All children, not just Native children, do better with caring relatives. First published on March 12, 2019 / 8:06 AM. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They said they wanted to adopt the girl. 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. Last March, she was taken from her foster home near Los Angeles, and a state appeals court in July upheld the girl's removal from the Page home. 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. 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. 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. 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. Congress did not intend ICWA's placement preferences to be used to remove a child from a loving home in these circumstances. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. The law allows states to deviate from placement preferences when there is "good cause." Singel is a member of a tribe in Michigan. However, a court found that the Pages have not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. 0 . 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 boy's parents voluntarily terminated their parental rights, and the Brackeens petitioned to adopt him. 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 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 . Although foster care is supposed to be temporary, the Pages wanted to adopt Lexi and for years fought efforts under the federal act to place the girl with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Summer and Rusty Page say they "will never ever stop fighting for Lexi," their 6-year-old foster daughter who was taken from their Santa Clarita home and placed with relatives in Utah under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. She said Lexi and the Utah family had traded messages and had monthly visits during the past three years. She said unlike her, 11-year-old Riley is growing up on the reservation and learning about traditional medicine and a culture that includes hunting and fishing. Wenona Singel, a law professor at Michigan State University, said membership requirements vary among tribes, with some being more restrictive than others. Rusty Page carries Lexi while Summer Page, in the background, cries as members of family services, left, arrive to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., on March 21. Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com The Page family loves you.. 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. Family . 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. 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. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, refused to intervene in their battle over Lexi. The girl, Lexi, was taken away from foster parents. She did make the mat for Daytona 2020 but unfortunately never got to perform one final time as the . Hernandez isn't Native American, but the biological father is from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas. Lexi is now living in Utah with relatives of her father who are not Native Americans. The documents said that Lexi is related to the Utah couple, who are not Native American, through her step-grandfather. Summer Page runs out of her home after social workers took her foster child way. Like many of her teammates, Lexi had left Navarro College by the time Daytona 2021 took place. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. The family's lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, filed the request for the California Supreme Court to hear the appeal. In their petition, the Pages argued that the lower court misapplied the standard of review for good cause to depart from ICWA, but also that ICWA should not apply to children who had never been part of an American Indian family. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. All rights reserved, Two Hospitalized in Critical Condition, Including 3-Year-Old Child, in Fire at Long Beach Home, There Goes My Hero.' Where is Lexi page now 2021? Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. Because Lexi is 1.5% Native American, the Choctaw Tribe was able to completely tear apart Lexi's life due to an egregious misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Lexi had a court-appointed attorney from the Childrens Law Center of California in the lower courts. Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems. 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. I sat them all down on our couch, and said Daddy needs to tell you something, and Lexi turned pale white and started hysterically crying, and our older daughter started screaming at the top of her lungs, he said. Placement with family is the gold-standard of any child-custody case, not just a case involving tribal children. 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. The family has been waiting for five years for all of them to be together. A 6-year-old girl was removed from the California home of the foster family she has lived with for four years because she has a tiny sliver of Native American heritage despite resistance from her foster parents and their tens of thousands of supporters. Remember that LA County placed this little girl in foster care with our clients after she had suffered two years of neglect and abuse. 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. Under the transfer, Lexi will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. After she left Croatia last year, Lexi jetted off to Saint Lucia, where she spent her birthday. The following statement reflects the Choctaw Nation's position on the case of Lexi. We, as a tribe, are required to follow federal law. The Five Tribes purchased new lands in present-day Oklahoma, but some relocated . Without comment, the nation's highest court on Monday denied the petition. Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. It means if youre a foster family and if you have an Indian child, you should be terrified that your child could be taken at any time, says Mark Fiddler, a Minnesota attorney who represented the adoptive parents in the Baby Veronica case. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. Lexi loves horses and art. Bridgeport, NJ - The NOS Energy World of Outlaws sprint cars invaded the Bridgeport Motorsports Park on Tuesday eveningand thrilled the Standing Room Only crowd who poured into th Don't let me go. A federal judge in Texas ruled the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, saying it is racially motivated and violates the equal protection clause. You have reached your limit of free articles. Six-year-old Lexi was removed from the home of the family she has been living with for four years because of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. However, a court found that the Pages have not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. 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.". Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family. Fletcher contends the Pages lawyers are using Lexis case as a legal weapon to challenge ICWA. There's a heartbreaking update to . 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 applying ICWA to children who had no prior connection to any tribe raises grave equal protection concerns, as the US Supreme Court recognized in 2013, in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. I'm scared. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. An independent clinical psychologist was brought in to gauge her ability to transition from the foster home to her relatives. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Closing arguments underway in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Dozens of supporters also surrounded the Pages home Monday in an attempt to block LA DCFS officers. 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 the days after losing their legal battle, the Pages addressed an online petition called Keep Lexi Home to several California and LA DCFS officials. 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. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her extended family have had monthly visits and Skyped at least once a week prior to her relocation. We told her we loved her and were fighting for her and well never stop fighting for her., Then, as can be seen in a video that soon went viral, he handed-over a crying Lexi as her foster mother Summer Page and three siblings sobbed in front of the house. In an official statement (via TVLine), Leigh shared she made the decision that season 8 was going to be her last, and along with Rhimes, they worked to "give Lexie's story appropriate . Relatives are relatives.. LEXINGTON, Ky. (RNS) After more than two weeks and worldwide headlines, revival services at Asbury University in central Kentucky came to an end recently . 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. and Lexi is part Native American and was given . We, as a tribe, are required to follow federal law. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, 6-year-old caught in tribal custody battle. The Indian Child Welfare Act is meant to help tribes keep children in tribal homes where they can learn about their culture. Testimony in Congress showed that was due to ignorance of tribes' values and social norms. Group that started #KeepLexiHome is still outside praying/singing. Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio. A foster home is supposed to be temporary, says Matthew Fletcher, director of the Indigenous Policy Law Center at Michigan State University. The tribe intervened and has identified three dozen possible placements. 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. Hernandez is a plaintiff in the case. Fans of the social media star dropped encouraging comments for her and wished her a speedy recovery. A California appeals court affirmed in July a lower court's decision to remove the girl. "It's not going to be true in every case.". Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems, and placed in foster care. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. 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. Live footage on our Facebook page. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them 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. The child's case falls under the purview of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted in the 1970s to help keep American Indian children with American Indian families. Their attorney argued the lower court made an error by failing to take into account Lexi's bond with her foster parents and siblings. The Removal Act affects Choctaw first. A king among men, he. "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. At issue is the Indian . The emotional scene played out on a Facebook live stream watched by more that 1,000 people which showed a teary child, wearing a pink shirt and grasping a teddy bear while Rusty Page carried her out of the home and loaded into a black sedan as his wife wailed I love you Lexi from the driveway. Read More Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. 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. Lexi can remain where she belongs, with extended family that will raise her and a sister in the Choctaw tradition. Often there are no easy solutions, but when a court makes an order, we must follow it, said the departments director, Philip Browning. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who has lived with them since she was 2. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship.". ", "The tribe's values of faith, family and culture are what makes our tribal identity so important to us. Lexi can remain where she. Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. 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. That figure means that Lexi's home placement is dictated by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Elisha Fieldstadt is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. Placement with family is the gold-standard of any child-custody case, not just a case involving tribal children. 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. But officials determined that Lexi is 1/64th Choctaw based on his ancestry. 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. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. But this case shines a bright light on the ways in which the law in its current form is routinely being misinterpreted, with devastating consequences for families and children. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Please respect the privacy of Lexi and her family. The Pages were always aware of this goal. He said the Indian Child Welfare Act may have been well-intentioned, but it illegally segregates Native American children by race and has upended his clients' lives. 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. Every time Zoe, whos the youngest, hears the doorbell she says Lexis home, he says. Lexi was taken from the Page home on Monday afternoon, Armand Montiel, a public affairs director with LA DCFS, told NBC News. Lexi, who is 1.5 percent, or 1/64 Choctaw, was six years old when she was taken from her foster home near Los Angeles in a tearful parting last March. 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. "The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011," the tribe said in a statement. "The Pages were always aware that the goal was to place Lexi with her family, and her permanent placement has been delayed due to the Pages opposition to the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Choctaw Nation echoed in a statement. and 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. They fought for you, supporters screamed at the car, as officers prepared to pull away. That case, Carter v. Washburn, is pending in Arizona federal court. Rusty Page says his young biological children still cant seem to understand what happened. Read More Lexi had sobbed as she was taken away, begging her father: 'Don't let them take me away.'. We are appealing the decision, and we have asked the state Supreme Court to step in and halt this hasty change in custody before it causes irreparable harm. She is watching them drive off. These relatives have been a part of Lexi's life for almost five years. 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. 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. Rusty Page told CBS News Radio station KNX-AM. Her name is Lexi, the petition said. In 2011, extended family in Utah became aware that Lexi was with a foster family and expressed interest in adopting her, according to the documents. The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. Thousandsnearly one-third of the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and disease on the more than 500-mile journey. But new hope is on the horizon for the Choctaw Nation. 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 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.'. 'S life for almost five years for all of them to be,... A speedy recovery now with her family relatives of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems a loving home these. Transfer, Lexi had sobbed as she was 2 Choctaw tradition dropped encouraging comments for her wished! 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