The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments tomorrow on the most significant challenge to a law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children. The outcome could undercut the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. It was enacted in response to the alarming rate at which Native American and Alaska Native children were taken from their homes by public and private entities. Tribal leaders have long championed the law as a way to preserve Native families, traditions and cultures. Three white families, Texas and a small number of states claim the law is race-based and unconstitutional.
On this election day, when many narratives can be contentious and divisive… WHY THE WHITE BUFFALO IS A SACRED SYMBOL TO THE LAKOTA is still news to many across our nation…and The American Indian College Fund is recognizing the creation story of the great white buffalo, how it stretches back generations, and how it originated among the Lakota people. Many years ago, the Lakota people came together for their ceremonial meeting of the seven sacred council fires. It turned out to be a treacherous and barren summer, and the tribes found themselves wanting for food with little hope in sight. Then, after two young men volunteered to venture off into the wilderness in search of game, they found themselves face-to-face with an unlikely traveler. The traveler, a beautiful young woman clad entirely in white, advised them to “return to your people” and await her arrival. Soon after, she appeared before the multitude of starving Lakota people and presented them with a sacred pipe. She taught them of the world’s mysteries, the interconnectivity of all things both living and dead, and of life’s unequivocal righteousness…a reminder that our story remains the same even during times of political divide. Polls opened today at 7 am Mountain Standard Time and will close at 7 PM…mountain standard time.