The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) has been a successful federal law since it was enacted in 1978 and is considered by many experts to be the gold standard of child welfare practices. And yet, decades later, a federal court ruled ICWA unconstitutional in a widely criticized 2021 decision. The case, Brackeen v. Haaland, is now before the Supreme Court, which could with its decision rewrite much of Indian Law as we know it. Lindsay Langholz is joined by Professor Matthew Fletcher to debrief the oral arguments in the case and discuss the implications of potential outcomes.

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Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, ACS Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Matthew Fletcher, Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law, Michigan Law

Link: Brief of Indian Law Professors as Amici Curiae in Support of Federal and Tribal Defendants

Link: SCOTUS oral argument in Haaland v. Brackeen

Link: "The Story of Baby O—and the Case That Could Gut Native Sovereignty," by Rebecca Nagle

Link: This Land podcast, hosted by Rebecca Nagle

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2022.

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.