And in New Mexico, which is home to 23 federally recognized tribes, State Representative Derrick Lente, a lawyer and member of Sandia Pueblo, said he was “overjoyed with this outcome.” He added, “This ruling is a huge win for tribal nations by protecting the notion that we are distinct sovereign communities within the United States.”
The ruling was particularly notable, Mr. Lente said, given the ongoing discussions about the legacy of Native American boarding schools, which pursued explicitly assimilationist policies separating Native children from their families and cultures, in some cases taking custody of children in protracted custody battles.
“Native children have long been the target of attacks by federal and state policies,” said Mr. Lente, adding that his grandparents were forced to attend boarding school far from their families. “The upholding of this law protecting children shows the need to defend ourselves in courtrooms and state legislatures around the country.”
Stephanie Benally, a Navajo social worker in Utah who specializes in placing Native American children in Native foster families, said she had gathered her own children for a group hug when news of the ruling emerged. She also cited a recent case in which she helped a Navajo foster family adopt two siblings, both Navajo. The family has also taken in and is preparing to adopt an older sibling.
Ms. Benally, who is Navajo herself, says she now sees that family at community events exposing the children to Navajo culture and traditions, and the Navajo language. In other cases, she said, non-Native parents might have asked about “taking the kids to a powwow or reading them a book” about their origins.
“But culture is much more than that,” Ms. Benally said. “Keeping a sibling group together, immersing children in their own culture and finding value in that, is something that placing children within Native families can truly achieve.”