CILS Board of Trustees 2012 -The new year begins with a new CILS Board Chair.  Rachel A. Joseph, was seated as the Chair on September 3, 2011. 
 
Ms. Joseph is an enrolled member of the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe and served as the Tribe's Chairwoman and Vice-Chairwoman.
 
Rachel is a retired lobbyist of the California Teachers Association; and, other employment included, American Indian Coordinator in the Office of the Governor; Executive Director for the California Urban Indian Health Council; Director of the Inter-Tribal Council of California Manpower Consortium (now California Indian Manpower Consortium); Director of Program Operations for the Inter-Tribal Council of California; and, Interim Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians.  Rachel has had numerous political appointments including the Utah Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.
 
Rachel has received numerous awards and recognition which include the Civil Rights in Education Award (Leo Reano) from the National Education Association; Role Model (Women's History Month) from the California State Legislature, the Jake White Crow Award from the National Indian Health Board and, in 2009, the Native American Leadership Award from the National Congress of American Indians.
 
Rachel graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a B.S. in Social Work and a minor in Psychology; and did extensive graduate study at BYU and in the College of Business at the University of Utah.  Rachel is the mother of a daughter and three sons; and, nine terrific grandchildren.

How is the Indian Child Welfare Act doing?

CILS Board member and law professor Cheyanna L. Jaffke examines ICWA's present-day struggles with the doctrine known as the Existing Indian Family.  The abstract to her article entitled, "Judicial Indifference: How Does the 'Existing Indian Family' Exception to the Indian Child Welfare Act Continue to Endure in the Age of Obama? appears below:

Even though Congress created the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) over thirty years ago to preserve the relationship between tribes and their members, courts created, and some continue to use, the “existing Indian family” exception to avoid application of the ICWA to children and/or parents that the courts do not believe are Indian-enough for the ICWA. The continued use of the “existing Indian family” exception shows that there is either judicial laziness, indifference, or intolerance fueling the application of the “existing Indian family” exception and blemishes those states that choose to continue to apply it.

This article first discusses the need for the ICWA after a long period between the 1800s and the 1970s wherein United States policy was to attempt to assimilate American Indian children by removing 25-35% of all American Indian children from their American Indian homes and tribes and place them with non-American Indian families.

Next, the article sets forth the pertinent provisions and application of the ICWA and argues that the ICWA is still necessary because courts are seeking to remove American Indian children from their homes and place them with non-American Indian families.

The article next sets forth the “existing Indian family” exception, phoenix-like birth, death, and subsequent resurrection into United States law.

This article discusses the need to reject the “existing Indian family” exception because it ignores the plain language of the ICWA, perpetuates stereotypes and the assimilation of American Indians, ignores tribal interests, and provides inconsistency in the application of the ICWA.

Western State University Law Review, Vol. 38, No. 2, Spring 2011

^{CILS wishes to thank Cheyanna L. Jaffke for allowing us to re-print this article. Professor Jaffke teaches at Western State University, College of Law in Fullerton, California.}

CILS wishes everyone a happy & safe 2012!

CILS PROVIDES FREE ASSISTANCE PREPARING YOUR TAXES

Starting January 30, 2012

California Indian Legal Services is thrilled to be able to offer free tax preparation assistance again this year. Since 2004 CILS has partnered with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County to increase accessibility to the I-CAN!^TM E-file tax module. This program was originally designed just for individuals eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. This great program is now available to most tax payers, and has the ability to address Indian Income tax matters that are often missed by others.

All Counties call CILS for an appointment 1-800-743-8941 

or use our link to access this program directly for FREE.