On Politics

Thu Jun 15 2023

Hi there, OnPolitics readers. The Supreme Court handed Native American tribes a huge win today. Let's get into it.

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court declined to determine whether the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act discriminated against non-Native families.

⏲️ Case tracker: A look at the key cases pending before the Supreme Court

What is the Indian Child Welfare Act?: Before Congress passed the 1978 act, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed by adoption agencies and placed with non-Native families or in boarding schools.

The ICWA sought to end that.

It also included several other provisions, such as the preference to Native families when Native children were up for adoption.

The case: The law was challenged by non-Native families looking to adopt Native children, saying that the preference was a racial one that violated the 14th Amendment.

The ruling: The majority ruled that the case lacked standing to bring the equal protection claim and said, in its opinion, that Congress was within its power to impose other requirements on states.

The bottom line: Although the racial issues were decided on procedural grounds, the opinion today marked the second time in as many weeks that the court, with broad majorities, has rejected the idea laws require "race neutral" outcomes. Last week, the court smacked down an argument for "color blind" redistricting in Alabama, USA TODAY Supreme Court reporter John Fritze, writes.

Keep reading: Supreme Court sides with tribes, Biden in battle over Native American adoptions

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