Political Quotes

“in 1978, Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act to prevent ``[t]he wholesale separation of Indian children from their families * * * perhaps the most tragic and destructive aspect of American Indian life today.'' H.R. Rept. No. 95- 1386. The law recognizes that Congress, which has ``responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian tribes,'' believes ``that there is no resource that is more vital to the continual existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children.'' The U.S. Supreme Court in 1988 wrote that ``[t]he protection of this tribal interest is at the core of the Indian Child Welfare Act which recognizes that the tribe has an interest in the child which is distinct but on a parity with the interest of the parents.'' But title III of H.R. 3286 would significantly undercut this important law. Title III contains provisions that would add a new race- based Indian identity test focusing upon a child's significant cultural, social, and political contacts instead of tribal membership, would ignore the important role of the extended family in Indian culture, would lead to increased litigation, and would have the effect of excluding tribal members from coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act. These provisions were written without any effort to discuss or meet with Indian tribes, which are not only the people whose culture and interests are at stake, but are sovereign governments.…”