Congress Found That 25% to 35% of All Indian Children Had Been Separated From Their Families Before It Passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978
The Fact
In its report on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the U.S. House of Representatives cited surveys finding that 'approximately 25–35 percent of all Indian children are separated from their families and placed in foster homes, adoptive homes, or institutions.' Congress passed ICWA in 1978 to set federal standards for removing Native children and to give tribes a say in those cases. The Supreme Court upheld the law in Haaland v. Brackeen (2023).
What This Means
That's one in three or four Native children, removed after the boarding schools wound down (BSF-0374).
Why It Matters
ICWA isn't a special favor. Congress wrote it because the removal rate was that high.
Sources
U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. Rep. No. 95-1386, at 9 (1978), as quoted in Congressional Research Service, The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): A Legal Overview (R42047), 2013. https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20130906_R42047_db4c67bb8b0c8999bfef0b9eeea9074b66a0bf10.html
Haaland v. Brackeen, 599 U.S. 255 (2023).
Related Facts
- How Many Children Died at Federal Indian Boarding Schools? At Least 973.
- What's the Largest Tribe in the U.S.? Cherokee — About 1.5 Million People.
- Did the Indian Health Service Sterilize Native Women? GAO Counted 3,406 in Four Areas.
- When Did Native Americans Get to Vote? Citizenship in 1924 — Some States Held Out Until 1957.