Lexi, a 6-year-old girl who is part-Choctaw was taken by social workers from her foster family in Santa Clarita, California on Monday. The family and their supporters were not able to stop the move.
Lexi was reported to have a Choctaw Nation extended family in Utah and the social workers decided that the part-Choctaw girl should be placed with them. The social workers arrived in the afternoon at the Page's home near Ron Ridge and Pamlico, as reported by Fox.
The part-Choctaw child has to move according to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was passed in the 1970s to protect the Native American children's interest. The Pages did their best to fight the move but their efforts have been rejected.
The foster family said the Lexi considers them as her family and that they would like to adopt her. Their friends protested and held a vigil outside the home days before the social workers came to take the girl. However, the Pages stated that they will not interfere once Lexi needs to be taken.
Lexi has lived with the Pages for more than four years. Rusty and his wife tried to adopt her although their attempt was unsuccessful, Los Angeles Times reported.
"We never use the word foster sister, foster daughter; it's sister and daughter," Rusty Page, 33, said. "She's part of our family with everything but her last name."
Lexi is scared and confused when she became the Page's foster child. Rusty Page said that Lexi is now the "happiest, sweetest, kindest girl you ever met." She also loves to play, to color and swim with their children. Rusty Page accused the Choctaw Nation of "dictating where this child goes."
A statement from the Choctaw tribe said that "from the beginning of this case, the Choctaw Nation advocated for [the girl's] placement with her family." The tribe added that Lexi's relatives in Utah have "created a loving relationship with her," the tribe said. "The Pages were always aware that the goal was to place [the girl] with her family, and her permanent placement has been delayed due to the Pages' opposition to the Indian Child Welfare Act."
