Indian Child Welfare Act Of 1978 Summary

Great Essays
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978: A Review of the Literature
Introduction
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, states that Congress assumes the responsibility to protect and preserve Indian tribes and their children (ICWA, 1978). The act acknowledges federally recognized tribes as having sovereignty and dictates that tribes must be involved in decisions about the welfare of Indian children who are members of their tribe. However, this social problem continues today as American Indian children are still being removed from their homes at alarming rates (Bussey & Lucero, 2013). This review seeks to examine the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and answer the question, is the ICWA successful as a policy without supplemental state polices?
…show more content…
government stripped Native communities of their culture and traditional systems of child protection. These factors include the practice of involving extended family and community in parenting decisions and the use of communal shaming instead of physical punishment as a form of remediation. This article also suggests that the oppressive practices enforced by the government left Indian communities vulnerable to disease, poverty and substance abuse which led to increase rates of child abuse and neglect (Cross, et al., 2000). Additionally, they propose that Native American parenting practices could be interpreted as a form of neglect due to cultural differences between client and agency. Thus, there is a notion that lack of cultural awareness by private and public agencies is contributing to the large number of Indian children removed from their …show more content…
Tittle II of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 details that funds are distributed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be allotted in the form of grants to tribal departments and urban Indian organizations to protect and preserve Native families (ICWA, 1978). Unfortunately, some agencies and tribal nation’s that do not receive grants or have limited resources to train employees have difficulties abiding by the ICWA regulations (Leake, et al., 2012). Leake, et al’s., study also found that 77% of tribal departments would like a culturally embedded practice model but do not have the resources (2012). The article also suggests that the chronic understaffing, high caseloads, limited program funding and few community partners were all issues for tribal welfare agencies (Leake, et al.,

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Chief Standing Bear

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Background Information and Thesis When America was still in its early years, Indians had a socioeconomic status less than that of a black person -- that is unless they became assimilated tax payers. The U.S. government toyed with them like puppets for years as America expanded west, forcibly securing them in federally controlled reservations under the guise of protecting them. By the mid 1800’s, all Native American tribes resided west of the Mississippi River on reservations due to the Indian Removal Act signed in 1830. Relationships between Indians and the government had been strained at best for decades. The government didn’t view Indians as human, which, in turn, made them think they could simply relocate the tribes whenever they pleased…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The documentary Standing Silent Nation: A Native American Family Seeking Economic Independence portrays the constant and permanent struggles that Native Americans, specifically the Oglala Lakota tribe, face daily. The documentary focused primarily on the economic inequality and underrepresentation that Native Americans experience due to the persistent prejudice that remains against this specific group. In other words, the Oglala Lakota tribe, and other Native American tribes, express their worry of the inequality committed against them by asking the viewer to take their situations into consideration by discussing their issues with the United States court system public. The Oglala Tribe can illustrate to the reader constant dedication and hard work to simply meet their financial needs, despite common belief that Native Americans just want handouts from the government. The documentary attempts to eliminate the negative stereotypes of Native Americans.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hidden away in South Dakota lies the forgotten Indigenous people of The Pine Ridge Reservation. The Pine Ridge reservation was established in 1878. It is the second largest reservation in the United States, bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The reservation is about 2.7 million acres but only half of it belongs to the Lakota people, it is the home to about 28,000 to 40,000 people in Lakota and Sioux tribes. According to an demographics article, 35 percent of the population is under 18 and only half of the population are registered tribal members.…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tribal governance have the power to determine their own government, pass laws and enforce laws. Federal government intervention of the self-determination of tribal governments and gives funding to all programs that are running in the reservations. Thesis: The major issues that American and Alaskan Natives are facing today are: Education retirement, economic problems, health issues,…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Native American plight seems to end with the settling of the reservation territories, but that is far from the truth. Americans now turned their attention to forcibly integrating the Native American people into American society, especially their children. Many children were taken from their parents and put into boarding schools that were supposed to assimilate them into the American society but essentially robbed them of their heritage. They were not just taught basic writing and reading skills, but they were dressed and told to act like Americans as well; they could not “ ‘be Indian’ in any way”. This left many Native American children with a loss of identity.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We have come to learn over the course of time that American Native Indians still have no clear answer on whether they are considered sovereign or not. The definition of sovereignty is to possess power, and although some Indian Tribes are climbing the ladder in earning this right, there is one reservation imparticularly that is suffering due to the neglect of the US Government. The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the poorest areas in America and suffers great poverty due to the actions of the US Government. The Snyder Act of 1921 charged the US Department of the Interior with responsibility for providing education, medical and social services to many Native nations and tribes, including the Oglala Lakota, yet this Act is not showing any…

    • 1821 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Yet women represent 51% of the U.S. population.” For the American Indians, on the other hand, the issue of jobs and education is less of a focus; this concern occupies little of the document. On page 123, they explain that the “proposed $15,000,000,000 budget for the 1970s remainder could provide… income and tribal revenue-producing jobs on reservations and lay foundation for as many more in years following; …and make education at all levels.” This is a proposed solution for the severe lack of jobs and education that these people deserved. Further, they argued on page 123, “two-thirds of Indian college students [are] having desperate financial need.”…

    • 1690 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Choctaw Indians: A view into the Indian Child Welfare Act According to an ancient Choctaw legend, the Choctaw Indians carried the bones of their dead for forty-three years until their creator Aba gave them their land in Southeast America, located in present day Mississippi (Akers, 2013). According to prophecy, they believed if they ever left their homeland, their nation would die. It turns out that the prophecy was true. The Choctaw Nation did die in a sense when they were forcibly removed to Oklahoma.…

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Indian Child Welfare Act affected Alaska Native children, Native American children, and their families in a positive way. The act has now allowed Indian tribes to attain extensive control over the adoption placement and foster care of Indian children (MacEachron, Gustavsson, Cross, & Lewis, 1996). Indian tribes reacted peacefully because it was a benefit to them. They were glad that their children would no longer be removed from their homes for indefinite reasons. They were also more open to their children being placed within their communities and with people of the same cultural…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Indian Removal Act DBQ

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The goal of allowing all people to be ruled by the laws of the country was evidently a failure. To further show this, Indian Removal Act shows the extent at which the goal was forgotten. Established under the Jackson administration in 1830, the Indian Removal Act enacted the government 's financial aid in the uprooting of the “Five civilized tribes”- Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Previously, tribes like the Cherokee attempted to assimilate to the Western life by forming schools, and even adopted the nation’s government model. The government believed that the Indian Removal was a way of saving Indians and their culture from western settlers and their influences.…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Native American History

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The living conditions on the reservations are often referenced to third world country. In 2011, the native’s suicide rate is 1.5 times greater than the general population. Suicide is there second cause of death. As a national average the native American’s child abuse is two times greater, however, rape incidence with women is two in a half likely than national average. Even though, alcoholism is within the youth, gang membership controls the youth as well.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Poverty In New Mexico

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    New Mexico is a breathtaking place, with the vibrant colors and the heart-stopping landscapes, it is portrayed essentially as the Land of Enchantment. The state is known for its rich history and luscious cultures that inhale residents from other states, along with bundles of foreigners from around the world. Although, to the world’s surprise, the implausible sweet land is one of the meagerest states in America. There are numerous reasons why New Mexico is dirt poor, although the primary reasons for poverty in New Mexico, are low levels of education, structures of common families, access to social and welfare programs, and diverse cultures and races. The following criteria demonstrates why New Mexico is ranked a leading impecunious state in…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Before I complete this sentence a child somewhere will be abused or neglected in some way. According to childhelp.org the United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations- losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect in the United States. A report of child abuse occurs every ten seconds. Child abuse is a subject that has plagued the world for centuries. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 is one of the key pieces of legislation that guides child protection.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This means that they are at risks for depressions, suicide, anti-social behavior, and more (Matheson, 1996). Before ICWA, state agencies and church groups removed Native children from their homes because they felt that many Native American parents were abusive and neglectful because their child rearing practices are different than their ethnocentric views (Strong,…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hindu Adoption Case Study

    • 3448 Words
    • 14 Pages

    INTRODUCTION The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 codifies the law of adoption and maintenance. Adoption is the admission of a stranger by birth to the privileges of a child by a legally recognised form of affiliation. Outside British India, in Goa, Daman and Diu the Portuguese incorporated basic rules of Hindu law of adoption in 1880. Indian Majority Act, 1875 exempted adoption from the purview of its provisions while Indian Succession Act, 1925 specifically recognised the Hindu usage of adoption.…

    • 3448 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Superior Essays