The First Judicial District celebrated the opening of the Dakota County Indian Child Welfare Act Court with a Tribal flag Installation ceremony on Tuesday, June 23, at Hastings High School.
The event included a drum group from Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and speakers representing Prairie Island Indian Community, Dakota County, and the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
“I’m especially excited about the Indian Child Welfare Act Court in Dakota County because this work is deeply personal to me,” said ICWA Court Judge Jamie Cork. “This court matters because it creates a space where Native voices, traditions, and sovereignty are respected in a meaningful way. It helps ensure that decisions about children are made with cultural understanding and with the goal of keeping families and communities connected. This court represents not just a legal responsibility, but a moral one—to support healing, strengthen trust, and honor the identity and future of Native children and their families.”
Indian Child Welfare Courts strive to be a model for implementing both the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act in child-welfare cases involving American Indian children, families, and Tribal nations. ICWA Courts apply best practices in American Indian child welfare to fulfill both the specific requirements in ICWA and the underlying issues that prompted the creation of ICWA.
“The opening of the ICWA Court in Dakota County marks a meaningful step forward in developing positive outcomes for Native children in the child protection system,” said First Judicial District Chief Judge Christopher Lehmann. “I’m proud of the work and leadership of Judge Jaime Cork, alongside with our justice partners in Dakota County who all came together to build an ICWA court that not only meets the requirements of the statute, but also honors its spirit. This has been a collaborative effort grounded in respect, accountability, and a shared commitment to better outcomes.”
The ICWA Court opening event also featured a Tribal flag installation ceremony. The Dakota County Judicial Center currently displays flags from nine Tribal nations. The Tribal flag installation ceremony welcomed three additional Tribal flags—from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe—which will ensure the Court displays flags from all Tribal nations in Minnesota. A significant aspect of ICWA court practices is to visually represent Tribal nations and American Indian culture in courtrooms and court facilities.
In addition to displaying Tribal nation flags, the courts also:
- Proactively build relationships of trust with Tribal Nations
- Partner with culturally relevant services to support Native families
- Empower parents with lived experience to inform ICWA Court practice
- Engage Tribes fully, meaningfully, and with respect for Tribal Sovereignty and each Tribal Nation’s culture
- Effectively engage families by reducing barriers to participation and fostering a courtroom atmosphere that facilitates engagement.
The Dakota County ICWA Court opening ceremony is the culmination of many years of work by Dakota County judges, court staff, the county, and child welfare system professionals to implement ICWA Court best practices in Dakota County. This process has involved studying other ICWA Courts’ practices and seeking input from Tribal partners on how to reduce barriers and improve the court’s engagement with Tribes and families in ICWA cases. The Dakota County ICWA Court has put this feedback into practice by restructuring court procedures, courtroom spaces, and scheduling practices to better serve families in ICWA cases. Dakota County ICWA Court professionals also have engaged in specialized ICWA/MIFPA training to ensure “gold standard” practice in ICWA cases.
Since 2024, the Minnesota Children’s Justice Initiative has carried out a statewide initiative to document best practices for Minnesota ICWA courts. These best practices are based in large part on knowledge gained from ICWA Courts statewide and input from Tribal nations across Minnesota.