In The News
Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act Introduced
On December 5, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6) introduced the Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act (S. 5186). The bill, which was initially proposed by Senator Warren and then-Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM-1) in 2019, is a response to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report: Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans. The Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act will address the chronic underfunding [...]
Race Question in Supreme Court Adoption Case Unnerves Tribes
The issue is whether a federal law that seeks to place Native American foster children in Native American homes is constitutional. The case could turn on whether the justices see tribes as racial groups or sovereign nations. The little girl who will soon be known by the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court as Y.R.J. is now 4 years old. For much of her short life she has [...]
Navajo woman walks from Ariz. to D.C. to spotlight her missing aunt, other victims
Seraphine Warren stepped foot in Washington on Sunday evening, with the eagle feathers on her prayer staff waving in the breeze, as she completed her nearly 2,400-mile prayer walk from Sweetwater, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation. She undertook the journey in honor of her aunt Ella Mae Begay, a Dineh (Navajo) elder who disappeared 16 months ago, and to raise awareness of the alarming numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous [...]
Justice Department Updates Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance
The Justice Department today released revised Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. The revised guidelines update, for the first time in a decade, when and how Department employees work with victims and witnesses of crime to ensure that their voices are heard and that they are protected during criminal justice proceedings. The guidelines apply to all department employees engaged in the investigative, prosecutorial, correctional, and parole functions within [...]
Can Indian Country withstand the new Supreme Court?
The High Court is set to hear a case that will affect thousands of Native kids. Is it qualified to judge? On Nov. 9, the eyes of Indian Country will once again turn toward the nation’s capital, where the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law passed in 1978 that enshrines tribal governments’ right to oversee foster care placements in cases involving [...]
