
In the summer of 2021, a month after the world was awakened by the discovery of 215 remains of innocent school children at the Kamloops Industrial Residential School in British Columbia, I attended a community event in my hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

During a recent visit to the Hopi Tribe in Arizona, I announced a $6.6 million investment that will replace the water distribution system at Keams Canyon. For generations, Hopi people have been exposed to groundwater that contains unsafe levels of arsenic – a hazard we are finally addressing.

On June 8, Indian Country loudly applauded the 7-2 U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Brackeen v. Haaland that upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Then last Thursday happened. The Supreme Court — the same one that seemed to exhibit a basic understanding of tribal sovereignty in the Brackeen ruling — showed how little the high court justices know (or care) about our rights as sovereign nations in their ruling in Arizona, et al. v. Navajo Nation.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made a significant ruling in the Brackeen v. Haaland case, which relates to the adoption of Native American children.