On June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act in a 7-2 decision. The ruling preserves a 35-year-old law intended to address the harm caused by the federal government’s boarding school program by prioritizing the placement of Alaska Native and American Indian children into tribal homes.
Alaska Native leaders and the state of Alaska hailed the verdict, with praise coming in from all corners of the state.
“Like most Alaska Native and American Indian tribes from across the country, we have been anxiously awaiting this decision,” said Julie Kitka, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, in a prepared statement. “The wait is over and the victory is ours. Our ways of life will continue through our children.”
ICWA, as the welfare act is commonly known, guides many, if not most, of the adoption and child custody cases that work their way through state courts in Alaska. The case also tested the legal principle that tribes are sovereign governments with the same standing as the state or federal government.
Dozens of Alaska’s federally recognized tribes joined a friend-of-the-court brief last year that urged the Supreme Court to uphold the law.
“Today the Supreme Court upheld ICWA and today they upheld tribal sovereignty,” said President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, one of the tribes that signed the brief. “Our sovereignty was tested, and it was ICWA that won the day and was our truest expression of our sovereignty. Our staff are on the frontline. Their work preserves our families, and that is indeed our responsibility to protect and defend our citizens.”
Alex Cleghorn, chief operating officer of the Alaska Native Justice Center, said in a prepared statement: “This decision rightly recognizes tribal sovereignty and self-determination. It is a major victory for Alaska tribes, Alaska Native children, families, and the future of Alaska Native culture.”
In 2021, the state of Alaska joined other states in a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the justices to uphold the federal law. That saw Alaska make uncommon allies with California, Massachusetts, New York, and other predominantly Democratic states.
“Our commitment to partnership, communication, and collaboration with tribes in Alaska is steadfast,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in a prepared statement.
“We understand and appreciate the value tribes bring to child welfare in Alaska. Together, the state of Alaska and tribes have established the Tribal State Collaboration Group and Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact to work together to better serve Alaska Native and American Indian families. In terms of daily practice and application of the ICWA in Alaska, it does not appear that anything has been changed and the decision underscores our commitment to partnering with tribes to improve outcomes for tribal children and families,” Taylor said.
Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, praised the verdict as well, with Murkowski calling it “a victory for Native people.”
Peltola, who is Alaska Native, said that she was “overjoyed” with the Supreme Court’s decision.
“This decision provides certainty and security for children and families all across this country and respects the basic principles of self-governance for Native American tribes,” Peltola said in a prepared written statement. “This is an important step in continuing the process of intergenerational healing from long histories of separation and loss and a victory for tribal advocates everywhere. I look forward to strengthening ICWA and making sure that children everywhere are able to stay with their families and loved ones.”