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Host: Rebecca Nagle
The Indian Child Welfare Act has been upheld in dozens of court decisions as a vital federal protection for Native adoptees and foster children. That string of wins ended when a Texas district court judge ruled the more than 40-year-old law unconstitutional. A subsequent federal appeals court agreed that at least parts of ICWA are unconstitutional. Long considered by legal experts as the gold standard of adoption law, ICWA faces its most significant legal challenge. We’ll examine how we got here and who is behind the legal efforts to dismantle ICWA.
Guests:
Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) -law professor at Michigan State University’s college of law and author of the “Turtle Talk” blog
Sandy Whitehawk (Sicangu Lakota) – Elder in Residence at the ICWA Law Center
Shana King (citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) – parent advocate at the ICWA Law Center
Break 1 music: Tapwe Oma (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album)
Break 2 music: Dat One (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)
