MN: Bill codifying Indian Child Welfare Act language into state law heads to Walz's desk
A bill aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes will now go to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk to be signed into law after the House unanimously voted for it on Thursday.
The legislation is well-timed — the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to overturn identical federal laws.
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 established minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes. The law also prioritized placing children into homes of extended family members and other tribal homes — places that could reflect the values of Native American culture.
ICWA was enacted following a century-long campaign by the federal government of forcibly removing Native children from their homes and placing them in boarding schools and white adoptive families. The mission was to assimilate Native children into the white American mainstream — or “kill the Indian in him, save the man,” as the founder of the first boarding school infamously said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in November heard a case, Brakeen v. Haaland, which argues ICWA discriminates against non-Native families because of their race. ICWA proponents argue tribal citizenship is a political — not racial — category.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-codifying-indian-child-welfare-act-language-state-law-heads-walzs-desk
