The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family. "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. Summer Page runs out of her home after social workers took her foster child way. 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 . 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. By. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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). "But nobody could possibly be more devastated than our 6-year-old daughter who found herself restrained in a car and driven away to go and live in a foreign place hundreds of miles from her family, friends, teachers, home and life," the statement said. Lexi is now living with relatives of her father who are not Native American. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. 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. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. Chyler Grey starred in Grey's Anatomy on ABC from 2007 until 2012. . The tribe and parents or Indian custodian of the Indian child have an unqualified right to intervene in a case involving foster care placement or the termination of parental rights . 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. , updated All children, not just Native children, do better with caring relatives. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. That case, Carter v. Washburn, is pending in Arizona federal court. The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. 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. The Brackeens got an emergency stay and went to court. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. Here are the world's 25 best beaches and top 10 in the U.S. Elizabeth Holmes has second child, seeks to delay prison, remove a six-year-old girl with Native American ancestry from her foster family, asked the appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling. Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. She was placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to keep Native American families together. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family. Like many of her teammates, Lexi had left Navarro College by the time Daytona 2021 took place. Family . "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. Singel is a member of a tribe in Michigan. Please enter valid email address to continue. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. Rusty and Summer Page said in a statement that the high court's decision was a 'crushing blow.'. 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.. Hernandez isn't Native American, but the biological father is from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas. 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. Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. But thats not an absolute. 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. Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . 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.. Circuit Court of Appeals. 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. Elisha Fieldstadt is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. 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. Her name is Lexi, the petition said. The law allows states to deviate from placement preferences when there is "good cause." 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. 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. The foster family understood this. Group that started #KeepLexiHome is still outside praying/singing. 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 was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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.'. The foster family understood this. This button displays the currently selected search type. 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. 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 said they plan to take the case to the California Supreme Court. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES. The boy is now 3, and the couple is seeking to adopt his younger half-sister. 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 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. A California appeals court affirmed in July a lower court's decision to remove the girl. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. 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. Official Statement from Lori Alvino-McGill representing The Page Family's Legal Team. All Rights Reserved. That figure means that Lexi's home placement is dictated by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Lexi is now living in Utah with relatives of her father who are not Native Americans. Congress did not intend ICWA's placement preferences to be used to remove a child from a loving home in these circumstances. 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. 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. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, refused to intervene in their battle over Lexi. Lexi lived four of her first six years with a non-Native American California foster family, but because she . Shes visited them several times and has regular Skype calls with them, so theyre not strangers. A federal judge in Texas ruled the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, saying it is racially motivated and violates the equal protection clause. Lexi can remain where she belongs, with extended family that will raise her and a sister in the Choctaw tradition. Matthew McGill represents the Brackeens, two other couples from Nevada and Minnesota, and a birth mother in the case. But placement with family is always our priority. ###. 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. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. 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