Press Releases
If you are a member of the media and wish to speak to a representative of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, please email media@nicwa.org or call the NICWA office at 503-222-4044.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reaffirms the Constitutionality of ICWA
(PORTLAND, Ore. August 9, 2019)— Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals published its decision in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, the federal court challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The court’s decision affirmed the constitutionality of ICWA, recognizing the...
United States Supreme Court Denies Review in ICWA Case
(Portland, Ore., May 30, 2019)—The Protect ICWA Campaign—the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the Association on American Indian Affairs, and the Native American Rights Fund—applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s...
Coalition Seeks Answers about Children Who Went Missing at U.S. Indian Boarding School via United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances
(GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, May 14, 2019)–Today a coalition of tribes, organizations, and independent researchers will go before the United Nations to testify about American Indian and Alaskan Native Children who went Missing under the United States’ Indian Boarding School...
NICWA Announces Charitable Donation to Support Families Encountering the Child Welfare System
(Portland, Ore., April 11, 2019)—The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) today thanks the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, located near Highland, California, for their generous grant of $149,949 to help NICWA provide resources to families who...
Seminole Tribe of Florida Provides Host Sponsorship of NICWA Conference
MEDIA ADVISORY (Portland, Ore., March 28, 2018)—The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) received a $25,000 host sponsorship from the Seminole Tribe of Florida for this year’s 37th Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on...
U.S. and Tribes Stand Together to Protect Native Children and Uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act
(NEW ORLEANS, March 13, 2019)—The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments today in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, in which the United States and tribal nations stand together in defense of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the American Indian and Alaska Native...
Federal Court of Appeals to Hear Oral Arguments Today in ICWA Challenge that Would Upend Over 200 Years of Legal Precedent
(NEW ORLEANS, March 13, 2019)—Today the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will review the lower federal court decision in Brackeen v. Bernhardt that ignored centuries of Supreme Court precedent to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law that protects the...
National Native Organizations Respond to Reply Briefs in Brackeen v. Bernhardt
(Portland, Ore., February 20, 2019)—In reply briefs filed yesterday with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Brackeen v. Bernhardt, the United States and defendant tribal nations reaffirm the constitutionality of the Indian Child...
Joint Press Release from National Native Organizations on the Overwhelming Support for the Indian Child Welfare Act
(Portland, Ore., January 18, 2019)—On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 325 tribal nations, 57 Native organizations, 21 states, 31 child welfare organizations, Indian and constitutional law scholars, and seven members of Congress joined the United States and four...
National Native Organizations Unite and Urge the President and Congress to Re-Open the Government
(Portland, Ore., January 10, 2019)—On the 20th day of the government shutdown, eight national Native organizations are jointly urging the President and Congress to immediately end the partial government shutdown, which breaks the treaty and trust obligations the...
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reaffirms the Constitutionality of ICWA
(PORTLAND, Ore. August 9, 2019)— Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals published its decision in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, the federal court challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The court’s decision affirmed the constitutionality of ICWA, recognizing the...
United States Supreme Court Denies Review in ICWA Case
(Portland, Ore., May 30, 2019)—The Protect ICWA Campaign—the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the Association on American Indian Affairs, and the Native American Rights Fund—applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s...
Coalition Seeks Answers about Children Who Went Missing at U.S. Indian Boarding School via United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances
(GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, May 14, 2019)–Today a coalition of tribes, organizations, and independent researchers will go before the United Nations to testify about American Indian and Alaskan Native Children who went Missing under the United States’ Indian Boarding School...
NICWA Announces Charitable Donation to Support Families Encountering the Child Welfare System
(Portland, Ore., April 11, 2019)—The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) today thanks the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, located near Highland, California, for their generous grant of $149,949 to help NICWA provide resources to families who...
Seminole Tribe of Florida Provides Host Sponsorship of NICWA Conference
MEDIA ADVISORY (Portland, Ore., March 28, 2018)—The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) received a $25,000 host sponsorship from the Seminole Tribe of Florida for this year’s 37th Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on...
U.S. and Tribes Stand Together to Protect Native Children and Uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act
(NEW ORLEANS, March 13, 2019)—The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments today in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, in which the United States and tribal nations stand together in defense of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the American Indian and Alaska Native...
Federal Court of Appeals to Hear Oral Arguments Today in ICWA Challenge that Would Upend Over 200 Years of Legal Precedent
(NEW ORLEANS, March 13, 2019)—Today the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will review the lower federal court decision in Brackeen v. Bernhardt that ignored centuries of Supreme Court precedent to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law that protects the...
National Native Organizations Respond to Reply Briefs in Brackeen v. Bernhardt
(Portland, Ore., February 20, 2019)—In reply briefs filed yesterday with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Brackeen v. Bernhardt, the United States and defendant tribal nations reaffirm the constitutionality of the Indian Child...
Joint Press Release from National Native Organizations on the Overwhelming Support for the Indian Child Welfare Act
(Portland, Ore., January 18, 2019)—On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 325 tribal nations, 57 Native organizations, 21 states, 31 child welfare organizations, Indian and constitutional law scholars, and seven members of Congress joined the United States and four...
National Native Organizations Unite and Urge the President and Congress to Re-Open the Government
(Portland, Ore., January 10, 2019)—On the 20th day of the government shutdown, eight national Native organizations are jointly urging the President and Congress to immediately end the partial government shutdown, which breaks the treaty and trust obligations the...
