Part-Choctaw girl taken from Santa Clarita foster home.
By Red Power Media, Staff | Mar 21 2016
A part-Choctaw girl was removed from her foster home under the Indian Child Welfare Act to be sent to live with family in Utah.
The 6-year-old girl named Lexi, was taken by social workers, despite efforts by the foster family and supporters to try to block the move.
On Monday, under the watchful eye of various cell phone cameras, social workers arrived at the home of Rusty and Summer Page in Santa Clarita California, shortly before 3 p.m. to take Lexi, so she can be placed with Choctaw Nation blood relatives in Utah.
The move was taken under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted in the 1970s to help protect the interests of Native American children.
The Pages, who took in Lexi four years ago to live with them had been fighting the move, but last Friday, they lost their appeal to keep her. They say they want to adopt Lexi and say the girl considers them and their three children to be her family.
The Page family has made a plea to let Lexi stay with them at least until they can take the case to the California Supreme Court to file a stay of the removal order, which they planned on doing Monday.
Lexi was supposed to be taken away on Sunday, but Department of Children and Family Services agents postponed the meeting after a large group of supporters crowded the neighborhood to stand against her removal.
Dozens of people demonstrate against authorities’ plans to take a 6-year-old girl from her foster family’s custody and place her with Choctaw Nation blood relatives who live in Utah.
In a statement, a court appointed attorney for Lexi said, “Her family in Utah have been waiting to receive her for over 3 years, during that time they have traveled to California monthly and she has visited their home as well.
“The injustice here is not that she is leaving California but rather that her foster parents pursued litigation which prevented her from joining her family sooner.”
In another statement, the Choctaw Nation said it wants what is best for Lexi.
“The Choctaw Nation desires the best for this Choctaw child. The tribe’s values of faith, family and culture are what makes our tribal identity so important to us. Therefore we will continue to work to maintain these values and work toward the long-term best interest of this child,” it said.
RED POWER MEDIA 