The Senate Public Health and Human Safety Committee heard House Bill 317, which would create the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act and reinforce protections for the state’s Native children by prioritizing tribal involvement in the state’s child placement processes. The bill is under consideration as the federal Indian Child Welfare Act is challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court by non-Native guardians pursuing adoption of Native children and claiming that ICWA is unconstitutional on the basis of racial inequity.
Author Archives: JoVonne Wagner
JoVonne Wagner is a member of the Blackfeet Nation located in Northwestern Montana. She was born and raised on the reservation, where she says she experienced and lived through all the amazing things about her home, but also witnessed all the negative aspects of rez life. Wagner is an alumni of NPR'S Next Generation Radio. JoVonne interned for Buffalo's Fire and she recently graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism.
