(a) The Preamble to the Constitution of the Yurok Tribe states that: “Our social and ecological balance, thousands and thousands of years old, was shattered by the invasion of the non-Indians. We lost three-fourths or more of our people through unprovoked massacres by vigilantes and the intrusion of fatal European diseases. The introduction of alcohol weakened our social structure, as did the forced removal of our children to government boarding schools, where many were beaten, punished for speaking their language, and denied the right to practice their cultural heritage.” Although the era of removal and placement in government boarding schools has passed, a new and more pervasive means of taking our children from us and furthering the breakdown of Yurok culture and spiritual beliefs has arisen. Judicial systems introduced to our culture by non-Indians seek to impose foreign standards of child rearing unknown to the Yurok people and our way of life. Traditionally, a child of the Yurok Tribe was raised collectively by the entire village. Participation in Yurok culture and ceremonial life was a person’s duty and responsibility. The foreign values imposed upon us by an outside system fail to honor and respect our duties and responsibilities.

(b) The Constitution of the Yurok Tribe was adopted to: “Preserve forever the survival of our Tribe and protect it from forces which may threaten its existence… Uphold and protect our Tribal sovereignty which has existed from time immemorial and which remains undiminished… Preserve and promote our culture, language, and religious beliefs and practices, and pass them on to our children, our grandchildren, and to their children and grandchildren on, forever...Provide for the health, education, economy, and social wellbeing of our members and future members…” By adopting this Yurok Children’s Ordinance, we clearly express our sovereign right to protect future generations and hereby affirm the Tribe’s intent to handle all matters of child welfare internally and according to Yurok culture, tradition, and family values. [Ord. 46A § 1002, adopted, 3/24/2016.]