How Indigenous Activists On TikTok Brought National Attention To ICWA

Today, The U.S. Supreme Court voted to uphold the Indigenous Child Welfare Act (ICWA) after it was challenged by a family from Texas. The ruling comes after months of activists on TikTok fighting to raise awareness about the importance of the legislation. The law was first enacted 45 years ago, when an abundance of evidence of harm of indigenous children taken from their families surfaced. Many of these children were either placed in foster homes outside of their respective tribes, or forced into harmful Christian missionary educational institutions. ICWA protects indigenous children in need of foster placements by providing them with the option to be placed with other indigenous families.

The landmark ruling defied the odds for the marginalized indigenous community. In recent years, the now conservative-leaning supreme court struck down Roe v. Wade, which protected reproductive rights, and attempted to dismantle the Respect For Marriage Act, which protects same sex and interracial marriage. Secretary of The Interior Deb Haaland, who is an indigenous woman, continues to receive praise for her role in protecting ICWA.

The Voices Behind The ICWA Ruling

Indigenous people only make up approximately 2.9% of the U.S. population.The dwindling population is a result of the history of genocide against indigenous groups, and a lack of inclusive legislation until more recent decades. Missing and murdered indigenous women continue to lead the statistics as victims of crimes of violence against women. Gen Z and millennials are yet again leading the charge in spreading awareness of the issues that affect this community, and an ICWA strike down was one of the largest threats.

A TikTok user named Wagon Burner (@oodhamboiii) has attracted viral attention for their informative posts about Indigenous history and the impact of the ICWA ruling. Burner would additionally post daily updates regarding information on the Supreme Court leading up to the ICWA hearing.

Elsewhere, other indigenous activists share the stories of their own families’ trauma pre-ICWA. One woman shared that her mother was taken by Christian missionaries and endured an abusive childhood at their hands.

Today’s historic ruling marks an important turn towards the lengthy process of dismantling the systemic oppression that continues to affect American Indigenous peoples. The full ruling document on ICWA can be found here. 

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