Supreme Court Rejects Foster Couple’s ICWA Challenge, Keeping Red Lake Twins With Family

Fairmont, Minn. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5 refused to hear a bid by a white Minnesota foster couple to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and win back custody of Red Lake Nation twins who now live with their own grandmother. The order leaves in place a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that the foster parents — Kellie and Nathan Reyelts of Fairmont, in Martin County — had no standing to challenge the law, and it keeps the children with their family.

The case, docketed as N.R. v. Ellison, No. 25-1287, was the latest high-profile attempt to dismantle ICWA, the 1978 federal law that requires states to make active efforts to keep Native children with their families, relatives and tribes. The Supreme Court’s docket shows a one-line entry: “Petition DENIED.”

How a temporary foster placement became a constitutional fight

According to The Imprint, the twins were placed with the Reyelts as medically fragile newborns in a temporary foster placement. About a year and a half later, after the Red Lake Nation intervened, they were moved to a maternal aunt’s home — the preferred placement under ICWA and Minnesota’s companion law, the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA). In 2024 they moved to their maternal grandmother, a Red Lake Nation member, where the court-appointed guardian ad litem reported they were “thriving.”

The foster couple sued, arguing ICWA and MIFPA discriminate on the basis of race. Their case — supported by the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute — moved through Minnesota’s district court and court of appeals. County human services for Faribault and Martin counties, the Red Lake Nation, the children’s mother, the guardian ad litem and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison were all parties, according to the Supreme Court docket.

Minnesota Supreme Court: foster parents lacked standing

On March 11, 2026, the Minnesota Supreme Court, in a 49-page opinion by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, held that the Reyelts lacked standing and that lower courts properly denied their requests to intervene and to have the twins returned to their home. The court declined to reach their equal-protection arguments because, it said, the foster parents “are not parties to the case.”

The couple petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in May. The petition argued that children “are denied the possibility of safe, loving homes” under ICWA. After the justices requested a response, Minnesota filed its opposition in August and the case was distributed for the Sept. 28 conference. Certiorari was denied Oct. 5.

Reactions

My clients are deeply disappointed.

Mark Fiddler, attorney for the Reyelts, in a statement to The Imprint

Fiddler, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who also brought the earlier Brackeen challenge, told The Imprint that ICWA “creates a separate and unequal system for Indian children” and vowed the fight would continue.

The Protect ICWA Campaign, a coalition of Indigenous rights groups, called the law the “gold standard in child welfare policy” and welcomed the denial. Shannon Smith of the ICWA Law Center said after the March ruling that considering family and tribal connections serves Indian children’s best interests. Indigenous legal scholars argue ICWA is not race-based but rests on the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the United States.

What it means for families

Three years after the Supreme Court upheld ICWA in Haaland v. Brackeen, the justices again declined to disturb it. For Father’s Advocacy Network, the core principle is simple and applies to every family: when children cannot stay with their parents, they belong with their own relatives — grandparents, aunts and uncles — not with strangers, however well-meaning. ICWA writes that principle into law for Native families after generations of government removals. These twins are growing up with their grandmother because the law put family first.

The ruling also underscores a recurring problem FAN tracks nationwide: temporary foster placements that drag on for many months, allowing non-relative caregivers to build legal claims against a child’s own family. Kin placement should be the first stop, not the last.

Key facts

• Case: N.R., et al. v. Keith M. Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, et al., U.S. Supreme Court No. 25-1287.
• Petition filed May 4, 2026; denied Oct. 5, 2026.
• Petitioners: foster parents Kellie and Nathan Reyelts of Fairmont, Martin County, Minnesota, backed by the Goldwater Institute.
• Lower ruling: Minnesota Supreme Court (Chief Justice Natalie Hudson) held March 11, 2026 that the foster parents lacked standing.
• The Red Lake Nation twins live with their maternal grandmother, where the guardian ad litem reported they are “thriving.”
• ICWA (1978) and Minnesota’s MIFPA prioritize placement of Native children with relatives and tribal members.

Sources

• The Imprint — Supreme Court Denies Latest Challenge to Indian Child Welfare Act (2026-10-05)
• Minnesota Reformer — Supreme Court denies latest challenge to Indian Child Welfare Act (2026-10-06)
• Supreme Court of the United States — Docket No. 25-1287, N.R., et al. v. Keith M. Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, et al. (Petition denied Oct. 5, 2026) (2026-10-05)
• The Imprint — Minnesota’s Highest Court Rejects Latest Challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (2026-03-11)
• ICT — U.S. Supreme Court is asked, again, to overturn ICWA as unconstitutional (2026-05-07)

Up next · MinnesotaSt. Louis County, Minnesota CPS Under Fire After Parent With TBI Says Court Muted Him During Critical HearingRead the story →

More on Foster Care →

Louisiana Foster Child, 6, Dies of Meth Intoxication; Foster Mother ChargedOct 14, 2026Marks “Consistent With Compression”: Washington Documented a Foster Child’s Abuse for Years — and Left Her ThereJul 6, 2026She Died in the State’s Care. Illinois Still Won’t Say What Happened to Mackenzi Felmlee.Jun 27, 2026

More from Minnesota →

St. Louis County, Minnesota CPS Under Fire After Parent With TBI Says Court Muted Him During Critical HearingMay 15, 2026Morrison County, Minnesota CPS Case Raises Questions About Removal Procedures, Due Process, and Parental Rights TerminationMay 4, 2026Hennepin County CPS Under Fire: Investigation Names Jeff Guith, Mike Castillas, and Jody Cox in Parental Rights Termination CaseApr 27, 2026