Indigenous Coloradans overwhelmed with relief at Supreme Court ruling on child welfare

Indigenous communities in Colorado are hailing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act. The justices found legislation intended to keep Native families together is not in violation of the Constitution.

Colorado has long been a crossroads for tribes from across the country.

Lucille Echohawk co-founded the Denver Indian Family Resource Center as it focused on strengthening Native families in the foster care system.

She teared up when she heard the outcome of the Haaland v. Brackeen case.

"Relief and joyful feelings that the Court didn't strike it down. It's still very emotional because we feared the worst," she said. 

Katie Correll's family is one who's benefitted from the law, that gives preference to native families and their tribal communities for the adoptions or foster placement of Indigenous children. She also expressed surprise and relief.

"My first initial feeling was shock and then pure joy. If we don't have our kids to pass on our songs and our language our culture, our ceremonies, it gets lost. And it will become extinct," Correll said.

Echohawk says the overwhelming majority opinion on this case was received with surprise in Indian country.

"At 7-2, that's almost unheard of on an Indian case," Echohawk said.

She credits Colorado's own justice, Neil Gorsuch, for the outcome. He heard many Indian cases while serving for years on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

"To have a conservative justice who stands up for tribes is unparalleled," Echohawk said.

Ultimately Echohawk and Correll say the high court's ruling is a win for tribal sovereignty and the preservation of their nations' traditions.

The plaintiffs in the Brackeen case had argued that basing adoptions on race is unconstitutional, a violation of the equal protection clause. 

But the high court found that neither the individuals nor the state of Texas had "standing" to bring the suit in the first place.