In South Dakota, for instance, 90 percent are in non-nativehomes, and often removed from their families for questionable reasons, according to an NPR investigation. The family's attorneys argued before the state court of appeals to reverse a lower court ruling that removed the 6-year-old, but no decision was made. Because of the 'Indian Child Welfare Act' - a federal law passed in the 1970's aimed to protect the best interests of Native American children - she must live with Native American parents and will be placed with her father's relatives. Mr. VIDEO: Rusty Page of Santa Clarita speaks about DCFS placing foster daughter Lexi, 6, in Utah, Philip Browning, director of the DCFS, said the law does not allow him to comment on details regarding specific children. By Joshua St. Clair Published: Feb 20, 2022. 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The child, Lexi, sobbed, clinging to her foster father Rusty Page as he reluctantly fought through a crowd to hand the child over to the Department of Children and Families inSanta Clarita. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. This fact makes it hard to understand the Choctaws recent statement: ICWA requires Lexi be given the chance to grow up with her family, with her sisters. What was their motivation 2-3 years ago when Lexis paternal siblings were NOT with the family in Utah, but instead in LA County? The Choctaw tribe has decided to place Lexi with extended relatives in Utah, who are not Native Americans and will not be living on the reservation. Brenda speaks Spanish, Hebrew and intermediate Arabic and is the recipient of national, state and regional awards, including a National Headliners Award and one from the Associated Press News Executives' Council. Other children in their home sobbed and screeched. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations. (Page 7), At the time of the first appeal, Lexi had already lived with the Ps for 2.5 years. This violated, among other principles, those of federalism: Congress thereby reduced the right of states to enforce laws on child welfare. The horrible crash happened Monday afternoon just after 3:30 p.m. in an area of rural Collinsville near North Bluff Road. subscription. I was explaining to him that the women "give it up" much easier than in his day, and do shit ya didn't even talk about back then as a matter of of course. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Select stories from the Monitor that empower and uplift. In the power struggles that took place after colonization, the Choctaw were generally allied with the French against the English, the Chickasaw, and other Native American tribes. Minneapolis's innovative attempt to help homeless kids, Don't arrest teen prostitutes, LA County says. Their most important community ritual was the Busk, or Green Corn, festival, a first-fruits and new-fire rite celebrated at midsummer. During 1832 and 1833 about five thousand more Choctaw arrived. Lexis father himself is enrolled with the Choctaw Nation, but was not aware of it; according to court documents, Lexi is 1/64 Choctaw. May 21, 2022 . On March 9, Rusty and Summer Page appealed afamily courts decision to send Lexitolive with her Utah relatives, and the court granted a temporary stay, the familys attorney,Lori Alvino McGill, told The Post. 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., VIDEO: Lexi, who is part Choctaw, is taken away from her foster family in Santa Clarita. Lexi's father himself is enrolled with the Choctaw Nation, but was not aware of it; according to court documents, Lexi is 1/64 Choctaw. you are agreeing to our, One month free trial to theMonitorDaily, How these HBCU presidents fixed their colleges financial futures. Despite ICWA, nativechildren in state custody are often placed with non-Native families. At issue is the Indian . Lexi is 1.5% Choctaw, Fox 11 reported. 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. Because the ICWA allows a child to be yanked from a non-Indian foster home and from possible adoption it discourages non-Native American adults from providing care, including early infant attachment, which is a foundation of healthy child development. The unnecessary mentions of her 1/64th Choctaw ancestry were regurgitated like standards written on a chalkboard, and when 1/64th transformed into 1.5% that was regurgitated by supporters as well. (Page 10), The Pages were granted De Facto status in 2013, giving them a voice in the court. The couples appeal argues that that decision erroneously applied the clear and convincing standard of proof, rather than preponderance of the evidence.. We are extremely disappointed that (L.A. Countys Department of Children and Family Services) would remove this little girl from her home while our appeal is pending, she said. Meanwhile, the foster familys attorney, Lori Alvino McGill, said family intends to file a petition in the California Supreme Court imminently to keep Lexi in the state. This is going to destroy these children,' Tari Kelly, Lexi's foster grandmother, told ABC 7. Real news, real hope. Lexi is 1/64 Choctaw Indian, meaning she falls under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which "seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families," according to the National . The very people that are supposed to be advocates for kids are hurting them.. The emotionally wrought moment on Monday afternoon was an end for now to a longlegal battle between a Southern California foster family, which saysit has become a real one to Lexi, and the girls extended family, which intends togive her a lifemany miles away. Brenda Gazzar is a multilingual multimedia reporter who has worked for a variety of news outlets in California and in the Middle East since 2000. After 21 years as a member of Steel Panther, this is the real story behind why Lexxi Foxx is no longer part of the group. Were known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspapers founding in 1908. Were the bran muffin of journalism. But 6-year-old Lexi's foster family says the application of the law in her case robs her of the 'only family that she has ever known.'. They are not strangers in any way, shape or form.. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The custody battle over a 6-year-old girl heated up on Friday, as a state appeals court heard arguments from both sides. The tribe and parents or Indian custodian of the Indian child have an unqualified right to intervene in a case involving foster care placement or the termination of parental rights . Rusty Page was somber and quiet as he held his foster child for perhaps the final time. Even as Lexi continues to bounce back and forth through the legal system, Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School, said she may be gone for good from California, telling the Associated Press that once a Native American child has been placed with aNative American family, it is unlikely that the child will be returned. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. 'And we will, with very heavy hearts, comply with the order and we'll be waiting here for them to come take her,' Rusty said. The legal fight for Lexi began four years ago, after relatives of the girls biological father, who is Native American, petitioned his Choctaw Indian tribe and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to challenge the Pages' temporary custody of Lexi. Im scared. Images of foster father Rusty Page clutching 6-year-old Lexi left an indelible mark when the L.A. County Your session to The Christian 19802023 The Christian Science Monitor. Lexi's paternal grandmother alerted the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services that her son was a member of the Choctaw tribe, but the tribe agreed to her placement at the time. Our work isn't possible without your support. The Indian Child Welfare Act is meant to help tribes keep children in tribal homes where they can learn about their culture. On Monday morning, a crowd of more than 50 people holding signs and singing hymns still stood in solidarity with the Page family. (Page 28). The law, passed in the 1970s, aims to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families.. And we can prove it.. — -- A Santa Clarita, California, family is living its worst nightmare. One of my dearest friends is a 71 year old man. remanded) to the lower court. The National Indian Child Welfare Association told the Los Angeles Daily Newsthat it was disturbed by the recent negative media attention surrounding the attempted reunification of a child with her family in Utah., 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 (ICWA), and who has relatives who were willing to raise her if reunification with her father was unsuccessful, the organization said in a statement. She said, Dont let them take me. He lived near the Pages, so the tribe agreed to place Lexi there. The Pages' legal team sent this statement to ABC News: What happened [Monday] should never happen, to any child. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . Article continues below advertisement. Advocates say that those decades of broken traditions and communities contribute to the challenges nativegroups face in the 21st century, when tribes still suffer from disproportionate poverty. Lexis attorney, for no reason given, removed her opposition to Lexis move to Utah. The Choctaw Nation sent the following statement to ABC News: We appreciate the concern for Lexi and want to assure everyone she is in a safe, loving home with her relatives and her biological sisters," the statement said. Dont miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House. Steve Tolopio, who attends Grace Community Church in Sun Valley where the Page family attends, said the foster family is all Lexi has known. They are not strangers. Lexi is also one sixty-fourth Choctaw, and last week she became the latest flash point in a long-running dispute over child welfare and Native American tribal identity. "What happened . A central issue stems from Lexis heritage, which has stirred up questions about which family is best suited to raise her. Declan was 5 in 2007 when he was beaten to death by his mothers live-in boyfriend. Choctaw, North American Indian tribe of Muskogean linguistic stock that traditionally lived in what is now southeastern Mississippi. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has asked, Is it one drop of blood that triggers all these extraordinary rights? Indeed, the primitive concept of racial blood, recast as DNA, triggers tribal rights and extinguishes a states right to protect many childrens rights. Attorneys for the Choctaw Nation did not want to speak to Eyewitness News on camera and maintained that Lexi is with loving family in Utah. Heimov told the Daily News thatLexi has one sister who lives with the relatives in Utah and another sister who will livenearby. If the Court of Appeals & California Supreme Court does not rule in favor of Lexi, the Page family will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to address the federal issues engrossing this case. The Pages were under specific orders not to tell the children about Lexi's removal. The Pages have been fighting that decision for several years, and want to adopt Lexi, but an appeals court found they "had not proven by clear and convincing evidence that it was a certainty the child would suffer emotional harm by the transfer." Through this healing, Lexi formed a strong primary bond and attachment with the entire family, viewing them as Mommy, Daddy and siblings. The Choctaw Trail of Tears was the attempted ethnic cleansing and relocation by the United States government of the Choctaw Nation from their country, referred to now as the Deep South (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana), to lands west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory in the 1830s by the United States government. Not under ICWA. They have come to Santa Clarita about once a month and they Skype about once a week. The tribal authorities decided that Lexi will live in Utah . She will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. Lexi was originally removed from her parents care at 17 months. Because of the 'Indian Child Welfare Act' - a federal law passed in the 1970's aimed to . Lexi's family are considering their next steps after they say Horizon refused to hand over her health records. What happened yesterday should never happen . (Page 8), It was not until after reunification services that the Pages began to pursue adoption, that was when the DCFS social worker first brought up the family in Utah. Several nations in Ohio signed treaties requiring removal from the state, including the Seneca, Shawnee, and Ottawa. 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