Southeastern Connecticut’s Indian tribes hailed Friday a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, whose provisions the Connecticut legislature adopted as part of state law during the legislative session that ended last week.

State Sen. Cathy Osten, the Sprague Democrat whose district includes the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan reservations, also welcomed the high court’s 7-2 decision, issued Thursday, which she called “a big deal.”

Enacted in 1978, ICWA seeks to protect the rights and interests of Native American children, families and tribes in child custody cases, in part by preventing private agencies from separating Native children from their parents, extended families and communities. It provides guidance to states regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and adoption cases involving Native American children.

“This decision is a win for humanity and a recognition of the fact that tribal nations are sovereign and that they have the right to govern themselves, and that their citizens are a part of their nation,” Osten said in a statement. “We spelled it out in Connecticut, not knowing what the outcome of this Supreme Court decision would be.”

Osten first championed ICWA during the 2022 legislative session, during which the legislature passed a measure extending the federal law’s protections beyond the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to Connecticut’s three other state-recognized tribes, which lack federal recognition: the Eastern Pequots of North Stonington, the Schaghticokes of Kent and the Golden Hill Paugussetts of Colchester and Trumbull.

The follow-up bill passed unanimously by the House in May and by the Senate last week codified ICWA as part of state law.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Supreme Court decision stemmed from a lawsuit a white foster couple in Texas, Jennifer and Chad Brackeen, had filed against five Indian tribes and the U.S. Department of the Interior over the adoption of a Native American child. The department oversees tribal affairs.

Under ICWA, preference in such cases is given to Native American families, a policy the Brackeens said violated equal protection principles and discriminated against Native American children and the non-Native families who wanted to adopt them because it hinges on placement based on race, The Times reported.

The Supreme Court rejected the couple’s claims, asserting Congress’ authority to enact laws affecting tribes. Justices Samuel Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas dissented.

“The importance of the Brackeen decision cannot be overstated,” Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, said in a statement. “Alongside tribal nations across the United States, we celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Court’s recognition of the critical role that ICWA holds in protecting tribal children, families, communities, and cultures. ICWA was enacted to target shameful historic federal and state policies that encouraged the disproportionate and forced removal of Native American children from their homes and families. Such removals open the door to prolonged separation of Native children from tribal communities and cultures that can severely harm a child’s mental and physical well-being.”

“This victory offers important reminders about tribal sovereignty and the sacred nation-to-nation relationship between the United States and each tribal nation,” Butler said. “We also extend our sincere thanks to the Connecticut General Assembly for its recent affirmation of ICWA’s important policy goals and decision this session to codify ICWA’s provisions into Connecticut law.”

The Mohegan Tribe issued a statement through Chuck Bunnell, its chief of staff.

“Chairman (James) Gessner and the entire Mohegan Tribal Council applaud the recent Supreme Court decision affirming that tribal children, whenever possible, should be raised within their own tribe and their own culture,” the tribe said. “Each tribal nation has a unique and distinct culture that we should all work to protect and preserve as part of our human experience. The tribal council further appreciates the state of Connecticut’s recognition of this great importance in their recent passage of legislation to protect tribal families.”

Members of the Eastern Pequots, including Mitchel Ray, the tribe’s chairman, were early advocates of the ICWA bill Osten introduced in 2022. Ray spent his early childhood in foster homes before being adopted, and didn’t connect with his tribe until he was in his early 20s.

The Eastern Pequots continue to seek restoration of the federal recognition they enjoyed from 2002 to 2005, when the decision granting the recognition was reversed.

“Today is a good day for our people!” Ray wrote in an email. “This very important decision will ensure our tribal children and the next 7 generations will be among their families and not stripped away, as was the case with our land. I thank the Creator for this historic decision ― the rule of law has prevailed to protect our sovereignty.”

“We are grateful to Senator Cathy Osten for supporting this ICWA law by establishing an ICWA law here in Connecticut,” he wrote. “It allows us to begin important talks with DCF (state Department of Children and Families) that ensure our tribe and our children will be heard.”

Connecticut is among a number of states that have adopted ICWA partially or wholly into their own laws, including California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com