If there is ever a contest for the law with the most grossly
misleading title, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 should be
a prime candidate. The last thing this act protects is the
welfare of Indian children. The theory behind the Indian Child
Welfare Act is that an American Indian child should be raised in
an American Indian culture. Based on that theory, a newborn baby
of American Indian ancestry, adopted immediately after birth by
a white couple, was at 27 months of age taken away from the only
parents she has ever known and given to her father. Apparently
the tribe has rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act. If this
child were of any other race, a court would be free to decide
the case on the basis of whatever was in the best interests of
the child. Instead, the child is treated almost as property,
contrary to the 13th Amendment that outlawed slavery.
Fortunately, the legal issues growing out of this case are now
before the Supreme Court of the United States. We can only hope
that the justices will