The Family Law Quarterly Volume 56 No. 2&3 is titled “Family Law and the Supreme Court, 2022-2023.” It includes three articles on ICWA including ones by Marcia Zug and Julia Gaffney. The website is not yet updated but should be soon. Here is the full edition with all the articles:
All pages FINAL flq-v56n02-winter23-design-cc23
Here is “After Brackeen: Funding Tribal Systems”
Kathryn E. Fort article FINAL flq-v56n02-winter23-design-cc23-3
Though the Court may not issue a decision until June of 2023, the question that arises time and again is how to preemptively fix what the Court might do to ICWA and federal Indian law. If the Court accepts virtually any of Texas’s arguments, the legal landscape of federal Indian law may be fundamentally changed. At a minimum, it is likely ICWA practice will change at least in some respects. The Court’s ultimate decision, however, does not mean tribes will suddenly stop fighting to protect their children and families. In addition, advocates will continue to fight for just solutions to the massive issues created by the current child welfare system.
57 Family L. Q. 206-207
In order for tribes to continue that fight, there must be a solution to the funding structure in place now for tribal child welfare and justice systems. The Brackeen litigation has laid bare the importance of tribal governments administering their own child protection and justice systems separate and apart from the states. Tribal governments must have the ability to successfully secure sources of funding for tribal child welfare systems. Without significant changes to the amount of funding and the funding structure, tribes will continue to be at a massive disadvantage, and will be unable to serve their member children and families.
Turtle Talk 