Local tribal members celebrate 1st anniversary of Supreme Court win for Native American children

Local tribal members celebrated the first anniversary of a milestone Supreme Court victory for Native American children.

Victims, survivors, and dependents of Indian boarding schools gathered on Saturday at the St. Boniface Indian School and Cemetery in Banning to commemorate the reinstatement of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) upheld on June 15, 2023.

Originally passed in 1978, ICWA protects Indian children and their families and prevents States from "removal and out-of-home placement of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and youth," according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Those in attendance on Saturday recalled the tough days, sharing memories, and teaching the younger generation.

“One very experienced tribal leader said to me, 'Why are we always the defendants? Why are we on that side of the cases? What does it look like to be proactive and go out and use this decision, use this win as fuel,'" said Kimberly Cluff, Legal Director of the California Tribal Families Coalition.

The Morongo Tribe was one of five tribes in the U.S. that defended ICWA before the court.

“Today is a day of remembrance historically a day to trauma and that trauma we never wanna forget," said Charles Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. "We want to keep this firmly in our graph so that things like this don’t happen again."

An estimated one-third of all Native American children were being removed from their parents, extended families and Tribal communities by state child welfare and private adoption agencies.

“The message to the younger children is do not give up. There are never going to stop chipping away at our tribal sovereignty. We as Indian people have to resist with all of our hearts, strengths, minds, and bodies together," Mary Ann Andreas, a Morongo tribal councilmember.

The program included speeches from Tribal leaders, bird singer performances, and a ceremonial tree planting.

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