Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

A U.S. federal law passed in 1978 in response to large numbers of Native American children being separated from their parents, families, communities, and tribes by state child welfare and private adoption agencies – due to the racist belief that Native American parents were unfit to raise children and reservations were unfit places to raise them. Research found that 15-35% of all Native children were being removed from and 85% of these children were placed outside of their families and communities – even when fit and willing relatives were available. According to the United Nations, this practice of “forcibly transferring children of (an ethnic or racial) group to another group” constitutes genocide. To combat this crisis, ICWA mandates that caseworkers make several considerations when handling child welfare cases involving Native children – read more about them here. For coverage on how the ICWA is being challenged in more recent years, listen to the This Land podcast Season 2.

Note: “Indian” here is referring to a U.S. legal term. However, using the term to describe Native American and Indigenous people is considered offensive and outdated.