North Dakota governor signs law protecting tribal adoptions

May 8, 2023, 11:56 AM

North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill into law to protect tribal cultures by codifying the federal Indian Child Welfare Act into state law, Burgum’s office announced Monday.

The federal Indian Child Welfare Act, enacted in 1978, gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children.

Also known by the acronym ICWA, it was created in response to the alarming rate at which Native American and Alaska Native children were taken from their homes by public and private agencies.

considers a challenge to the federal law.

A handful of white families have claimed the law is based on race and is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause. They also said it puts the interests of tribes ahead of children. Lower courts have been split on the case.

The outcome could undercut federal law. Tribes also fear more widespread impacts on the ability to govern themselves if the justices rule against them.

Supporters of the law include Native American leaders who have long championed it as a way to preserve Native families and culture. Opponents include non-Native families who have tried to adopt American Indian children in emotional legal cases.

Mike Nowatzki, a spokesperson for the governor, said the new state law ensures “that these important protections for Native American children and families will remain in place in North Dakota regardless of what happens with the ICWA in the federal court system.”

___

Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15.

United States News

Associated Press

Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was convicted of spying for Russia, dies in prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI agent who took more than $1.4 million in cash and diamonds to trade secrets with Russia and the former Soviet Union in one of the most notorious spying cases in American history died in prison Monday. Robert Hanssen, 79, was found unresponsive in his cell at a federal prison […]

13 hours ago

Associated Press

Ex-part owner of Minnesota Vikings gets over six years in cryptocurrency scam

NEW YORK (AP) — A former part owner of the Minnesota Vikings who defrauded a short-lived professional football league known as the Alliance of American Football in a $700 million cryptocurrency scam was sentenced Monday to over six years in prison. Reginald Fowler, 64, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to six […]

13 hours ago

FILE - A crew of workers supervised by the National Transportation Safety Board place flags among t...

Associated Press

Loss of oxygen in cabin may have led to Virginia plane crash, expert says

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A loss of oxygen is a leading theory for why an unresponsive business jet flew over the nation’s capital Sunday before it crashed in rural Virginia. But federal investigators are just beginning to look for answers, and an expert cautioned against jumping to conclusions. The Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethton, […]

13 hours ago

Matthew Nilo is arraigned on rape charges stemming from assaults in Charlestown, in 2007 and 2008 i...

Associated Press

DNA from drinking glass links suspect to 4 Boston sexual assaults in 2007 and 2008, prosecutor says

BOSTON (AP) — A New Jersey lawyer charged with sexually assaulting four women in Boston about 15 years ago was ordered held on $500,000 bail Monday during a hearing in which a prosecutor said authorities helped tie him to the attacks by getting DNA from a drinking glass he had used. Matthew Nilo, of Weehawken, […]

13 hours ago

FILE - Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman leaves the stand after testifying, J...

Associated Press

Wisconsin judge: Don’t delete records from probe into 2020 Trump loss

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Monday declined to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to ensure that no records are deleted from a now-closed state office created to investigate former President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. The lawsuit was one of several filed by liberal watchdog group American Oversight against former Wisconsin Supreme Court […]

13 hours ago

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks before the start of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC23,...

Associated Press

Apple unveils sleek, $3,500 ‘Vision Pro’ goggles. Will they be what VR has been looking for?

After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of Vision Pro VR goggles at the the company's annual developers conference.

13 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

...

re:vitalize

Why drug-free weight loss still matters

Wanting to lose weight is a common goal for many people as they progress throughout life, but choosing between a holistic approach or to take medicine can be a tough decision.

North Dakota governor signs law protecting tribal adoptions