Tribal Nation Leaders Address Child Welfare Act After Court Rules Parts Are Unconstitutional

Native American leaders in Oklahoma are defending the Indian Child Welfare Act, after a federal appeals court ruled parts of it are unconstitutional.

The tribes said the law helps protect their families and culture.

This is a complex ruling; the full document is 325 pages. Essentially, it rules some parts of the adoption law violate equal protection requirements.

Cherokee Nation leaders said this federal law impacts more than 2,000 Cherokee minors a year. That's about three percent of all Cherokee children.

"Across the nation, Cherokee Nation intervenes in lots of cases, in all foster care cases involving Cherokee children," Cherokee Nation Deputy Attorney General Chrissi Nimmo said.

Nimmo said they also deal with state cases involving private adoption and guardianship.

Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978. In the ruling, a judge said the act was passed to stop the alarmingly high percentage and often unwarranted break-up of Native American families.

Those challenging the ICWA include Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, along with non-Native families who've tried to adopt Native American children. The judge said if the adoptive parents had been Native American or the children had not been Native American, there would have been no barrier for the adoptions to go through.

The appeals court ruled "their adoptions have been burdened, in various ways, by ICWA's unequal treatment of non-Indians."

Nimmo said it's more complicated than that.

"When you think, normally the state always has a role in court cases involving state children, and ICWA allows tribes to have a role in cases involving tribal children," Nimmo said.

Because of the length of the ruling, it's unclear what the attorneys for each side will decide to do, and when. It could go to the U.S. Supreme Court if any of the parties involve request the court to hear it.

You can read the full 325-page appeals court ruling here.