In the News

In October 2018, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Youth Commission were inspired to get involved in the ICWA conversation after learning about the then called Brackeen v. Zinke (Bernhardt) case. They felt it was important to have policymakers, judges, and the general public understand their perspective and hear their voice. Developed by consensus during a writing session during the NCAI conference, the NCAI Youth Commission released the following statement.

Full Written Statement: "The Indian Child Welfare Act was created in order to protect the best interest of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of tribal communities and families. We, as youth leaders, know that our identity is who we are, is within our culture, and within the tribal community that raises us. Our membership and blood quantum has never defined us as members of our tribal communities. To us, we are raised by tribal communities, because we learn not just from our family but from the communities as a whole. They teach us our languages, our traditions, they show us who we are as American Indian/Alaska Native youth; that is a right every American Indian/Alaska Native child should have. They should not be taken from their tribal communities because when they are, a piece of our culture is lost."