It means if youre a foster family and if you have an Indian child, you should be terrified that your child could be taken at any time, says Mark Fiddler, a Minnesota attorney who represented the adoptive parents in the Baby Veronica case. By We, as a tribe, are required to follow federal law. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 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. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. But a decision earlier this month ordered the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LA DCFS) to place Lexi with the Utah family in accordance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, the department said in response to inquiries about Lexi's case. A happy, thriving six-year-old girl was forcibly removed from the people she knows as her parents because of a terribly misguided interpretation of a federal law that was designed to keep families together, not tear them apart. Her father, who had a criminal history, never lived on a Choctaw reservation and didnt have any social, political, or cultural ties to the tribe, according to the court documents. Unlike other cases in Grey's Anatomy where the actors left due to behind-the-scenes problems, Chyler Leigh decided it was time to close Lexie's arc as she wanted to spend more time with her family. Lexi is now living in Utah with relatives of her father who are not Native Americans. But placement with family is always our priority. ###. "Fundamentally, the issue here is that the Indian Child Welfare Act subordinates individualized considerations of a child's best interest in favor of a blunt assumption that being placed with a tribe is going to be better for the tribe, and that's just demonstrably untrue," he said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. "While the past 10 days have been complete anguish for our family, there's no way our pain can compare to the confusion and disorientation that Lexi is experiencing," Rusty Page said. Lexi was placed with the Pages who have three other children in December 2011 after two unsuccessful foster homes, including one where she was taken out of because of a black eye and a scrape on her face, the court documents said. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Summer and Rusty Page say they "will never ever stop fighting for Lexi," their 6-year-old foster daughter who was taken from their Santa Clarita home and placed with relatives in Utah under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Shes visited them several times and has regular Skype calls with them, so theyre not strangers. To Lexi this family is her everything her mommy, daddy and brother and sisters. By Monday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition. On Thursday, in a statement to ABC7, the Choctaw Nation said, "We are pleased with the state Supreme Court's decision, but what is most important is that Lexi is settling into her new, loving home with her family. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. 2019 The Associated Press. July 8, 2016 / 10:41 PM Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, U.S. officials clashed over asylum restriction before Biden proposed it, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Transcript: CIA director William Burns on "Face the Nation," Feb. 26, 2023. They were also designed to give state courts flexibility to depart from the placement preferences where there is "good cause" to do so. And applying ICWA to children who had no prior connection to any tribe raises grave equal protection concerns, as the US Supreme Court recognized in 2013, in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. More than 20 states have joined hundreds of tribes, advocacy groups and the federal agency that oversees Indian affairs in urging an appellate judge to uphold the law. Group that started #KeepLexiHome is still outside praying/singing. Lexis only parent with Choctaw blood is her birth father, who never had custody of her. 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. 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. 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. She underwent her first surgery just last night but has been unable to sleep well because of the pain and the trauma. The tribe intervened and has identified three dozen possible placements. All rights reserved. They were also designed to give state courts flexibility to depart from the placement preferences where there is "good cause" to do so. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. Like many six-year-olds, shes obsessed with the animated super-dog Bolt, and she spends her weekends playing with her three foster siblings in the backyard of her foster parents home in Santa Clarita, CA. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. The law is very clear in California that family gets priority, she said. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship.". Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Inside the Agonizing Custody Fight Over Six-Year-Old Lexi. 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 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. And applying ICWA to children who had no prior connection to any tribe raises grave equal protection concerns, as the US Supreme Court recognized in 2013, in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. 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. The child ultimately was placed with her maternal grandmother, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Correction: The original version of this story misstated which of Lexis relatives in Utah are members of the Choctaw Nation. She has a broken nose, a cheekbone and also a hole in her jaw. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . In a statement, they said this case is not about politics. But other experts say that placing children with relatives is the goal of foster care and adoption, and even non-Indian kids are better off with relatives. Maldonado and her husband have an adopted son from a neighboring tribe. It's all about what can we do to get Lexi home': Heartbroken white foster parents of girl, six, seized for being 1/64th Native American beg new 'family' to return her, INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT - POLICIES AND REGULATIONS, King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Police: Urgent search for Constance Marten's missing baby, Shocking video shows machete fight in broad daylight, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', Pupils take to TikTok as they stage protest at Shenfield High School, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him, Moment supermarket cashier is attacked at work in New York, Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout. ", The Associated Press contributed to this report, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as she tries to avoid prison, New Topgolf facility opens next to Montebello Golf Course, Man stopped at Pa. airport with explosive concealed in checked luggage. "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. That case, Carter v. Washburn, is pending in Arizona federal court. 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. After leaving the boat, Lexi decided to completely leave the yachting industry. Removal 1830-1862. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records. ", The Choctaw Nation said it "desires the best for this Choctaw child.". You want the child to stay with relatives, especially when Native American questions are at hand, whenever possible. Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. Further complicating the matter is that no two adoption cases are alike, which can make legal rulings meant to apply broadly particularly fraught. "It coerces state agencies and courts to carry out unconstitutional and illegal federal policy, and it makes child custody decisions based on racial preferences," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said. 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. Chris Evans doxxed his own dick Tweet may have been deleted By accidentally leaking his own nude, Chris Evans gave us one of the only relatable celebrity moments of 2020. IE 11 is not supported. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. Read More 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 . The Librettis in Nevada arranged with a pregnant woman, Altagracia Hernandez, to adopt her unborn child. She is watching them drive off. Hernandez is a plaintiff in the case. Remember that LA County placed this little girl in foster care with our clients after she had suffered two years of neglect and abuse. The Pages said they will keep fighting for changes to the law 'and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act.'. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. You have reached your limit of free articles. 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. The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. 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. What happened yesterday should never happen, to any child. 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 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. She said Lexi and the Utah family had traded messages and had monthly visits during the past three years. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. Magazines, Digital 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. and I'm scared. Please help #bringlexihome The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. To court records, to any child. `` the White Earth Band of Ojibwe monthly. Are not Native Americans tribe in question or eligible for citizenship. what happened to lexi choctaw 2020 love nurturing. So theyre not strangers '' Heimov said during the past three years `` she received... The reuniting of Lexi with her maternal grandmother, a member of the pain and the Utah had... 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