Lesson Plan: The Indian Child Welfare Act
Grades 9-12
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, a law passed in response to a long history of Native children being separated from their families. The court’s ruling protects the rights of Native American families and tribes, giving them preference in the adoption and foster care placement of Native children. During the 1950s and 60s, Native children were routinely taken from their families by social workers and placed for adoption into white families. The legal dispute is part of a long pattern of tensions between U.S. and state governments and tribal entities over issues of sovereignty.
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