ICWA requires that before private and public agencies place Native American children in foster care or with an adoptive family, they try to keep nuclear families together or, if that fails, to place children with their extended family, their tribe, or a member of another tribe. It was passed in 1978 after government programs removed a large number of American Indian children from their families.
Now the right-wing think tank the Goldwater Institute wants to dismantle the ICWA, claiming that it is outdated and "subjects [Indian children] to an unfair set of rules that don't apply to other kids."
The ICWA is still necessary to preserve Native American culture and keep families and tribes together. Native American children put in foster care outside of their culture often lose touch with their families and traditions.
Stand up to right-wingers and their nonsense that the ICWA is racist or outdated. Keep it in place to preserve Native American dignity and rights.
