S. 1962, the ICWA amendments bill now pending in Congress, was developed and
supported with the help of over 100 tribes at the National Congress of
American Indians conference in June 1996. Senator McCain urged tribal
leaders to come together to develop this solution to a very bitter fight that
has been going on over ICWA in the Congress for the last year. Every
provision in S. 1962 was carefully examined and discussed by tribal leaders
in attendance at the NCAI conference. While the bill is admittedly not
perfect it provides the best possible opportunity to improve the current
flaws within the ICWA and silence the critics of ICWA in Congress.
The introduction of S. 1962 has been successful in doing two things:
1) slowing down the threat of the House passed ICWA amendments being enacted
which would have been devastating to Indian children, families, and tribes,
2) providing reasonable solutions to the flaws that currently exist in ICWA
regarding voluntary adoptions. To get even a reasonable chance of getting
this legislation moving it was necesssary to develop alliances with the
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and key members of the House of
Representatives. Without these alliances we would almost surely be faced
with the an ICWA amendments bill that had no tribal input and would have
allowed state courts to decide who is Indian in a child custody proceeding.
Indian advocates and tribal leaders who were working on this legislation had
wanted to address the problems with the Existing Indian Family Doctrine now
being invoked in many state courts, but knew that insisting on a solution in
S. 1962 would have broken the important political alliances that were formed.
Furthermore, Indian Countrys supporters in Congress made it clear that if
there were no alliances developed with groups outside of Indian Country then
it would be very difficult to stop the House passed ICWA amendments. Most
certainly the Existing Indian Family Doctrine will need to be addressed in
the near future, but trying to do it in S. 1962 would be a very risky
strategy.
The good news in all of this is that with Congress going out of session very
soon, it looks as if Indian Country can claim a victory in defeating the
Housed passed ICWA amendments. This is certainly something to cheer about!
All those who helped spread the word and fight the good fight deserve a
round of congratulations. While the elections will be an important factor in
determining what happens with ICWA next year, advocates for Indian children
should not let their guard down. Congresswoman Pryce, the sponsor of the
House passed ICWA amendments, and Bill Pierce, Director of the National
Council for Adoption, have vowed to revisit ICWA for some more amendments in
the near future - very possibly next year. They will most likely be looking
to put into law the Existing Indian Family Doctrine and other restrictions
on who ICWA can apply to. So in the meantime, rest up, educate your
congressional delegation on the positive merits of ICWA, and get ready for
another battle over ICWA.
David Simmons
National Indian Child Welfare Association
3611 SW Hood Street, Suite 201
Portland, OR 97201
503-222-4044
tcross820@aol.com