Legal and Ethical Issues

Articles

Guiding Principles for Engaging in Research With Native American Communities

This document was created through community collaboration alongside active tribal members to provide guidelines for challenges, processes, and responsibilities within research relationships involving Indigenous populations. It highlights eleven guidelines of ethically and legally responsible research with case vignettes and discussion questions for each principle. It includes a graphic nonlinear representation of the intersecting principles and the core values of Native-centered research, respect, integrity, and community relevance.

Kumeyaay Oral Tradition, Cultural Identity, and Language Revitalization

This article interweaves several competency areas as it describes research implications of Native languages. Authors conducted research with six different dialects in Kumeyaay communities of Mexico. It addresses the importance of considering the study’s effects on language revitalization efforts and prioritizing the community’s values and decisions about access and future use of any collected texts. Every language and dialect is unique and each community has different ideologies when it comes to lexical variation and language revitalization.

National Association of School Psychologists Position Statement: Effective Service Delivery for Indigenous Children, Youth, Families, and Communities

NASP has created a contextual and conceptual framework for best practice for School Psychologists working with Indigenous populations. They create a graphic, non-linear image with all intersectional aspects of service delivery for Indigenous students. They recognize culture and identity at the core and provide guidelines and considerations for the spiritual, cognitive–academic, social–emotional–behavioral, and physical development of Indigenous youth. This is a crucial standard for understanding ethical and legal standards when working with Indigenous communities.

Native American Sovereignty (DRAFT)

This article draft creates a portrait of Native American sovereignty and its relationships to identity and schooling. It addresses the NASP Indigenous Conceptual Framework, histories of treaties and sovereignty, and direct examples of how it comes into play at school (American Indian Religious Freedom Act and ICWA). The article also goes deeper than the procedural legal and ethical definitions of sovereignty and explores the indigenous, soulful, identity-centered meaning of tribal sovereignty. The discussion centers around implications for school psychologists but scholars have found it supports their understanding of how these concepts affect Native students, school policies, and all educators working with indigenous youth.

Parent Voices American Indian: Relationships With Schools

This article portrays an extensive narrative of Native American parents’ thoughts and perceptions about educational issues in tribally controlled schools, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and public schools. Parents' answers are compared and patterns are examined across different educational settings. Many parents’ responses indicated concerns around cultural awareness, how school personnel are selected, lack of Native school faculty members, and concern about the use and reporting of allocated funds for Native students. The article offered insight to many scholars about the importance of ethical and legal issues such as Title VII and Johnson O’ Malley with regards to parent trust and relationships with schooling.

Society of Indian Psychologists: Commentary on The American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct

This commentary discusses shortcomings and necessary changes for the APA code to effectively address a lack of competence and cultural awareness in the field of psychology. Many members of the group share personal stories and actively engage in a written dialogue between their experiences and the written code of ethics. It is an extensive critique of the code in relation to Native communities and brings culture to the forefront of ethics in psychology.

The Impact of High-Stakes Accountability Policies on Native American Learners: Evidence from Research

This article addresses the effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002 on Native American students. It considers the profile of Native students, tribal sovereignty, student achievement, and Indigenous-specific issues of high-stakes testing. While offering goals of closing achievement gaps and strengthening accountability for all students, NCLB has become known as a highly problematic system. The article goes in depth into how the Act works, what the research shows for Native students, and alternative policies and recommendations for reform.

The Principled Conduct of Counseling Research with Ethnocultural Populations

This chapter presents critical issues to advocate for ethical and moral decision making in mental health research that also reflect the unique, sociocultural realities of ethnocultural communities. It highlights the issues and harmful outcomes of culturally insensitive and inconsiderate research practices. Trimble also gives special attention to ways in which communities have created protections against harmful Western research such as creating community research review boards.

Documents and Websites

California Social Work Education Center Statement on ICWA

This one page letter is a response from CalSWEC to address the court case Brackeen et al., v. Zinke. They describe their stance on the importance, implications, and legality of ICWA in their practice and philosophy.

Following the Spirit of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

This article is a quick, accessible guide with lists of historical background information, concrete actions for best practice with ICWA, and benefits for children of federally recognized and unrecognized tribes. It also includes a few additional tips for professional practice and resources.

ICWA Guide for Tribal Governments and Leaders

This website offers in-depth resources for scholars to get a better understanding of ICWA including a full, online version of “A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act”. There are a wide variety of introductions, overviews, and comprehensive guidelines for practitioners working with ICWA. Scholars have found this website helpful when working ICWA into their knowledge of child welfare cases and creating more confidence to use the knowledge in their practice.

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-63)

This website is rich with information, policies, and histories of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The federal law was created to protect the disproportionately high number of Native children being removed from their homes and reservations by private and public agencies. The website offers policies of the seven major components of ICWA, past supreme court cases, federal reports and regulations, and additional resources that include national organizations which address ICWA. This resource is helpful for scholars to understand legal and ethical implications of ICWA.

Johnson O’Malley Program-Fact Sheet

If looking for a brief overview of the Johnson O-Malley Act of 1934, this website is a good resource. It includes eligibility criteria, organization of funds, educational plan components, and additional websites to find more in depth information.

Cherokee Nation Johnson O’Malley Program-Fact Sheet

This website includes a fact sheet created by the Cherokee nation about the basics of the Johnson O-Malley Act of 1934. It offers an overview and many frequently asked questions about the program that are relevant to parents and educators.

Mt. Empire Title VII Policy

This fact sheet reviews policies and procedures for the organization of Title VII funds in a local context (Mt. Empire School District). It specifies collaboration with Tribal Offices and Native American families, communication guidelines, transparency of funding and programs, program evaluations, assessments of community input in decision making, etc. Scholars find it useful in examining more detailed views of the federal government program and the functionality of Title VII in schools. It has been helpful in conceptualizing how school policies affect trust, relationships, and resources for Native communities.

National Native Organizations Respond to Reply Briefs in Brackeen v. Bernhardt

This brief article outlines the constitutionality and benefit of the Indian Child Welfare Act for Native communities and children. It is written in the aftermath of the court case Brackeen v. Bernhardt which involved a foster care adoption case in which a family challenged the constitutionality of ICWA. The response also contains several resources of organizations who advocate for ICWA and provide legal assistance to Indigenous families.

Navajo Procedural Guidelines for Principal Investigators

This tribal protocol shows Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board’s policies and phases of review and approval process for research proposals within their community. It states all steps of research will be presented and reviewed by the NNHRRB. The guidelines have given scholars a clear view of what the process can look like if research is done ethically and in direct collaboration with the Navajo Nation.

Social Work Practice Tips for Inquiry and Noticing: Reasons Why People Do Not Claim to Be American Indian

This article discusses the issue of hesitancy, reluctance, or lack of information when identifying as Native American. This could have implications for social workers providing resources and representation through ICWA. The guide is a quick, accessible guide to recognize responses and effectively inquire about Indigenous identity. Understanding this issue can help ensure appropriate allocation of resources and legal and ethical uses of ICWA.

Texas v. Zinke Summary

This summary provides steps and phases of different stories within the Texas v. Zinke case as it pertained to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Texas v. Zinke includes cases regarding non-Native families who filed for adoption of Indigenous foster youth. The summary includes details of cases, legalities, claims, motions to dismiss, complaints, and tribal motions for intervention. The information shows how ICWA can affect and protect child welfare cases involving Indigenous youth.

Title VII: The Indian Education Program-Fact Sheet

This is a brief overview of Title VII in California public schools. It includes how schools receive funding, how much support they receive based on formula grants, and how these resources are allocated for their Native American students. Scholars find it a useful introduction to considering resources and relationships between the federal government, public schools, and Native American youth.

Turtle Mt. Chippewa Indians Research Protection Act

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians claim their inherent, sovereign right to protect environmental resources, traditional knowledge, and cultural resources from Western research. The protection act details the tribe’s review board, their policies, and strict regulations under the guiding principles of research with their peoples’. The tribe’s commentary on values of wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, and humility in conjunction with specific principles and procedures for research proposals in their community has been informative for scholars learning about ethics and issues in indigenous research.

United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

This document is filled with principles and rights written by the United Nations followed by 46 articles of their relationship to the rights of indigenous peoples’. It touches on many Native American issues in ethical and legal codes. Their statements are comprehensive and include but are not limited to rights of self-determination, integrity, revitalization, spirituality, and health practices.

Videos and Presentations

FACES: Implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act

This brief documentary describes the Indian Child Welfare Act in the field and what resources the mandates offer Native children. It illustrates the importance of identifying Native children in child welfare cases in the context of tribal connection, culturally responsive services and relationships, identity, and resilience. It has provided scholars with implementation and recommendations when working with ICWA in the school setting.

Historical Trauma and the Indian Child Welfare Act PowerPoint

This presentation goes in depth into historical implications and the spirit of ICWA in the aftermath of trauma and genocide in California. It discusses tribal sovereignty, California history, and events leading up to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Presenters include concepts of cultural resilience, survivance, and hope for the seventh generation. There are many additional resources embedded throughout the slides such as websites, webinars, and articles for more in-depth information about slide topics. Through exploring the presentation, scholars have experienced deeper realization of the importance of trauma-informed practices, historical contexts of ICWA, and the relationships between ICWA and tribal sovereignty.

History and Spirit of the Indian Child Welfare Act

This webinar introduces histories of Native communities and the federal government, forced removal and assimilation in education, and genocide. The presenter explores intergenerational trauma of the boarding school era affecting Native families’ relationships, mental health, and access to resources. He demonstrates how important tribal visibility, presence, and representation are in child welfare cases. The presenters use stories, studies, and national reports to give further information. The webinar illustrates new and personal perspectives for scholars when learning deeper meanings and implications of ICWA.