The Biden administration has reauthorized the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA.
Before ICWA was passed in 1978, 85 percent of Indigenous children going into foster care ended up in non-Native homes.
But the law changed that, by prioritizing placing Native adoptees with Native families.
Trisha Rivers works for Great Plains Action Society in Sioux City, which advocates for Native foster placements. Being adopted herself, she recognizes how important it is to stay connected to her heritage.
“It feels like I fit somewhere, even though I do still struggle with, you know, like I didn't grow up on the reservation. But I do feel a part of the tribe, and it really makes me feel great,” Rivers said.
Rivers says the law helps prevent the trauma caused by forced removals.
In other news related to Native people, a flag representing the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is being displayed in the South Dakota Capitol rotunda following the tribe’s announcement it is lifting its ban against Governor Kristi Noem.
In a Jan. 14 letter to Noem, President Anthony Reider said the Republican governor met one of their stipulations contained in the banishment resolution, which was an apology.
"One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children, which were deemed offensive by some," Reider wrote.
Reider said Noem, “not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated."
A spokesperson for the governor’s office said multiple tribal members attended those meetings.
Flandreau’s flag is the first to be displayed in the Capitol since the Rosebud and Standing Rock tribes removed their flags last year following Noem’s comments.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal president wished Noem luck ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. That hearing takes place Friday morning.
*In other news, Governor Jim Pillen has proposed to cut state spending, as lawmakers continue to say they understand the 2025 session will involve a tight budget reality.
In his State of the State speech on Wednesday, Pillen highlighted his priorities and reflected on his recent serious horseback riding accident.
To close a projected $433 million budget shortfall, Pillen is proposing to cut state spending by half a percent over the next two years. He would scale back many programs that, with an influx of federal funds, were expanded in recent years.
State Senator Rob Clements, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, praised Pillen’s approach, saying that it avoids drastic cuts.
Some of the proposed savings would come from the Department of Health and Human Services. For example, the budget proposal would take back $4.5 million a year in funding for the state’s public health departments, leaving them with about $7 million a year instead of more than $11 million.
Senator Terrell McKinney expressed concern about the real-world impact of some proposed budget cuts to DHHS and other places.
Pillen is also proposing to cut University of Nebraska operating funds by $14 million a year, a 2 percent cut.
His proposal would also scale back funding for water projects previously approved.
*Additionally, Iowa hospitals are seeing an increase in respiratory virus cases in the post-holiday season.
Emergency room visits for respiratory virus symptoms have increased across Iowa in the past few weeks. That’s according to data from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
Aneesa Afroze is an infectious disease consultant with MercyOne in Des Moines. She said MercyOne ERs have seen more patients with the flu, COVID-19, and RSV. But Afroze anticipates cases will drop as we move further away from the holiday period.
“I am hoping based on incubation periods and stuff like that of respiratory viruses, this is probably our highest or maybe for another few days or a week or so,” Afroze said.
Afroze says Iowans should take precautions like staying home when they’re sick and getting vaccinated. And she says they should specifically avoid elderly and immunocompromised people who are at higher risk for getting seriously ill.
