'I have physical reminders of my' intro into the system: One Choinumni man's adoption horror story

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Nov. 9 in a case questioning the legality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), legislation passed to prevent Native American children from being stripped from their communities and cultures. Kendall Ciesemier, host of the ACLU's At Liberty podcast, said that in Brackeen v. Haaland, “Texas, together with individual plaintiffs, allege that ICWA is unconstitutional” because “it violates the equal protection clause and discriminates against non-Native families looking to adopt Native children.”

“But honoring tribal sovereignty isn’t about discrimination or race. That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of Indigenous rights,” Ciesemier said in an episode meant to draw attention to what’s at stake for Native children.

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