Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Lexi clutched a teddy bear and cried as she was taken from the Pages' home on March 21 as neighbors prayed and sang hymns in support of the family. Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. She has woken up in their home every Christmas morning she can remember, and she has grown up over the past four years with three siblings who are her best friends and playmates. ", The Choctaw Nation said it "desires the best for this Choctaw child.". "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" Leslie Starr Heimov, executive director of the Center, told the ABA Journal last year that the Pages would have been unlikely to get custody even if ICWA had not applied to the case. Maddie cant fathom it, and she asks us why, and the fact of the matter is that I cant tell her why, because I cant fathom it.. Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday, March 21, 2016 as Rusty Page carried her out of his Santa Clarita home and social workers whisked her away. In a statement to TV Line in June 2012, Leigh revealed . Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. In the meantime, our clients hope that the family in Utah will follow through on their promise to keep Lexi in contact with her family in Los Angeles. Please enter valid email address to continue. The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives. May 21, 2022 . and The Pages' lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, said she plans to take the case as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. This button displays the currently selected search type. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES. The Pages issued a press release saying To say we are heartbroken is an understatement While this is certainly a crushing blow, it will not stop us from fighting for Lexis rights and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act., The Choctaw Nation issued a press release saying it was pleased that this lengthy and unnecessary litigation has been brought to an end by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Thursday, in a statement to ABC7, the Choctaw Nation said, "We are pleased with the state Supreme Court's decision, but what is most important is that Lexi is settling into her new, loving home with her family. The girl, Lexi, was taken away from foster parents Rusty and Summer Page on March 21, 2015, after about four years living with the family. At issue is the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a 1978 federal law meant to keep American Indian children within their tribe whenever possible. . Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Inside the Agonizing Custody Fight Over Six-Year-Old Lexi. The tribe intervened and has identified three dozen possible placements. The state denied their request after the Navajo Nation identified a potential home with a Navajo family in New Mexico. July 8, 2016 / 10:41 PM ", The Associated Press contributed to this report, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as she tries to avoid prison, New Topgolf facility opens next to Montebello Golf Course, Man stopped at Pa. airport with explosive concealed in checked luggage. Lexi is also one sixty-fourth Choctaw, and last week she became the latest flash point in a long-running dispute over child welfare and Native American tribal identity. McGill also requested that custody of the child named Lexi be returned to Rusty and Summer Page until the appeal is decided. Our hearts are broken and we are trying to make sense of everything that has happened with our three other children who witnessed their sister Lexi forcefully ripped away from our family by strangers," the Page family said in a statement Monday night. We, as a tribe, are required to follow federal law. A California appeals court affirmed in July a lower court's decision to remove the girl. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. Its a crusade to them. One of the Pages attorneys, Lori Alvino McGill, also represented the adoptive family in the Baby Veronica case. "The foster family was well aware years ago this girl is an Indian child, whose case is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act," the National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement. Once a child is placed with a Native American family, it is highly unlikely that the decision would be reversed, he added. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. Allie Greenleaf Maldonado said her grandmother and uncles were placed in boarding schools, forced to cut their hair and beaten if they practiced their religion. The result here is all the more senseless because placing Lexi with her non-Indian extended family members does nothing to further ICWA's purpose of keeping children connected to their tribes. ICWA gives a higher preference to family members seeking to adopt, as does California law. But thats not an absolute. Lexi, who is 1/64 Choctaw, was taken from her foster home north of Los Angeles in a tearful parting in March and placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to keep Native American families together. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. "It was important to halt that removal, to correct state behavior, to put in minimum standards," she said. Lexi entered foster care because her biological parents had substance abuse problems and a criminal record, and the relatives in Utah are related to her through her step-grandfather. Lexi is part Native American and was given . The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives. Thousandsnearly one-third of the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and disease on the more than 500-mile journey. They were able to adopt the boy in January 2018 after the placement fell through. Matthew McGill represents the Brackeens, two other couples from Nevada and Minnesota, and a birth mother in the case. The Indian Child Welfare Act is meant to help tribes keep children in tribal homes where they can learn about their culture. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family. She underwent her first surgery just last night but has been unable to sleep well because of the pain and the trauma. Lexi is also one sixty-fourth Choctaw, and last week she became the latest flash point in a long-running dispute over child welfare and Native American tribal identity. All Rights Reserved. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. Please help #bringlexihome She was reunited with her biological sister in the home but none of the family members are Native American. "There is a 6-year-old little girl who is going to be ripped away from the only family that she has ever known. In March, Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear as Rusty Page carried her out of his home and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car. Opinion. The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her fathers extended family in Utah. While it is unclear what she is up to now in terms of her career, Lexi has enjoyed traveling quite a bit in the meantime. Tribes and tribal advocates say Native American children are still separated from their families at rates higher than the general population, and the law helps them stay connected to their tribes, relatives and culture. Lexis only parent with Choctaw blood is her birth father, who never had custody of her. Lexi is a 6-year-old girl from California who has spent the the majority of her life in a loving home - a home that she wanted to be her forever home. In 2015, the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued guidance on implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act - clarifying that tribes alone are responsible for determining who is a member. These relatives have been a part of Lexi's life for almost five years. Placement with family is the gold-standard of any child-custody case, not just a case involving tribal children. Unlike other cases in Grey's Anatomy where the actors left due to behind-the-scenes problems, Chyler Leigh decided it was time to close Lexie's arc as she wanted to spend more time with her family. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. They fought for you, supporters screamed at the car, as officers prepared to pull away. The childs birth parents struggled with substance abuse, according to court documents. The law is very clear in California that family gets priority, she said. The California court appointed a marriage and family therapist to perform a child custody evaluation to assess the mental health and parenting practices of both parties. Page says he has met the Utah relatives and they seem like well-meaning people who would be great parents. A federal judge in Texas ruled the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, saying it is racially motivated and violates the equal protection clause. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs sought to clarify the term in 2016 by saying state courts shouldn't consider socio-economic status, or ordinary bonding or attachment to host families, among other things. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. By George F. Will. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. LOS ANGELES -- A California family appealed Tuesday to the state's highest court in their fight to keep a 6-year-old foster child who was removed from their home after a lower court said her 1/64th Native American bloodline requires that she live with relatives. Associated Press The appeal to return Lexi to the Pages is still before the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles. Sleep is overrated. They are not interested in anything except full custody, and they are not thinking about this little girls best interests, the lawyers statement said. Lexi had a court-appointed attorney from the Childrens Law Center of California in the lower courts. The Removal Act that President Andrew Jackson pressed through Congress becomes a reality as the Choctaw are forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (which is now known as Oklahoma). "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. Fans of the social media star dropped encouraging comments for her and wished her a speedy recovery. Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com All children, not just Native children, do better with caring relatives. "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" ", The National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement that the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to "drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child. We appreciate the concern for Lexi and want to assure everyone she is in a safe, loving home with her relatives and her biological sisters. "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday as Rusty Page carried her out of his home near Los Angeles and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car. The experts along with Lexi's long-time individual therapists, her social worker and her attorney, all agree it is in her best interest to be with her relatives. As they arrived, Rusty Page says he closed the door and gathered his family in the living room. 19:37 GMT 09 Jan 2017 The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her father's extended family in Utah. Often there are no easy solutions, but when a court makes an order, we must follow it, said the departments director, Philip Browning. Relatives are relatives.. The experts along with Lexi's long-time individual therapists, her social worker and her attorney, all agree it is in her best interest to be with her relatives. Images of the girl being carried away from her foster home drew widespread attention. The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her father's extended family in Utah. The Pros and Cons of Staying in a Business Hotel, The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Crabs and Lobsters Delivered Right to Your Door, Golden Rule Quotes Meaning and Their Implementation. Testimony in Congress showed that was due to ignorance of tribes' values and social norms. 2019 The Associated Press. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. The relatives are not Native American but Lexi was reunited with biological sister. "While the past 10 days have been complete anguish for our family, there's no way our pain can compare to the confusion and disorientation that Lexi is experiencing," Rusty Page said. Lexi had sobbed as she was taken away, begging her father: 'Don't let them take me away.'. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. The foster family understood this. They also agreed that the Pages did not prove with clear and convincing evidence that Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. The Pages also argued that ICWA singles out Native children for disparate treatment based on race, in violation of the 14th Amendments equal protection clause. After leaving the boat, Lexi decided to completely leave the yachting industry. The Pages and their attorneys believe the ICWA forced the countys hand, requiring them to take Lexi away from a loving home with foster parents and siblings she considers family. "It coerces state agencies and courts to carry out unconstitutional and illegal federal policy, and it makes child custody decisions based on racial preferences," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said. Lower courts found the Pages had not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. ", "The tribe's values of faith, family and culture are what makes our tribal identity so important to us. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, 6-year-old caught in tribal custody battle. Lexi can remain where she belongs, with extended family that will raise her and a sister in the Choctaw tradition. The girl with Native American ancestry was reunited with relatives in Utah under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted in the 1970s to help protect the interests of Native American children. Maldonado and her husband have an adopted son from a neighboring tribe. ICWA is the subject of other legal challenges, as the ABA Journal noted last October. Lexi was placed with the Pages who have three other children in December 2011 after two unsuccessful foster homes, including one where she was taken out of because of a black eye and a scrape on her face, the court documents said. But he believes that shouldnt matter here. The legal fight has gone on for years. Where is Lexi page now? "Early this morning, we learned that the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear our case," the Pages wrote in a statement on the SaveOurLexi Facebook page. Images of foster father Rusty Page clutching 6-year-old Lexi left an indelible mark when the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services arrived to take her away from Page and his wife's Valencia home in March. A federal law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American children is facing the most significant legal challenge since it was enacted more than 40 years ago. Those factors included Lexi's relationship with her extended family and half-siblings, their capacity to help her reconnect with her tribal roots, and the Pages' "relative reluctance or resistance" to foster Lexi's relationship with her extended family or encourage exploration of her Choctaw cultural identity, the judges wrote in their ruling. Don't let me go. A happy, thriving six-year-old girl was forcibly removed from the people she knows as her parents because of a terribly misguided interpretation of a federal law that was designed to keep families together, not tear them apart. Still, Lexis story is reigniting tensions over the purpose of the ICWA and thorny questions over its role in determining the best interests of Indian children. They have maintained a relationship with her, visiting her in California, making regular SKYPE calls, and Lexi has also been on extended visits to Utah. The Pages said they had not spoken with Lexi since she was removed from their home and continue to asked her relatives in Utah to allow communication. Attorneys general in Texas, Indiana and Louisiana joined in suing the federal government over the Indian Child Welfare Act in 2017. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. ABC's Kayna Whitworth has the details from Los Angeles. The Page family loves you.. By One of Lexis biological sisters, who is Choctaw, lives with the Utah family, and another lives nearby. Without comment, the nation's highest court on Monday denied the petition. The state Supreme Court declined to review the case, clearing the way for the family to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship.". The tribe at first said she wasn't eligible for membership but later reversed course. "The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011," the tribe said in a statement. The Pages said they plan to take the case to the California Supreme Court. Her name is Lexi," the petition said. "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" In a statement, they said this case is not about politics. Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. The Pages said they will keep fighting for changes to the law 'and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act.'. Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 because a high number of Native American children were being removed from their homes by public and private agencies. Lexi's case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed. Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being removed from their Indian homes and placed in non-Indian homes, with presumably the absence of Indian culture. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . A California appeals court affirmed in July a lower courts decision to remove the girl. To Lexi this family is her everything her mommy, daddy and brother and sisters. By Monday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition. "There's no doubt in my mind that what happened to Lexi should have never occurred," said Lauren Axline, a former foster care worked who handled Lexi's case in the past. It was enacted in 1978 because of the high removal rate of Indian children from their traditional homes and essentially from Indian culture as a whole. Lexi, who is part Choctaw, was 17 months old when she was removed from custody of her mother. "To Lexi this family is her everything . "Despite the news from the California Supreme Court yesterday, we remain hopeful that the very court we stand in front of this morning will do the right thing just as it has done twice already.". Once a child is placed with a Native American family, it is highly unlikely that the decision would be reversed, he added. Dozens of cases involving foster families have gone to court around the country after the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. You want the child to stay with relatives, especially when Native American questions are at hand, whenever possible. Many in tears @NBCLA pic.twitter.com/lM1iWZiChk, The Pages lawyer said in a statement Sunday that they had been willing to offer the Utah family visitation rights, but they never responded to offers of compromise.. They have maintained a relationship with her, visiting her in California, making regular SKYPE calls, and Lexi has also been on extended visits to Utah. Every time Zoe, whos the youngest, hears the doorbell she says Lexis home, he says. The girl, Lexi, was taken away from foster parents. McGill also requested that custody of the child named Lexi be returned to Rusty and Summer Page until the appeal is decided. The case was decided in the California court system three separate times, with three different trial court judges ruling in favor of Lexi's relatives in Utah. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of a Santa Clarita family fighting to regain custody of a 6-year-old foster girl. The Utah family had never met Lexi at that time; and the tribe agreed there was good cause to depart from ICWA's placement preferences. , updated Singel is a member of a tribe in Michigan. Hernandez is a plaintiff in the case. The case was one of dozens of cases involving foster families have gone to court around the country after the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. Like many six-year-olds, shes obsessed with the animated super-dog Bolt, and she spends her weekends playing with her three foster siblings in the backyard of her foster parents home in Santa Clarita, CA. IE 11 is not supported. Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, have long fought to gain custody of Lexi, 6, who is 1.56 percent Choctaw Native American. The Five Tribes purchased new lands in present-day Oklahoma, but some relocated . Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, U.S. officials clashed over asylum restriction before Biden proposed it, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Transcript: CIA director William Burns on "Face the Nation," Feb. 26, 2023. One of her biological sisters lives with the family in Utah, and another lives down the street. First published on March 12, 2019 / 8:06 AM. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . Wenona Singel, a law professor at Michigan State University, said membership requirements vary among tribes, with some being more restrictive than others. A king among men, he. The National Indian Child Welfare Association argues that the decision to re-place Lexi was the right one because "the purpose of foster care is to provide temporary care for children not to fast-track the creation of new families when there is extended family available who want to care for the child.". Dave Grohl Hauls Big BBQ Smoker to LA Shelter to Feed People Amid Storm, 5 Freeway Closed North of LA Due to Snow and Poor Visibility, Avalanche Blocks Road in Mount Baldy Area After Cold Storm Drops Several Feet of Snow, 2 Arrested in Stabbing Death of Father on Downtown LA Street, March 1983: The Day a Rare Tornado Rampaged Through Los Angeles. There is still considerable disagreement over the application of the law and whether it serves children's best interest, said Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School. and Lexi loves horses and art. In adoptions of such children, the law requires states to notify tribes and seek placement with the child's extended family, members of the child's tribe or other Native American families. Reading ICWA to demand this tragic result is inconsistent with Lexi's constitutional right to stability and permanence-- a right recognized by the California Supreme Court more than twenty years ago. The attorneys who brought this case to the high court made clear from the beginning that their goal was not only to remove Lexi from her [extended] family, but to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act.. Since then, Lexi has celebrated four birthdays with the Page family. Lexi, a six-year-old with one-and-a-half per cent Choctaw blood has been removed from her foster parents of five years Protesters tried to stop government officials from taking the child from. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream. Lexi was ripped away from the only family she has ever known because of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Live footage on our Facebook page. Lexi, who is 1/64 Choctaw, was taken from her foster home north of Los Angeles in a tearful parting in March and placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who is 1/64th Choctaw on her birth father's side. The Brackeens got an emergency stay and went to court. ", The National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement that the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to "drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child. what happened to lexi choctaw 2021. invisible stranding in knitting. Lexi clutched a teddy bear and cried as she was taken from the Pages' home on March 21 as neighbors prayed and sang hymns in support of the family. They were also designed to give state courts flexibility to depart from the placement preferences where there is "good cause" to do so. "These relatives have been a part of Lexi's life for almost five years. She was taken by the Department of Children and Families in Santa Clarita and placed with relatives of her father in Utah. Her name is Lexi, the petition said. The standard is supposed to be the best interest of the child, and thats why these things have to be judged on a case-by-case basis., The Choctaw Nation declined to make the Utah family available for comment, citing concerns over Lexis safety. LEXINGTON, Ky. (RNS) After more than two weeks and worldwide headlines, revival services at Asbury University in central Kentucky came to an end recently . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records. Doorbell she says lexis home, he says Press the appeal to return Lexi to live her. Son from a neighboring tribe 'Do n't let them take me away. ' breaking,... Every time Zoe, whos the youngest, hears the doorbell she lexis... Hanson for Dailymail.com All children, not just a case involving tribal children July a lower court decision! Not prove with clear and convincing evidence that Lexi would suffer emotional harm by Choctaw! 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