First Nations Poverty the cause of a humanitarian crisis? Broken Spirits

A A two-day emergency meeting in Ottawa begins today, to discuss what the Minister of Indigenous Services has called a “humanitarian crisis.”

"Right now dollars flow into the child welfare system according to the number of kids that are apprehended," said Jane Philpott. "So the more children in care, the more money comes out of government coffers."

READ: We must disrupt the foster care system and remove perverse incentives, says Minister Jane Philpott - Home | The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti | CBC Radio

CBC News: Jane Philpott unveils 6-point plan to improve 'perverse' First Nations child welfare system

more stories from this episode

• 'I felt like my heart was ripped out': Indigenous mother under 'birth alert' fears she will lose second child
• The Millennium Scoop: Indigenous youth say care system repeats horrors of the past
• We must disrupt the foster care system and remove perverse incentives, says Minister Jane Philpott
• Solving the puzzle: Indigenous groups offer solutions to foster care crisis

Native Americans Confront the Legacy of #Adoption

Groups help ease transition back into families, tribes

WASHINGTON — 
Conrad Eagle Feather, a Sicangu Lakota, was only three when he was taken from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and adopted by a non-Native farming family in the state of Nebraska. His three sisters were removed to separate families.
He recalls a childhood with little joy.
“They used us for farm labor,” he said, detailing a list of chores that began before dawn and continued until bedtime. He said he still bears the scars of physical abuse.
“For every sin I had committed according to the Bible, I got one strike with whatever they had in their hands at the time — a garden hose, a broom handle, a wire hanger,” he said. “And all the time, they used to tell me, ‘Who knows what would have happened to you if we hadn’t saved you?’”

READ STORY: Native Americans Confront the Legacy of Adoption

Indiana to open their adoption records July 1st

Indiana is set to open their adoption records on July 1st, and this will be of particular interest to our Native American community. As you may know, over a million children were routed through Chicago between 1950-1970 and many of them ended up in Indiana, having been placed in non-Native foster and adoption settings.

Please let your readers know there will be a conference open to everyone that will assist people in filling out the forms to request their birth information, hosted by the Indiana Adoptee Network http://indianaadopteenetwork.org/.  Needless to say, we are counting the days so that hopefully many of the American Indians/Native Americans living here will be able to find their rightful families and reconnect with their culture and heritage.

Thank you,
--

Kerry Steiner

Professional Genealogist
Aspen Genealogy

Creating Affordable Family Trees Since 1992
Association of Professional Genealogists

National Genealogical Society
Indiana Genealogical Society

P.O. Box 17491  ~  Indianapolis, IN 46217

(317) 370-6781

Victims Sought: Canada Awards $635 Million to Stolen Native Children #6os Scoop

YouTube Screen Capture

Chief Marcia Brown Martel is a lead claimant in the 'Sixties Scoop' court settlement with Canada. Under the settlement, First Nations and Inuit children who were taken from their homes between 1951 and 1991 will be eligible for personal compensation.

Montreal Sixties Scoop victims from 1951 to 1991 can seek assistance from National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network regarding settlement

Vincent Schilling • January 2, 2018

In October of 2017, the federal Government of Canada reached a settlement with the First Nations victims of the “Sixties Scoop.”  The program gained its nickname when child welfare agencies removed thousands of indigenous children from their communities primarily in the 60’s and placed them with foster families or adopting families.
After years of trying to fight against the Canadian federal government, Lead claimant Chief Marcia Brown Martel won a massive victory when the court awarded a payout of $800 million Canadian / $635 million American, to about 20,000 victims.

How to seek compensation and / or support as a “Sixties Scoop” survivor
Colleen Cardinal, (Plains Cree from Saddle Lake Cree Nation) one of the co-founders of the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network (NISCW) told Indian Country Today that the NISCW is a great resource for those seeking compensation and / or support as a “Sixties Scoop” survivor.
In addition to offering services such as leadership, support and advocacy for those affected by Indigenous child removal systems in Canada, the NISCW is currently offering a specific “Sixties Scoop” Peer Support Toll Free Number (1-866-456-6060.)

According to the NISCW website:
The peer support line will provide listening and support services to Indigenous 60s scoop survivors who experienced displacement, loss of culture, due to being adopted or fostered in non-Indigenous households across Canada, the U.S.A.
The Peer Support Line will provide safe, respectful and non-judgemental confidential listening.It will link Survivors to approved services across Canada to support their emotional, cultural, spiritual and mental needs.
Services include:

• Provide direction on how to access government information related to their adoption and other government documentation.
• Provide direction to support their repartition efforts that include finding families and communities.
• Provide information and direction on how to attain Indigenous programs and services, Treaty Indian Cards, Metis memberships and Nunavut Land Claims Agreement services for Inuit.
• Provide one-on-one talks with Survivors to listen to stories, connect them with other Survivors, or Sixties Scoop organizations across Canada.

For more information on the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network visit www.NISCW.org.


READ: Victims Sought: Canada Awards $635 Million to Stolen ‘Sixties Scoop’ Native Children - Indian Country Media Network