Secretary Haaland Issues Statement on Brackeen v. Haaland Decision

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2023
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued the following statement following the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision on Brackeen v. Haaland:

"Today’s decision is a welcome affirmation across Indian Country of what presidents and congressional majorities on both sides of the aisle have recognized for the past four decades. For nearly two centuries, federal policies promoted the forced removal of Indian children from their families and communities through boarding schools, foster care, and adoption. Those policies were a targeted attack on the existence of Tribes, and they inflicted trauma on children, families and communities that people continue to feel today. Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 to put an end to those policies. The Act ensured that the United States’ new policy would be to meet its legal and moral obligation to protect Indian children and families, and safeguard the future of Indian Tribes."

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