Haaland v. Brackeen
U.S. Supreme Court rules in Indian Child Welfare Act case
Indian Country has managed to #StopColonizers and #ProtectICWA -- at least for one more day!
In a historic decision issued on the morning of June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legality of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The ruling in favor of tribes and their sovereignty was 7-2. [PDF: Haaland v. Brackeen]
"Congress’s power to legislate with respect to Indians is well established and broad," Justice Amy Coney Barrett writes in the court's opinion.
Based on the long-standing nation-to-nation relationship between tribes and the United States -- a relationship that is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution -- ICWA is legal, Barrett continues.
"Consistent with that breadth, we have not doubted Congress’s ability to legislate across a wide range of areas, including criminal law, domestic violence, employment, property, tax, and trade," Barrett states.
The real defense of ICWA, however, comes from Justice Neil Gorsuch. In a concurrence, he hits every major note in Indian Country's history and stands firm in the belief that tribal sovereignty will not be undermined as long as he sits on the highest court in the land.
"Often, Native American Tribes have come to this Court seeking justice only to leave with bowed heads and empty hands," Gorsuch writes. "But that is not because this Court has no justice to offer them."
"Our Constitution reserves for the Tribes a place an enduring place in the structure of American life. It promises them sovereignty for as long as they wish to keep it," he continues.
Gorsuch concludes: "In adopting the Indian Child Welfare Act, Congress exercised that lawful authority to secure the right of Indian parents to raise their families as they please; the right of Indian children to grow in their culture; and the right of Indian communities to resist fading into the twilight of history. All of that is in keeping with the Constitution's original design."
The two votes against ICWA come from Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Thomas Alito.
For a link to the decision in Halaand v. Brackeen, and for more reaction, check out the pinned tweet on Indianz: