(June 15, 2023) — The following is a statement from Prairie Band Potawatomi Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, responding to the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act that protects tribal sovereignty and the rights of Native American families when it comes to adoption and foster-care proceedings involving Native children:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision upholds the sovereignty of Native Tribes and allows us to continue to give our children, no matter their family circumstances, the opportunity to embrace their Native culture and history – so much of which is learned in our family homes due to centuries worth of attempts to erase us. The Supreme Court preserved the integrity of federal law and by doing so preserved our culture for generations to come.”