Supreme Court upholds Sinema and colleagues’ defense of tribal sovereignty and child custody

The senator and a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to protect India’s Child Protection Act

WASHINGTON – The US Supreme Court upheld defenses of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which ensures the placement of Native American children with Native American families or tribes in custody cases.

In 2022, Sinema and a group of bipartisan lawmakers from the House and Senate submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, underlining the constitutionality of India’s Child Protection Act and asking the Court to protect the law. This comes after Sinema and a group of bipartisan lawmakers filed an amicus brief in federal court in 2020.

“Native American children in Arizona and across the country deserve to grow up in their community. “The protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act ensure that Native families stay together and respect tribal sovereignty.” said Sinema.

“The Brackeen court’s decision was clear: native children and cultures must be protected” said Martin Harvier, President of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. “We still have work to do to address historical trauma and underinvestment in native communities, but this Supreme Court testimony makes it clear that the United States must do this work on a government-to-government level.” I’m grateful for that Senator Sinema and 88 other congressmen have joined nearly 500 tribal nations to fight in defense of this law. This is an important victory and I hope it puts an end to legal attacks on tribal sovereignty and families in the years to come.”

“The community is pleased with today’s Supreme Court decision in Brackeen v. Haaland dismissing all Indian child welfare challenges on various grounds. The 7:2 decision sends a strong signal to all who have attempted to subvert the law and tribal sovereignty that we as tribes stand strong in defense of our children and our sovereign rights. The Gila River Indian Community is grateful for Senator Sinema’s steadfast defense of ICWA, tribal sovereignty and most importantly, our children.” said Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community.

“The Indian Child Welfare Act was intended to right a wrong that resulted in hundreds of thousands of Native American children being evicted from their homes and placed in non-tribal families or institutions. Maintaining the ICWA will prevent this tragic chapter in US history from repeating itself. I was grateful that the US Supreme Court cited a case involving children from CRIT as justification for upholding the law. It was even more reassuring that CRIT and the State of Arizona are on the right track when it comes to upholding tribal sovereignty and protecting tribal children.” said Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 after receiving testimony that 25 to 35 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native children were removed from their homes by state and private adoption agencies. The law establishes best practice standards for child welfare and adoption processes involving children who are members or eligible to be members of a state-recognized tribe. Over the course of four decades, the law has become the “gold standard” for child protection policies and for connecting native children to their communities and cultures.

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