist Party USA. He is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and said he was personally adopted by an Indigenous mother because of the ICWA mandated process.
“ICWA protects those kids that were going to get thrown into the system, and they end up somewhere they don’t know who they are, where they come from,” he said. “It allows that tribe to step in and be like ‘Well, let’s try and find some family, extended family, or at least let’s try to find another Indigenous family close by, that way they can still have those ties.’”
The rally is being held in advance of the Brackeen v. Haaland case going before the Supreme Court on Nov. 9.
The plaintiffs at the center of the case, Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, are a non-Indigenous couple who fostered an Indigenous baby in Texas. The state initially denied their request to adopt the child after the Navajo Nation identified a potential home for him within the tribe, according to the Associated Press.
The couple sued, arguing the act discriminates against prospective adopters on the basis of race.
Little Hawk said that the racial discrimination argument against ICWA is not accurate.
“They’re trying to make it a race issue when ICWA, in essence, is a nation to nation relationship, or a nation to nation issue,” he said. “Indigenous people, Indigenous nations should have at least a say in where our children go. Indigenous people come in all colors, we come in every shape and size. It’s not a race thing, it’s a nation thing.”
The Oregon Indian Child Welfare Act has additional safeguards against unlawful removals of Indigenous children from their communities. Like ICWA, the act prioritizes the placement of children within their extended family, followed by licensed foster homes within their tribe or approved by their tribe.
The Oregon Department of Human Services will continue to follow those state guidelines, said Jake Sunderland, press secretary in an email on Thursday.
“ODHS will continue to protect Tribal children regardless of the outcome of the Brackeen v Haaland case. This case is complex and the final decision by the U.S. Supreme Court will determine how the Indian Child Welfare Act is practiced at a federal level. ORICWA will continue to guide the Child Welfare Division in preserving Tribal families providing services to the Nine Tribes of Oregon and other Tribal communities,” Sunderland said.
Though the rally will focus on ICWA, Little Hawk said it’s also about Indigenous struggles across the U.S.
“We need to come together and figure out how we can organize and work together and protect Indigenous sovereignty and just protect our people, the things we’re fighting for,” he said. “It’s 2022, you’d think we’d be okay at this point. But we’re not.”
The “Defend ICWA” event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. at Marion Square Park, at 551 Commercial St NE. The event will include speakers and music, and is open to the public.
To learn more about ICWA, Little Hawk recommended listening to the podcast This Land by Rebecca Nagle which lays out the history of the act.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-704-0355.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
