A federal judge in Texas ruled the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, saying it is racially motivated and violates the equal protection clause. She has woken up in their home every Christmas morning she can remember, and she has grown up over the past four years with three siblings who are her best friends and playmates. Lexi is a 6-year-old girl from California who has spent the the majority of her life in a loving home - a home that she wanted to be her forever home. ", The Choctaw Nation said it "desires the best for this Choctaw child.". These relatives have been a part of Lexi's life for almost five years. Official Statement from Lori Alvino-McGill representing The Page Family's Legal Team. They were able to adopt the boy in January 2018 after the placement fell through. Alexa suffered injuries on her face. Lexi lived four of her first six years with a non-Native American California foster family, but because she . The Pages said they had not spoken with Lexi since she was removed from their home and continue to asked her relatives in Utah to allow communication. The law was designed to help Native American families remain intact. The problem that is that there are so many variables, says Adam Pertman, president of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency, a nonprofit devoted to issues of adoption and child welfare that has not taken a public position on Lexis case. Associated Press, Parents whose foster daughter, six, was ripped from them because she is part Native American and they are white, appeal case to Californias Supreme Court as they hit out at 'an outrageous abuse of power', EXCLUSIVE: Biological father of six-year-old girl torn from foster parents because she is part Native American is a violent drug criminal who bragged of 'white supremacist friends', EXCLUSIVE - 'Please do the right thing and send our daughter home': Heartbroken white foster parents of girl, six, seized for being 1/64th Native American plead with new 'family' to return her to the only home she's ever known, 'Food isn't worth eating. Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, had asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a Los Angeles juvenile courts ruling that there was no good cause to depart from the placement preferences in the Indian Child Welfare Act. Foster care is a much-needed temporary service provided for children until the child can be returned to the care of his or her family. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of a Santa Clarita family fighting to regain custody of a 6-year-old foster girl.
Lexi, who is 1/64th Native American, was 17 months old when she was removed from the of her birth parents. The bottom line is that children subject to ICWA are second-class citizens, by law. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Attorneys general in Texas, Indiana and Louisiana joined in suing the federal government over the Indian Child Welfare Act in 2017. She was taken by the Department of Children and Families in Santa Clarita and placed with relatives of her father in Utah. "To Lexi this family is her everything . By
Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. The state Supreme Court declined to review the case, clearing the way for the family to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Relatives are relatives.. "The issue is not what degree of Choctaw ancestry a child has," Singel said. The case was one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. In the meantime, our clients hope that the family in Utah will follow through on their promise to keep Lexi in contact with her family in Los Angeles. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio. The case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. The result here is all the more senseless because placing Lexi with her non-Indian extended family members does nothing to further ICWA's purpose of keeping children connected to their tribes. The following statement reflects the Choctaw Nation's position on the case of Lexi. The emotional scene played out on a Facebook live stream watched by more that 1,000 people which showed a teary child, wearing a pink shirt and grasping a teddy bear while Rusty Page carried her out of the home and loaded into a black sedan as his wife wailed I love you Lexi from the driveway. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The foster parents spoke out Thursday morning during a news conference in front of the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles, just a day after the California Supreme Court refused to intervene in their battle over Lexi, who is part Choctaw. ", The Choctaw Nation said it "desires the best for this Choctaw child.". The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who has lived with them since she was 2. Previously, Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California said: 'The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together. All Rights Reserved. In an official statement (via TVLine), Leigh shared she made the decision that season 8 was going to be her last, and along with Rhimes, they worked to "give Lexie's story appropriate . Distraught and weeping, Page shared his foster daughter's parting words with CBS Los Angeles: "Don't let them take me. July 8, 2016 / 10:41 PM The case brought dozens of people to the Pages' Santa Clarita neighborhood to demonstrate against plans to move Lexi. Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. Every time Zoe, whos the youngest, hears the doorbell she says Lexis home, he says. When the federal law was enacted, studies showed up to one-third of Native American children were being taken from their homes by private and state agencies, including church-run programs, and placed with mostly white families or in boarding schools. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Thousandsnearly one-third of the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and disease on the more than 500-mile journey. The boy's parents voluntarily terminated their parental rights, and the Brackeens petitioned to adopt him. You have reached your limit of free articles. Her . Lexi can remain where she. Our family is so incredibly devastated, Rusty Page said in a video statement. The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her fathers extended family in Utah. Since then, Lexi has celebrated four birthdays with the Page family. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Lexi's foster dad, Rusty, sobs after she is driven away March 21, 2016 in Santa Clarita, Calif. Schools on Native American reservations in state of disrepair, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect. Remember that LA County placed this little girl in foster care with our clients after she had suffered two years of neglect and abuse. In March, Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear as Rusty Page carried her out of his home and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The expansion of Anglo-American settlement into the Trans-Appalachian west led to the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, forcing all eastern tribal nations to move to new homelands west of the Mississippi River in the Indian Territory. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. She was placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to keep Native American families together. "The foster family was well aware years ago this girl is an Indian child, whose case is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act," the National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement. Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday, March 21, 2016 as Rusty Page carried her out of his Santa Clarita home and social workers whisked her away. The Page family spoke out during a news conference a day after the California Supreme Court refused to intervene in their custody battle over Lexi. The placement preferences are just that -- preferences-- and they apply only when a child is in need of a placement. She said unlike her, 11-year-old Riley is growing up on the reservation and learning about traditional medicine and a culture that includes hunting and fishing. Because Lexi is 1.5% Native American, the Choctaw Tribe was able to completely tear apart Lexi's life due to an egregious misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Read More Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. A Santa Clarita family appealed to California's highest court to keep a 6-year-old foster child who was removed from their home and sent to live with relatives in Utah. Please help #bringlexihome The Pages and their attorneys believe the ICWA forced the countys hand, requiring them to take Lexi away from a loving home with foster parents and siblings she considers family. She was reunited with her biological sister in the home but none of the family members are Native American. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. Dozens of cases involving foster families have gone to court around the country after the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. Magazines, Digital Fiona Morgan. "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. Last March, she was taken from her foster home near Los Angeles, and a state appeals court in July upheld the girl's removal from the Page home. Please respect the privacy of Lexi and her family. Rusty Page told CBS News Radio station KNX-AM. BY LORELEI LAIRD January 11, 2017 www.abajournal.com. The California court appointed a marriage and family therapist to perform a child custody evaluation to assess the mental health and parenting practices of both parties. The experts along with Lexi's long-time individual therapists, her social worker and her attorney, all agree it is in her best interest to be with her relatives. Hernandez is a plaintiff in the case. Associated Press
The Pages' lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, said she plans to take the case as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. Rusty Page carries Lexi while Summer Page, in the background, cries as members of family services, left, arrive to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., on March 21. Reading ICWA to demand this tragic result is inconsistent with Lexi's constitutional right to stability and permanence-- a right recognized by the California Supreme Court more than twenty years ago. Dave Grohl Hauls Big BBQ Smoker to LA Shelter to Feed People Amid Storm, 5 Freeway Closed North of LA Due to Snow and Poor Visibility, Avalanche Blocks Road in Mount Baldy Area After Cold Storm Drops Several Feet of Snow, 2 Arrested in Stabbing Death of Father on Downtown LA Street, March 1983: The Day a Rare Tornado Rampaged Through Los Angeles. We are appealing the decision, and we have asked the state Supreme Court to step in and halt this hasty change in custody before it causes irreparable harm. Santa Clarita, Calif., March 21, 2016, PEZ Cancels Easter Egg Hunt After Parents Cause Huge 'Mess', How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations. The states say the law is discriminatory, and the federal government has no right to tell states how to regulate child welfare cases. What happened yesterday should never happen, to any child. Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being removed from their Indian homes and placed in non-Indian homes, with presumably the absence of Indian culture. Removal 1830-1862. The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her father's extended family in Utah. Their attorney argued the lower court made an error by failing to take into account Lexi's bond with her foster parents and siblings. The law allows states to deviate from placement preferences when there is "good cause." Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. "There's no doubt in my mind that what happened to Lexi should have never occurred," said Lauren Axline, a former foster care worked who handled Lexi's case in the past. Chyler Grey starred in Grey's Anatomy on ABC from 2007 until 2012. . This button displays the currently selected search type. Lexi entered foster care because her biological parents had substance abuse problems and a criminal record, and the relatives in Utah are related to her through her step-grandfather. Lexi, who is 1.5 percent, or 1/64 Choctaw, was six years old when she was taken from her foster home near Los Angeles in a tearful parting last March. The result here is all the more senseless because placing Lexi with her non-Indian extended family members does nothing to further ICWA's purpose of keeping children connected to their tribes. We told her we loved her and were fighting for her and well never stop fighting for her., Then, as can be seen in a video that soon went viral, he handed-over a crying Lexi as her foster mother Summer Page and three siblings sobbed in front of the house. The wrenching dispute echoes themes of the 2013 Baby Veronica case, in which an adoptive family sued for custody of a young Cherokee girl after her biological father renounced paternal rights. The family has been waiting for five years for all of them to be together. Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com. Many Native American families have stories about loved ones who disappeared and never returned. A 6-year-old girl was removed from the California home of the foster family she has lived with for four years because she has a tiny sliver of Native American heritage despite resistance from her foster parents and their tens of thousands of supporters. . The legal fight has gone on for years. The child ultimately was placed with her maternal grandmother, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Remember that LA County placed this little girl in foster care with our clients after she had suffered two years of neglect and abuse. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. In their petition, the Pages argued that the lower court misapplied the standard of review for good cause to depart from ICWA, but also that ICWA should not apply to children who had never been part of an American Indian family. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. The Removal Act that President Andrew Jackson pressed through Congress becomes a reality as the Choctaw are forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (which is now known as Oklahoma). The law, passed in 1978, outlines federal requirements that apply to state custody proceedings that involve a child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. Once a child is placed with a Native American family, it is highly unlikely that the decision would be reversed, he added. Under the transfer, Lexi will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. The case was decided in the California court system three separate times, with three different trial court judges ruling in favor of Lexi's relatives in Utah. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. Regardless of tribal membership, Lexi should be allowed to live with her family, just as all children in any deprived case should.. About a dozen states have similar laws, some of which expand the definition, said Sarah Kastelic, director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Because Lexi is 1.5% Native American, the Choctaw Tribe was able to completely tear apart Lexis life due to an egregious misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. In 2011, extended family in Utah became aware that Lexi was with a foster family and expressed interest in adopting her, according to the documents. The Pages were always aware of this goal. Lexi was taken from the Page home on Monday afternoon, Armand Montiel, a public affairs director with LA DCFS, told NBC News. They say tribes are a political classification, not a racial one, and overturning the Indian Child Welfare Act would lead to untold damage in tribal communities. Like many of her teammates, Lexi had left Navarro College by the time Daytona 2021 took place. McGill also requested that custody of the child named Lexi be returned to Rusty and Summer Page until the appeal is decided. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems, and placed in foster care. Lexi is now living in Utah with relatives of her father who are not Native Americans. Where is Lexi page now? Her mother had substance abuse problems, and her father had a criminal history, according to court records. In the days after losing their legal battle, the Pages addressed an online petition called Keep Lexi Home to several California and LA DCFS officials. There is a 6-year-old little girl who is going to be ripped away from the only family that she has ever known. Tribes and tribal advocates say Native American children are still separated from their families at rates higher than the general population, and the law helps them stay connected to their tribes, relatives and culture. . The tribe at first said she wasn't eligible for membership but later reversed course. The Pages have appealed the case to the California Supreme Court. The Utah family had never met Lexi at that time; and the tribe agreed there was good cause to depart from ICWA's placement preferences. ICWA gives a higher preference to family members seeking to adopt, as does California law. (TR Knight) in a December 2020 episode. Oak Lawn police officer charged after teen's violent arrest, ABC7 Chicago says farewell to Meteorologist Phil Schwarz, Kitchen Possible empowers kids in Chicago. The foster family understood this. But 6-year-old Lexi's foster family says the application of the law in . Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com
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