North Dakota Passes State ICWA Bill

As Indian Country waits for the U.S. Supreme Court to pass down a historic ruling on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), North Dakota has passed its own ICWA protections.

North Dakota House Bill 1536 passed the state legislature yesterday, April 25. The bill codifies ICWA into state law, meaning if the Supreme Court were to make changes to the federal law, it would not apply to North Dakota law unless the North Dakota Legislature chose to amend the law adopted in HB 1536 in a future legislative session.

Congress passed ICWA in 1978 after a national effort to address the widespread practice of removing American Indian children—members of federally recognized tribes—from their homes and placing them with non-Native, white families.

https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/north-dakota-passes-state-icwa-bill