sNok signflz
JULY 1, 2023
13
Supreme Court upholds Indian Child Welfare Act
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. 3 The Su-
preme Court voted 7-2 on Thursday,
June 15, to uphold the Indian Child
Welfare Act9s preference for Tribes
when Indian children are adopted
and overturned a Texas federal
court judge9s 2018 ruling that said
the act was unconstitutional.
The court ruled that the law does
not discriminate on the basis of
race and does not impose a federal
mandate on traditionally state-reg-
ulated areas of power, citing more
than 100 years of precedent that
classioes Native Americans as a
political, not racial, group.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
wrote the majority opinion for the
Supreme Court and justices Clar-
ence Thomas and Samuel Alito
dissented.
Congress passed the federal
Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978
to extend protection to Tribal fam-
ilies by keeping Tribal children
connected to their culture and to
help preserve Tribes. Before the
act was passed, Native children
were frequently removed from
their families and communities,
and often placed with non-Native
families permanently without any
connection to their roots.
In 2020, the Legislature passed
the Oregon Indian Child Welfare
Act, which aligned with the federal
law and also recognized the needs
of the nine federally recognized
Tribes in the state.
The constitutionality of the fed-
eral act was argued before the
Supreme Court on Nov. 9, 2022,
during the Haaland v. Brackeen
case. The Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde discussed it during a
Feb. 15 Facebook Live session.
Haaland v. Brackeen was a law-
suit brought by Texas (and previ-
ously Indiana and Louisiana) and
several individual plaintiffs, who
said the ICWA is unconstitution-
al and discriminatory regarding
decisions on adoption and child
placement to families based on
race, and forces states to carry out
federal mandates.
<This ruling is a huge sigh of re-
lief for Tribes and Tribal families
throughout Indian Country,= said
Grand Ronde Tribal member Kristi
Petite, who is co-chair of the Oregon
Department of Human Services9
Indian Child Welfare Act Adviso-
ry Committee. <As we9ve worked
tirelessly to protect Tribal children
and keep them connected to their
identity, culture and families, this
decision will allow us to continue
to advocate and promote healing
for our families.
<Our ongoing relationship with
ODHS will continue as we work
Gas discount at Grand Ronde Station
together with the goal of lowering
the disproportionate rates that
Tribal children experience in the
child welfare system. It is also a re-
minder of the importance to contin-
ue to assure that our work renects
the intent and requirements of the
Indian Child Welfare Act. Today is
a great day to honor Tribes, Tribal
sovereignty and the continued pro-
tection of Tribal families.=
Oregon Department of Human
Services Tribal Affairs Director
Adam Decenti (Navajo/Dine), who
participated in a panel discussion
about the past, present and future
of the ICWA on Nov. 2, 2022, at
Willamette University in Salem,
also heralded the decision.
<This decision is cause for cele-
bration for Tribes and Tribal com-
munities throughout the country,=
he said. <The federal Indian Child
Welfare Act keeps Tribal families
intact, preserves Tribal culture and
upholds Tribal sovereignty. Oregon
is one of a handful of states who
have demonstrated an unwavering
commitment to these principles
by codifying these protections in
state law.
<The decision to uphold all pro-
visions of the Indian Child Wel-
fare Act will have lasting impact
for decades for Tribes. This win
allows our agency to continue to
implement our state9s Oregon
Indian Child Welfare Act as well
as continue to support the govern-
ment-to-government relationship
with the Tribes.=
The ICWA received wide support
during a lower court hearing as 486
Tribal Nations, 59 Native organi-
zations, 31 child welfare organiza-
tions, 26 states and the District of
Columbia, and 77 members of Con-
gress offered their support for it. þ
Chris Mercier
Michael Langley
Lisa Leno
Matthew Haller
Veronica Montano
Chris Bailey
Grand Ronde Tribal members, as well as Tribal and Spirit Mountain
Casino employees, can receive a 30-cent per gallon discount on gasoline
at the Tribally owned Grand Ronde Station convenience store.
There are, however, a few rules. Tribal members and employees
must go inside and show either their enrollment card or employee
identiocation card to receive the discount. þ
Candidates will have a 600-word
statement published in Tilixam Wawa
NOMINATION continued
from front page
TRIBAL VETERANS
SERVICE OFFICE
Contact us at (503) 879-1484 or via e-mail at CTGRTribalVSO@GrandRonde.Org
Veterans!
You may not need it now, but you could in the future.
As a veteran who has served your country, you deserve
to apply for these beneots and resources.
You may think another veteran needs it more than you or you
are taking resources from another veteran, but you are not.
You may not want beneots, but having them
can beneot your spouse and your family.
Contact the Tribal Veterans Service Ofoce to ask questions, ond out more
information or ole for a service-connected disability today!
Ad by Samuel Briggs III
Wildwood Hotel in Willamina. He
is the son of Rex Haller and Mar-
tha Hood and grandson of Robert
Haller and LeVeta Sell. He was
nominated by Jonathon R. George,
who works in the Tribe9s Human
Resources Department.
Montano, 37, is employed by the
Tribe9s Finance Department as the
Budget Coordinator. She previous-
ly was the manager of the Tribe9s
Member Services Department.
Montano is descended from the
Holmes family. Her mother is Tam-
my Chavez, her grandmother is
Betty Dick and great-grandmother
is Arlene Holmes. She was nomi-
nated by Jamie White.
Bailey, 46, works for the Tribe9s
Cultural Resources Department
as a cultural protection specialist.
He has been a Tribal employee for
more than 20 years. His parents
are Jerry and Teresa Bailey. He
was nominated by Greg Archule-
ta, who also works in the Cultural
Resources Department.
This year marks the 10th consec-
utive year of single-digit candidates
running for Tribal Council. The last
time 10 or more candidates threw
their proverbial hats in the ring
was in 2013.
Tribal Council candidates will
have a 600-word statement pub-
lished in the July Tilixam Wawa
that will be mailed to voters before
ballots are mailed out. In addition,
Smoke Signals will continue its
practice of interviewing all of the
candidates and placing their pod-
cast interviews on spreaker.com.
The nomination process was su-
pervised by Election Board Chair
Michael Mercier via Zoom and
in-person by Election Board mem-
ber Joann Mercier.
This year9s election will be held
on Saturday, Sept. 9, with elected
council members being sworn into
ofoce on Wednesday, Sept. 13. þ