A Santa Clarita couple vowed Thursday to continue fighting to gain custody of a 6-year-old foster girl of partial Choctaw lineage who was taken by social workers so she can live with blood relatives in Utah.
The girl, Lexi, was taken away from foster parents Rusty and Summer Page on March 21. The move was made under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted in the 1970s to help protect the interests of Native American children.
On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case, rejecting a request by the Pages for a stay of a lower court decision that allowed the girl to be taken away.
“We’ll never, ever stop fighting for her, ever,” Rusty Page said Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, standing outside the offices of a state appeals court that is still considering the case.
“While the past 10 days have been complete anguish for our family, there’s no way our pain can compare to the confusion and disorientation that Lexi is experiencing,” he said. “Despite the news from the California Supreme court yesterday, we remain hopeful that the very court we stand in front of this morning will do the right thing.”
Officials with the Choctaw Nation have said they desire “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.”
— Wire reports