LINCOLN- The ACLU of Nebraska is joining its national office and 11 other ACLU state affiliates this week in supporting an amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The act was challenged in a case last November, titled Brackeen v. Haaland, and the Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments to hear testimony for the case.

The Welfare Act was adopted in 1978 to reverse family separation policies, and it requires courts to make efforts to keep Native families together.

Misty Flowers, executive director of the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition and member of the Santee Sioux Nation, stated, “All Native children should know who they are and be connected to their families and tribal communities.”

The State of Texas is leading the arguments against the act, arguing that states should have more power over foster child placement. They claim the act is unconstitutional.

The ACLU has fired back at these claims, urging the Supreme Court to uphold centuries of legal precedent regarding tribal sovereignty. They want to retain each Tribe’s right to “preserve their cultures, raise their own children, and govern themselves.”

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