Native and Indigenous children on Tribal lands and in urban areas, like all kids, deserve protection.
That simply hasn’t been the case in the United States. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, the U.S. government ripped Native children away from their families and communities. Students were renamed, forbidden from speaking their Native languages, forced to convert to Christianity, and pressured to give up cultural practices. Abuse and neglect were commonplace.
That history lives on today and the promise to protect Indigenous children remains broken — but that can change. Just weeks ago, with a huge bipartisan vote, the House stepped toward a new vision by passing the Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA).
The NACPA aims to update and enhance programs that provide Tribes and Native communities with the resources necessary to address family violence, safeguard children from abuse and neglect, and uphold justice for Native families and their children by:
- Creating a National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center that will provide technical assistance and training to Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native urban organizations.
- Requiring the development of model intergovernmental agreements between Tribes and states to prevent, investigate, treat, and prosecute family violence.
- Revising the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Program to allow funding to be used for additional activities such as operational costs for child protective services.
- Including Native urban organizations as eligible entities and encouraging culturally appropriate treatment services and programs.
Legislation like this is long overdue and urgently needed. While we cannot change the past, we DO have the power to shape the future. Speaking out now can help build the momentum needed to pass this bill and send it to the President’s desk.
