Utah
The Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act. Will Utah lawmakers?
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SALT LAKE CITY — Tribal nations and allies in Utah, and beyond, applauded Thursday’s Supreme Court decision to uphold a federal law that gives them sovereignty over foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American children.
“To me that was that was a very big win,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said, adding that the vote “upholds tribal sovereignty, tribal self-determination and gives us the responsibility to dictate how we should take care of our own kids, makes sure that we can have our own fostering programs and makes sure that we can place Navajo kids within Navajo families, or extended families, so that they can be a lot closer to their culture.”
The court voted 7-2 in Haaland v. Brackeen to uphold the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which was passed after the widespread and systemic removal of Native American children from their families and tribes. Congressional reports found that about one-third of all Native children were removed prior to the act’s passage, with 85% being placed outside their families and communities — even when fit and willing relatives were available.
Bradley Parry, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone vice chairman, said the ruling was both exciting and a relief. He thanked Utah state officials for siding with tribes on the case, including by filing an amicus brief with 25 other states.
“They really picked up that fight in the federal court with the tribes and really took it forward,” Parry said. “Taking on and arguing our points and defending the tribes in their state at a federal level is enormous. I mean, that’s what a governor, attorney general and those guys should do. And they did it and we felt that. We felt that they had our backs.”
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said the decision “upholds the incalculable value of Native American children to tribal nations in Utah and across the country” and that the state will continue to champion tribal sovereignty.
“The court did not address all of the most difficult issues, but for now we are extremely pleased that our work serves to protect Native American families and protects their heritage,” the Utah Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.
Why hasn’t Utah passed state-level protections for Native kids?
Questions remain about whether the court’s decision regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act means the fight to codify the same protections in Utah state law is dead in the water.
HB40, a Utah version of the act, did not pass earlier this spring despite widespread support from outside the Legislature, including from all eight of Utah’s federally recognized tribes, the lieutenant governor, attorney general’s office and Utah Foster Care.
The bill was in limbo for much of the session after it was held up in committee. A last-minute substitute of the bill would have contradicted the federal act and removed a number of provisions that the attorney general’s office, tribal leaders and others had spent years crafting.
For example, the substitute would have only applied to children if both their biological parents are enrolled members of a tribe. The federal law applies to children who are members themselves or who are eligible to become members. The substitute also removed a provision that, like federal law, gives other Native families priority for placement when the child’s extended family isn’t available.
Anything that happens like that where you feel like you have a deal, and then right at the last second it changes — it’s one of those things where it’s like, ‘Oh, well, we can’t really give our opinion on this.’ And so you often wonder, was this on purpose?
– Bradley Parry, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone vice chairman
Parry called the changes offensive and said he himself wouldn’t have qualified for protections with how lawmakers rewrote the bill. He added tribes were not consulted on those changes and were only made aware of them about 24 hours before lawmakers voted to adopt them into the bill.
“It was the 11th hour and we didn’t we didn’t know about it,” he said. “Anything that happens like that where you feel like you have a deal, and then right at the last second it changes — it’s one of those things where it’s like, ‘Oh, well, we can’t really give our opinion on this.’ And so you often wonder, was this on purpose?”
“I think there’s enough feeling that yeah, we think it was done a little bit underhanded to not give us the appropriate time to respond — but honestly I don’t know the legislators’ reasons for doing it,” he continued.
Corrina Bow, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah chairwoman, previously called the treatment of the bill an “injustice.” “Am I wrong to think that the representatives for Utah represent all of us, all of our people?” she asked during a press conference tribal members held after the bill was tabled.
Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, who sponsored HB40, said she didn’t anticipate so much pushback on the bill from lawmakers.
Watkins said she thought there were a couple of lawmakers who may have been biased because of their own involvement with adoption and foster care, while others believed the state should have control over foster care for Native kids living off a reservation or that a judge, not tribes, should ultimately determine what is in the best interest of the children.
“I had a couple of representatives say to me, ‘Well, we don’t do this for Black children, for Asian children for all these others and I had to point out to them that the tribes have their own sovereign nation inside of ours,” Watkins said, adding that educating lawmakers on Indian law and tribal sovereignty “could be” necessary. “Some of them have really and truly don’t want to know any different — seriously. They have their minds made up and we’re not going to change them.”
What is the future of Utah legislation on the Indian Child Welfare Act?
Watkins said she does not plan on introducing similar legislation during the next session.
“This is just a load off everybody’s shoulders because now everything just continues on. We don’t have to have any changes. We don’t have to redo something or rethink or write new policy. It just goes right on,” she said of the SCOTUS ruling. “We’ll see if they (the tribes) decide they want something down the road. I think we’re good for the time being — in fact I know we are.”
Nygren plans on championing a Utah version of the Indian Child Welfare Act during the 2024 legislative session. He believes state protections will make things easier on the children and ensure all parties are on the same page. Nygren said although the Utah Legislature doesn’t have Navajo representation like the Arizona and New Mexico legislatures he also deals with, he is “up for the challenge” of discussing tribal issues like HB40 with Utah lawmakers.
“When it comes back up next year, definitely it’s going to be on our part to really continue to educate them on that government-to-government relationship,” he said. “I think that if (Watkins) is not planning on doing it, I think it’ll be up to us to try to find out who can be our champion next year. I really do appreciate her help this year.”
Parry said that although it would be nice to have state-level protections in place for Native children, there is worry about how lawmakers would handle such a law. Ultimately, whether lawmakers decide to pass a state version of the Indian Child Welfare Act is “really neither here nor there,” he added.
“If they want to do something to enhance the protection, great. But we don’t want a law that they try to write that inhibits this, so we’ll be very careful with that,” Parry said. “At the end of the day, we have our federal law, which the state has to comply to. I don’t know of an instance where a state law could trump federal law. They had a chance to get on board and be like that, but they made the decision not to. If they do it, I hope that they work with us and just do an enhancement.”
Heather Tanana — an expert in Indian law, Navajo member and University of Utah professor — said passing a law like HB40 goes beyond just bracing for possible future challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act. In fact, 14 states have passed similar laws, including a handful prior to the Supreme Court challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
“Passing a law is still important because it should show that our state has a government-to-government relationship with its tribes, that it respects their sovereignty and is listening to what they’re asking,” Tanana said. “The work on the state one that failed had been going on for years by people who are very engaged in child welfare work in the state. It would be sad to see that suddenly stop just because ICWA was upheld.”
Stephanie Benally, Utah Foster Care’s Native American specialist, agreed that Utah still needs a state Indian Child Welfare Act. She said there are 103 Native children in foster care but only 15 licensed Native foster homes in Utah. She encouraged parents interested in fostering to contact Utah Foster Care or its tribal foster care program.
“The state ICWA would be codified for Utah to protect Native children and families. Other states understand the importance and Utah would not be the only state to have an ICWA state bill,” she said. “There is a Native shortage of foster homes for our Native children in care. Cultural connectivity is important. It is important our Native children stay connected to their cultural and language.”
Carl Moore, an Indigenous activist, said Utah must still affirm the Indian Child Welfare Act with its own legislation.
“This would show good faith and moral obligation to the nations of Indigenous people of whose land they occupy,” he said. “The only time ICWA should be reconsidered is if the Indigenous nations say so. The issue of ICWA being upheld is one of morality and obligation to the people of whose land and societies the area of the United States rightfully belongs.”
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The depth continues to be tested as the bodies keep dropping out of the lineup up front. Tonight, a resilient Maple Leafs team is seeking its fourth consecutive win as Alex Nylander debuts on an all-Marlies line against a tired 8-9-2 Utah Hockey Club (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Utah
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Utah holds the advantage in three out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on what he learned from the pre-scout of Utah’s 6-1 win over Pittsburgh last night:
The power play was good. They got three. They’re fast, and they have a lot of skill. They make a lot of plays — a lot of west-west plays — and get up the ice really well. Their D are involved.
We have to check well tonight. We have to stay out of the penalty box. Our PK is going to be important.
Overall, we need to take time and space away from this team right out of the offensive zone. Be hard on them breaking plays up. That will be very important tonight.
Berube on the decision to start Joseph Woll over Anthony Stolarz tonight:
[Woll] had a really good game against Vegas. We are just thinking ahead here. Stolly has played a lot. We have some time here. He is working in practice and doing a lot of good things.
That’s really it. We just talk about things and make decisions on what we think is best for the goalies and the team.
I talked earlier about how both goalies are going to see more net than they have in the past. It is important that we manage it to the best of our abilities.
Woll is coming off a real solid game against a real good team. We wanted to go back with him.
Berube on what improvements he is looking for from his team offensively after a week of practice:
Attacking more than we are. There are times when we tend to just control the play a little bit too much on the outside. We could attack more with more shots to the net, get pucks low to high, and do more on-and-off shooting while getting people to the net with numbers around there.
Resets to the back of the net, making quick plays out of there, doing things a little bit quicker, moving it quicker, supporting it quicker, and getting more pucks to the net than we are.
Berube on why Fraser Minten is so trustworthy despite his lack of experience:
It goes back to a great draft pick, finding a player who is so responsible at a young age. You guys aren’t on the bench, but just hearing him talk on the bench and how he sees the game, he says all the right things.
You don’t see young guys do that very often. He is already doing it at a very young age with very little experience. It is great to see. It’s refreshing. It really is.
Minten on the keys to success for his line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Nylander:
We just have to be simple with pucks and forecheck, using our speed to get pucks back on the forecheck. From there, let the skill make things happen. Those guys are really good when they get it back, so we have to make sure we are forechecking hard to retrieve pucks, and we’ll go from there.
Minten on the keys to success in the net-front role on the top power-play unit:
Try not to overcomplicate it too much. Get the goalie’s eyes, get in sight lines, try to get pucks back, get some tips, get some screens, and cause a little chaos. You can draw a defender with you. If you’re going backdoor, you give them a little more space. Be ready for anything coming to you. They are great players, so just try to read off of them, and hopefully, it goes well.
Minten on his experience level in front of the net on the power play:
In junior, I was mostly a flank guy with the puck more, but last year, I kind of got into it more at the end of the year, and I have been playing that role with the Marlies every game so far this year.
Minten on Morgan Rielly’s guidance at the NHL level:
He has been amazing. We have a lot in common, being from the same place. He took me under his wing a little bit and has been super nice. It makes it easy when you are coming in at 18 or 19 and there is a guy who comes to talk to you and is a really nice, supportive guy and friend. He has been awesome.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#89 Nick Robertson— #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#71 Nikita Grebenkin — #39 Fraser Minten — #92 Alex Nylander
#46 Alex Steeves — #24 Connor Dewar — #18 Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Jani Hakanpää, Philippe Myers
Suspended: Ryan Reaves (four games remaining)
Injured (IR): Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Matthew Knies
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf
Utah Hockey Club Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Clayton Keller — #27 Barrett Hayton — #8 Nick Schmaltz
#22 Jack McBain — #92 Logan Cooley — #11 Dylan Guenther
#63 Matias Maccelli — #17 Nick Bjugstad — #67 Lawson Course
#15 Alex Kerfoot — #82 Kevin Stenlund — #53 Michael Carcone
Defensemen
#98 Mikhail Sergachev — #2 Olli Maata
#28 Ian Cole — #10 Maveric Lamoureux
#7 Michael Kesselring — #41 Robert Bortuzzo
Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Karel Vejmelka
Jayson Stauber
Injured: Sean Durzi, John Marino, Connor Ingram
Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There is one game on the schedule for Sunday, which will be televised nationally in the United States and Canada.
Game of the day
Utah Hockey Club at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, NHLN, Utah16)
Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have all stepped up for the Maple Leafs (12-6-2) in the absence of captain Auston Matthews and look to continue the trend against Utah (8-9-3) at Scotiabank Arena. Marner has 12 points (four goals, eight assists), Nylander nine points (four goals, five assists) and Tavares eight points (four goals, four assists) in the seven games without Matthews, who is out with an upper-body injury. Toronto has won three in a row and is 6-1-0 without Matthews, who skated prior to practice Saturday and said he could return from an upper-body injury this upcoming week. Marner leads Toronto with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 20 games and has points in six of the seven games Matthews has missed. Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Wall made 31 saves in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday for his first shutout of the season and second in the NHL. Utah is playing the second game of a back-to-back for the first time in team history and will look to build on a 6-1 win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist, and Clayton Keller had three assists, helping Utah end a three-game losing streak. Goalie Jaxson Stauber could make his Utah debut after being recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Wednesday; the 25-year-old has not played an NHL game since Feb. 22, 2023, with the Chicago Blackhawks. No. 1 goalie Connor Ingram has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury.
It takes a complete football team to win a championship. Iowa State is finding that out with each passing week.
Seemingly left for dead in the heated Big 12 Conference race, the Cyclones now find themselves one win away from competing for the league title following a thrilling 31-28 victory over Utah Saturday night.
Iowa State (9-2, 7-2) reached the nine-win mark before a bowl game for the first time in program history, and could end one of the longest droughts in NCAA history by reaching 10 wins. The Cyclones and Vanderbilt are the only remaining Power 5 programs to never reach 10 wins, as Indiana did earlier this year.
After taking a 24-13 lead on Utah midway through the third quarter, the Cyclones needed a rally, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 91 seconds to go. The defense forced a missed field goal to seal the win.
Here are three stars from Iowa State’s win over Utah:
Known for his power running, Carson Hansen showed off his arm on a key third-down trick play that led to his second rushing touchdown. Hansen, a sophomore, took a halfback pass and found Gabe Burkle for a 26-yard completion.
That put the ball at the Utah 3 and Hansen would plow his way into the end zone on the next play for the game-winning points. He finished the night with a team-high 57 yards on 14 carries to go along with the 26-yard pass while also catching two balls for another 28 yards.
At 6-2 and over 220 pounds, Hansen is the thunder to Abu Sama’s lightning. He now has 11 rushing touchdowns on the year to go along with 560 yards after rushing for just 67 last season as a freshman.
Anytime Rocco Becht needed to make a big play in the passing game, he looked in the direction of Jayden Higgins. And Higgins stepped up for his quarterback, who was not quite as sharp as he typically has been.
Higgins finished with nine receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown, surpassing 1,000 yards for the season. The 6-foot-4 senior out of South Miami became just the seventh different Cyclone to reach the number after missing out last year with 983 yards.
With at least two, and maybe more, games to go, Higgins sits sixth on the school’s single-season list for yards with 1,015. Hakeem Butler is first with 1,318. Higgins and teammate Jaylin Noel, who has 976 yards, are set to become the first Cyclone teammates to eclipse 1,000 yards in the same season in school history.
Higgins is also just two yards away from becoming just the 10th Iowa State receiver to reach 2,000 career yards, joining the likes of Allen Lazard, Xavier Hutchinson and Charlie Kolar, along with Noel.
It’s been a difficult season in regards to injuries on both sides of the ball for Iowa State. But the defense has really been hurt with Malik Verdon out.
Verdon, a junior, recorded a team-leading 12 tackles including a sack, as the Cyclones held Utah to just 99 yards of total offense through three quarters.
And while the Utes were able to finally put together sustained drives in the fourth, when they needed to make a play, Iowa State did. Verdon went out for a short time after appearing to reinjure his arm that has a cast due to a hairline fracture, but would return to the field later in the fourth.
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