The Indian Child Welfare Act Law Center

Supporting the work and advocacy of the Indian Child Welfare Act Law Center

The ICWA Law Center, formed and established in 1993, values and recognizes the great importance and interconnectedness of communities, tribes, and families for Indigenous children and families. The ICWA Law Center strongly supports these connections for Indigenous children and families and acknowledges the great role which identity and belonging play in the overall health and wellness of Indigenous communities. Despite federal and state protections for American Indian families, there is still an alarming number of children removed and displaced from their homes and tribal communities, often creating irreparable and intergenerational harm. As a non-profit agency, which seeks to exemplify the highest quality legal representation – the ICWA Law Center is devoted to advocating for family preservation and working to end and address violations which threaten the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and further the breakup of American Indian families. Located in Minneapolis, the ICWA Law Center serves Minnesota American Indian families in state and tribal child protection proceedings and/or American Indian families who are at-risk of impact or involvement by the child protection system.

Despite its enactment by congress in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) continues to face challenges and push back within communities and child welfare systems nationwide. One monumental case in particular, Haaland v. Brackeen, was heard and ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Ultimately, our Nation’s highest court upheld the constitutionality of ICWA, however, the progression and evolution of this case, and its lengthy and complex history, depicts how challenges and contemptment toward ICWA protections for American Indian children and families is still omnipresent, insidious, and pervasive. Despite this country’s destructive treatment towards Indigenous Peoples and the intergenerational traumas they carry and presently endure, American Indian families and Tribal Nations remain resilient in reclaiming and restoring cultures, traditional languages, spiritual practices, and Indigenous-centered worldviews.