US: Big money is behind the fight over the Indian Child Welfare Act (Commentary) (Audio)
Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly/Marketplace, Hosted by Kai Ryssdal And Molly Wood – October 05, 2021
What do corporate lawyers, political operatives and right-wing groups have to do with the Indian Child Welfare Act? A whole lot. ICWA has been around for almost 40 years. It provides protections for Native American kids who are up for foster care or adoption and it says Native kids should be placed with extended family or stay with Native communities whenever possible. It doesn’t seem terribly controversial on the face of it. But the child custody law has drawn the attention of groups who see the chance to undo ICWA as the first step into doing away with a whole chain of legislation around Native sovereignty, with huge implications for land use, water rights and gaming rights. In short, a successful legal challenge to this one law, which has now reached the steps of the Supreme Court, could mean a lot of money for a whole lot of non-Native people.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart-with-kai-and-molly/big-money-is-behind-the-fight-over-the-indian-child-welfare-act/