This painting shows a Native American adult holding a vintage photograph of herself when she was a small child holding hands with her white adopted parents. She did not know her identity until she became an adult. She learned about her background and her culture through Indian Children Welfare Act (ICWA). There are rock art prints on her clothing as well as the background.

Today, ICWA is facing a legal opposition. The United States has a long history of removing Native American children from their families and tribes. It is now at risk. The Indian Children Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that was passed in 1978, to give tribal governments some say in where Native children would be placed in adoption cases. This means to keep the children connected to their family and cultural roots.

ICWA is now being challenged at the Supreme Court of the United States which could lead to the law being overturned.

Native adults who were adopted into white families as children have shared their stories about the effects that cultural erasure through adoption had on their self-identities and senses of community.

Without ICWA, their identities would forever be lost and not knowing what tribe they are from. They would not be enrolled and have no documentation of that.

496 Indian tribes and 62 tribal and Indian organizations have filed in defense of the law.

The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision regarding the ICWA by June 2023.

If the Supreme Court makes the decision to overturn the ICWA, the states will have the rights to remove Native children from their families. This would put the tribes at risk. It is very important to continue to support the ICWA and act against the possible overturning of this protection for the Native American communities.