House Bill 4148 was passed in the Oregon House of Representatives
on Thursday, February 20. The legislation seeks to place Native
American and Alaska Native foster children in culturally appropriate
care.
WOULD ALIGN OREGON WITH FEDERAL LAW:This
bill modifies the current dependency law in order to better fit with
the Indian Child Welfare Act and mandates the Oregon Department of Human
Services to provide reports every other year on American Indian and
Alaska Native children in the welfare system. This new legislation essentially works to
protect Native American children in culturally appropriate environments
within Oregon’s foster care system. “Culturally appropriate” meaning
that the cultural identity of Native American foster children will be
protected through carrying on their traditions and connection to their
family and tribe whilst they are in the foster care system. The bill is a response to the
federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was created “to protect the
best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and
security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum
Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families
and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which
will reflect the unique values of Indian culture.”
4148 is a direct follow up to concerns
about over-representation of Native American children in the foster care
system, who made up 4.8 percent of Oregon’s system in 2018, though they
make up only 1.6 percent of the total population.
The federal court case could have a sweeping impact on Native families and tribal sovereignty.
This cultural difference — that a family’s fitness is determined by its wealth, and that those concerns should outweigh a child’s connection to their family and heritage — is essentially why the Indian Child Welfare Act was created in 1978. The law recognizes the history of federal policy aimed at breaking up Native families and mandates that, whenever possible, Native families should remain together.
Sarah Kastelic, the executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, said that ICWA acknowledges important familial and tribal bonds that have long been disregarded, and that Native ways — such as extended families living under the same roof — have often been used to show unfitness in child welfare proceedings. “No matter the picket fences and swimming pools and things, most of the time, kids want to be with their families,” she said.
Tribes say an end to hostilities with the state of Alaska is long overdue.
A
bill that would require state acknowledgement of federally-recognized
tribes had its second hearing Tuesday and was approved and moved out of
the Alaska House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs.
At the hearing questions were raised and addressed about the impact of the legislation on state jurisdiction and sovereignty.
Two
witnesses gave legislators a look at what could be a national model for
a state-tribal partnership, in 2017 the state of Alaska and a dozen
tribes signed an Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact.
Nicole
Borromeo, Athabascan, general counsel for the Alaska Federation of
Natives, said a compact is like a modern-day treaty. "[This one]
specifically defines the services and supports that are going to be
carried out by our tribes and tribal organizations on behalf of the
state as well as the funding streams required," she said.
“I
want to call the committee’s attention to the fact that this is the
first ever compact that has been negotiated at the state level. And that
is something for all of us to be proud of,” Borromeo said. “We
[Alaskans] tend to be at the top of the list of undesirables and at the
bottom of the good list. In this case we are truly breaking ground and
we're on the cutting edge of law and policy. It's just something that
all Alaskans should know about and be able to celebrate.”
Francine
Eddy Jones, director of tribal family and youth services, Central
Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of
Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)
Francine
Eddy Jones, Tlingit, is director of tribal family and youth services at
the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
🔻
“The
tribal co-signers don't want to take over the state child welfare
system the exact same way that the state has done it and continue to
provide services the exact same way the state does. The state is more
focused on intervention, including removal of children from homes,” said
Eddy Jones. “Tribes want to focus more on prevention.”
She
said being locally based, tribes are better able to get help and
services to children and parents, and to reach out to extended family
before it gets to the point of a child being removed from the family.
Eddy Jones said, “If we're able to continue on this path with tribes
providing services, we expect to see a decrease in the number of
children that are in state custody because they are no longer being be
removed from their home.”
She
said tribes have had more success in matching children going into
foster care with relatives and within tribes so they can maintain ties
to their families and to their culture.
“I'll
give you just one illustration of a particular case where the state was
having a hard time identifying who the child's family was and how to
match, whereas the tribe got involved and at the end of the day, this
particular case file had 70 names on it," Eddy Jones said. "That's just
because tribal members feel more comfortable sometimes talking to their
own tribe or tribal organization. So that's a very big win here for the
state."
Eddy
Jones concluded: “Tribes have been exercising tribal sovereignty under
the federal Indian child welfare act since its implementation in 1979,
when it was a federal law that was passed and tribes embraced that.
Tribes had been at the table working with the state not only in this
work under the compact but for the past 42 years, working with families,
whether that's on the prevention end or in the intervention side of in
terms of children coming into foster care system.”
The proposed legislation however would remove barriers for tribes that partner with the state on child welfare issues.
As
another example of the way a tribe can take a different approach than
the state, a tribal judge and former magistrate from the southeast
Alaska village of Kake described the tribal court’s focus on healing and
prevention. Michael Jackson said people can avoid a criminal
misdemeanor record by participating in Kake’s Peacemaking Circle.
“I
would say that our interventions without formal charges brought against
people here in our community were a preventative measure… They
prevented youth and adults from committing other crimes knowing that
people loved them in our community, that they were willing to change,
they righted the wrong to the victims,” Michael said. “And our community
became stronger because of apologies. And for love, respect and
forgiveness and our spiritual part, whether it was through the Western
way of religion or our culture, modified bad behavior,” Michael Jackson
said.
Roberta
Moto, Inupiaq, of Deering and Kotzebue in Northwest Alaska, has worked
in suicide and substance abuse prevention, and as an administrator in
child welfare. She said the state’s taking over services tribes once
managed hasn’t worked.
“With
the erosion of tribal powers, we have seen a rise in social problems in
our villages and I feel very strongly that if tribes resumed their role
as tribal courts and mediators in their village, we would see an
improvement in the areas of social issues,” Moto said. “Tribes would be
empowered to prevent adverse childhood experiences. Childhood trauma is
what contributes to higher rates of substance abuse, suicide, and even
chronic health problems like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.” She
went on to say studies have shown that local self determination helps
with school performance, cut juvenile delinquency, and reduce crime.
“If
this bill passes, the tribes will have a stable ground to build on and
not have to worry if their progress will be set back with each change in
administration… I support the recognition of tribes because I want my
grandchildren to live in a thriving community where they are safe, their
culture's protected, and there is hope for their future. This bill is a
historic event for the Alaska Native people,” Moto said.
Dawn
Jackson, Tlingit, is executive director of the Organized Village of
Kake. She said the tribe has existed since before the state of Alaska
and since 1995 has been operating programs in higher education, social
services, Indian child welfare, realty, tribal operations, housing and
tribal transportation. She said the village has a domestic violence
program, and environmental programs as well as the only tribal historic
preservation office in the state of Alaska.
“We
have built programs without the state's assistance through the years
due to the state not recognizing our existence,” said Dawn. The Kake
tribe “has been a partner in successful partnerships on regional and
national levels. And the missing link in these partnerships is the state
of Alaska,” Dawn said. “I urge your legislature, the Senate, the
administration, and the courts of Alaska to recognize tribes for Alaska
to not just heal, but to grow emotionally and economically in the
future.”
Nikki
Pollock, Yup’ik, is director of senior services for Orutsararmiut
Traditional Native Council, the federally recognized tribe for Bethel, a
regional hub in western Alaska.
She
said, “This lack of recognition of the Alaska Native tribe here in
their territorial jurisdiction creates silos. The lack creates barriers.
It's been historically, in my opinion, viewed as a pie where if one
gets a bigger slice that means someone else gets a smaller piece. But
one bigger slice, more rights for tribes, doesn't mean less pie for
other people,” Pollock said. “It doesn't take away state’s rights. It
supplements. It gives that recognition that tribes are already federally
recognized.”
Director
of Southeast Senior Services Maryann Mills said, “Alaska is the only
state in the United States that ever requires waivers of sovereign
immunity in order for tribes to access these federal funds.” She said
tribes get annual audits, handle budgets responsibly and competently
provide services,
“Yet
the state requires us to waive our sovereign immunity for federal funds
given to them by the federal government to give to us,” Mills said.
“This process results in costly pass-through fees, putting roadblocks to
the tribal government's ability to perform the functions of providing
critical services to its citizens. Alaskan Indigenous people face
insurmountable challenges. Many of these challenges come from the many
years of hostility from the state of Alaska.”
The
bill's sponsor Rep. Kopp noted that half of the nation’s federally
recognized tribes are in Alaska so state recognition is especially
important.
“Alaska
Native people and the tribes in particular never had an open
declaration of war or hostilities but yet they were removed from their
land and were resettled," he said, "and in return for that they gave up
aboriginal land claims.”
Rep.
Dave Talerica, a Republican from the Denali Borough in Interior Alaska,
said questions remain about the effects of the legislation on state and
tribal jurisdiction.
“Obviously
the topic of sovereign immunity is on everyone's minds and I think
that's something that needs to be addressed is what effect, what does
this bill do in regards to sovereign immunity; does it have any effect
on that with the state? Perhaps that can be answered as the bill moves
along through committee,” said Rep. Sarah Vance, a Republican from
Homer. “And, what impact does it have on tribal compacting with the
current compacts and in the future? These are just some of the questions
that have come up. “
Tribal
Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, Yup’ik, said “I do want
to call out to address the concerns around trust obligations and
jurisdictional issues that there is explicit language in the bill that
says in section four that nothing in this section creates a concurrent
trust relationship between the state and federally recognized tribes.
“That
really what it's doing is putting into statute a recognition of
federally recognized tribes that are already inherently recognized just
through a trust relationship with the federal government regardless of
the passage of this legislation,” Zulkusky said.
“Especially
as the granddaughter of one of Alaska's Territorial Guard members who
put his life and his family's situation on the line to protect this
state before statehood, I believe that it is important to acknowledge
[tribes]," Zulkusky said. "I think one of the most profound moments of
the tribal affairs committee last year was when a representative asked
‘what is an opportunity for mutual respect moving forward?’ And the
comment of our invited testifier was, ‘visibility and acknowledgement,
just seeing and acknowledging the existence of the people.’”
“To
recognize Alaska Native people, by doing that we do not diminish the
state's sovereignty. We do not diminish the State‘s work moving forward”
Zulkosky called the bill long overdue.
The
committed voted unanimously to move HB 221 out of committee. It now
goes to the Alaska House Committee on Community and Regional Affairs.
Joaqlin Estus, Tlingit, is a national correspondent based in Anchorage, Alaska. Follow her on Twitter: @estus_m. Email her at: jestus@indiancountrytoday.com.
Wayne (center) with his brother and a-mom Ann Snellgrove
Torn Apart 32 Years Ago By Canadian Policy Toward
Aboriginals, A Mother And Son Meet For The First Time.
September 21, 2003| BY MARGO HARAKAS
He called
himself Lost Cub, and for years he tried futilely to find his way home.
Then in 2002,
feeling that at last he was closing in, Wayne Snellgrove hired a private
investigator to follow up on the final four names on his list. He needed a
shield, a buffer from the searing pain of renewed rejection. When the Canadian
investigator finally telephoned her news, Snellgrove took the phone to the
bedroom, closed the door, and, lying down on the bed, braced himself.
"I found
your mother," she said. Then it all tumbled out.
Nora Smoke, a
Saulteaux Indian living on a reserve in Saskatchewan, told the investigator,
she loved Wayne, always had, that it was the happiest day in her life that he
had found her. She had never forgotten the child she'd never seen.
"Please
tell my son," Smoke pleaded with the investigator, "I've always
thought of him."
And the
6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound athlete sobbed, sobbed like a baby, sobbed with 32
years of repressed emotion, sobbed like a kidnapped child returned to his
bereft mother.
The search had
ended; however, the story of a newborn's disappearance three decades ago was
yet to be told.
Snellgrove,
like many Canadians, calls it kidnapping. Others call it cultural annihilation
or cultural genocide. Officially, it's been dubbed the Sixties Scoop.
Throughout the 60s, 70s and into the mid 80s, thousands of native children were separated
from their mothers and adopted out to middle-class, non-native families in the
United States, Europe and elsewhere.
"Some
communities lost an entire generation," says Darrell Racine, professor of
native studies at Brandon University, in Manitoba, Canada.
At best, say
the critics, the action of the Children's Aid Societies, authorized at the time
to administer Canada's child welfare services, was misguided. At worst, it was
racism.
"It goes
back to the usual manifest destiny complex white people have over red people
and the idea they are more civilized than aboriginal people. They thought they
were doing the aboriginals a favor," says Emma LaRocque, professor of
native studies at the University of Manitoba.
The problem was
those removing the children were usually white and, because of bias or
ignorance of aboriginal culture, they were, say critics, unqualified to
determine what was in the best interest of the native child.
That the
Sixties Scoop followed on the heels of the horrific residential school program
was not coincidence. The thinking there, says Racine, "was the only way to
civilize the Indians was to get the child away from the parents." So the
children were forced into church-run boarding schools to be purged of their
language, customs and culture. (Similar boarding schools were operational
throughout most of the 20th century in the United States, as well.)
In the 1960s,
with the closing of Canada's residential schools, aboriginal children continued
to be removed, this time on the grounds of parental ambivalence, poverty,
illness, or drug or alcohol addiction.
"Entire
reserves would be assessed as dysfunctional and every child in the community
would be removed," says Kenn Richard, director of Native Child and Family
Services of Toronto.
And then
"because of racism," says Richard, who is half native, "few
white Canadians were willing to adopt aboriginal children, so placements were
made through agencies in the U.S."
'I really don't
belong'
Wayne
Snellgrove came through an agency in Northampton, Mass. Six months before
getting the 2 1/2-year-old Wayne, Richard and Ann Snellgrove, his adoptive
parents, had taken home another boy, a white boy. They wanted to find for him a
companion.
Despite loving
and caring parents, Wayne says, "I've always had this feeling of being
lost and misplaced, feeling I don't really belong here. Every time I looked in
the mirror, I knew it. I had only to look at my brother to know I was
different."
He describes
his adoptive family as "wonderful." But his situation was far
different from those that have made headlines in Canada and suggest there was
little screening of prospective parents. Several stunning cases are recounted
by the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto in its report titled
"Research Project: Repatriation of Aboriginal Families -- Issues, Models
and A Workplan." One Native child, placed with a bachelor in Kansas, was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his adoptive father with a baseball
bat. The trial revealed that for years the youth had been sexually abused by
his adoptive father.
Likewise, a
native girl placed with a family who subsequently moved to Holland wound up a
drug addict and prostitute after being impregnated twice by her adoptive
father. After years of living abroad, she returned to Canada where, with the
help of birth siblings, she established a new life.
Please leave a comment! Wayne, an amazing artist and Olympic swimmer, is on Facebook. He lives in Florida. This is his painting of a red hand.
The court's goal is to work directly with tribal members, families, and
state agencies on finding the best solution for the child, all while
preserving cultural ties. It's only the 6th one in the country.
BERNALILLO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO—
In the pueblo of Pojoaque, there's a saying they take to heart. "No one gets left behind, and we don't shoot our wounded," said Joseph Talachy, the governor of the Pojoaque.
When a tribal member is down, the pueblo as a whole works to bring them back up. "We're
all wounded to some extent here in the pueblo, and in northern New
Mexico in general we come from very historically traumatic background,"
Talachy said.
For Talachy, the trauma is all too familiar. "It
wasn't until fairly recently, when I figured out that this was all a
traumatic experience," Talachy said. "I thought everyone got adopted. I
thought everyone got put in a different home." Talachy was born in
an Illinois prison. His biological mother is a Pojoaque tribal member
who wasn't able to financially care for her kids, so she put them up for
adoption. "But given the implementation of the Indian Child
Welfare Act in 1978, it opened up the doors for me to come back to my
pueblo," Talachy said.
The Indian Child Welfare Act, also known
as ICWA, is a federal law that prevents state agencies from removing
Native American children from their parents and placing them in outside
communities. The goal is to keep the children as close to their
cultures, traditions and tribes as possible. "Actually under the
obligations of the feds, they had to contact the tribe, in order to ask
'Hey tribe do you want your child back?'" Talachy said. The
Pojoaque governor at the time was able to find a tribal family to take
Talachy in at the age of 4. Becasue of that he was able to be raised
back in the pueblo, learning his culture, language and traditions. But
that's not always the case for American Indian kids. "I can't
imagine what it's like for that 4-year-old child to be placed in another
home and continue to be confused," Talachy said. According to
statistics from the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department,
about 10 percent of kids in the foster care system are Native American.
Native American children are also removed from their homes and
communities at a much higher rate than non-Native American kids. "There
has been this historically trauma in this whole country," said Melody
Wells with CYFD. "Having a distrust, and really not wanting to work with
them." Even though ICWA was enacted in 1978, many realized there was still a disconnect with state agencies and tribes. "Sometimes
it's as simple as walking into a courtroom and not seeing people who
look like you," said Special Master Catherine Begaye. "Sometimes there's
been some animosity between the tribes and CYFD, not knowing what one
another is doing. For lots of families the way we've been doing things,
doesn't always work for them." Judges with the children's court
ran an audit and found out that there were at least 100 children whose
cases would likely end up in a courtroom, which is why Bernalillo County
launched the ICWA court in January. "That spoke to the need that
we have to do much better," said Judge Marie Ward with the Second
Judicial Court. "If we can do this better then, ultimately it's the kids
and the families that get to stay together and have better lives." The
court's goal is to work directly with tribal members, families, and
state agencies on finding the best solution for the child, all while
preserving cultural ties. "This new administration really looked
at it and said why is this happening? That's really not how we want to
be," Wells said. "I think as we see the ICWA unit working with more and
more departments and individuals we will see a shift in how CYFD does
things over, across the board." Advocates of the program said
structural racism, historical trauma, and institutional bias has had an
impact with how New Mexico's courts treat Native American families,
which is why many believe this court is long overdue. "Native
people should see a system that is changing to meet their needs, instead
of them having to fit our cookie-cutter version of who their family
should be," Begaye said. "Native people can thrive with the right
support, and if that means a child who is 4 years old is in front of me,
I want to be part of the group of people who want to set them on the
course so that they can lead their people to a better future." CYFD
created an ICWA unit, that is composed of predominately native lawyers,
case workers, and supervisors. The new court here in Bernalillo becomes
only the sixth ICWA court in the country, joining cities like Billings,
Denver, and Los Angeles. Since the court's launch, judges have heard
two cases so far. "We want to establish trust between us and the families, that we're really here for reunification," Begaye said. For Talachy, his life was changed by the the ICWA system. "Without the courts, I wouldn't have the opportunities that I've been given today. Who knows where I'd be?" Talachy said. He knows who he is, he knows his roots, and he hopes every Native kid who ends up in the system will know theirs', too.
"Our
children are our No. 1 asset, who we are ultimately gets passed down
through our children; without their well-being, our culture dies, our
language dies," Talachy said.
Currently the court is only hearing cases in Bernalillo County, but the judges hope to expand it statewide in the coming years.
THE NEW COURT IN BERNALILLO BECOMES THE 6TH ICWA COURT IN THE COUNTRY
JOINING CITIES LIKE DENVER AND LOS ANGELES. SINCE JANUARY, THE COURT
HAS HEARD TWO CASES. C.Y.F.D CREATED THIS UNIT, THAT IS COMPOSED OF
PREDOMINATELY NATIVE LAWYERS, CASE WORKERS, AND SUPERVISORS. CURRENTLY
THE COURT IS ONLY HEARING CASES IN BERNALILLO COUNTY, BUT THE JUDGES
HOPES TO EXPAND IT STATEWIDE.
Whatever one believes about Native Americans as a racial archetype, however, is not relevant to an adequate under-standing of Indian status as a legal phenomenon. Judge O’Connor and others fail to grasp that concept.
The Dakota expression for child, wakan injan,
can be translated as “they too are sacred,” according to Glenn Drapeau,
Ihanktonwan Dakota and a member of the Elk Soldier Society on the
Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.
Can you see the curve American Adoption took to become a profitable industry after seeing that timeline? Do you notice how some states stepped in and made laws? Can you see the influence of the religions and their judgements of single parents? What role did poverty and racism play? Can you see how secrecy and laws protects the industry and the people who adopt?
Twenty years I've studied adoption in my own investigations and I think 20 years later... adoption is not about child care at all but has morphed into child trafficking, a response to an infertility epidemic, lawyers and judges, billions of dollars, propaganda and bad history.
Supply and demand requires: Where do you find an available baby for an infertile couple in America?
What was born of this curve in 20 years: there are camps. The two most common camps for adoptees are "be grateful" and "the activist."
Not everyone wants to hear adoptees in any camp. I simply cannot believe the adoption debate has gone on as long as it has.
If adoption hurts anyone, then it should be abolished. Period.
When you see how adoption was used against Native people, then it was a criminal act. (This was important to document in the four-part book series LOST CHILDREN OF THE INDIAN ADOPTION PROJECTS: see the books in the sidebar of this blog)
My adoptive parents were miserable people, very sick. I cannot begin to calculate the source of their behaviors but their infertility and religion resulted in my being adopted by them through Catholic Charities and then abused by both of them.
If there had been careful awareness by the adoption industry's social workers prior...maybe it would not have happened. But the social workers never returned.
Who would create a system for children that would not check on adopted children?
Child trafficking via adoption is profitable. That seems to be why it won't go away.
I'm not bitter because that was the system and how it was created. But when you see the harm, and the trauma and the lifelong issues for the child in a closed adoption, how does adoption exist in any form?
Caring for children who are true orphans, without any biological family is so rare, a community could step in and care for the orphan. It would not require a bureaucracy to do that. The decision could be made by tribal leaders. If you are a member of a tribe, the entire tribe is your family. Kinship care always worked for children who had lost their parents.
I was not an orphan. I had two biological parents who were in their 20s. Relatives told me later they could have and would have raised me.
But someone created a system that didn't allow that, and instead the adoption industry chose strangers to raise me.
I was born before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978. I do not have my Original Birth Certificate.
I will never stop fighting for Native children. They deserve our protection.
New research reveals that trauma experienced in childhood has long-term damaging effects on quality of life and lifespan. But the same research shows that adults play a critical role in helping children overcome this damage.
Here’s a quick experiment about your past that will tell you a vast amount about your future.
Check all that apply:
Did you experience recurrent emotional abuse as a kid?
Physical?
Sexual?
Did you experience physical neglect?
Emotional neglect?
Did anyone in your childhood home have substance abuse issues?
Did anyone struggle with mental illness?
Did anyone participate in criminal behavior and/or go to jail?
Was your mother ever treated violently?
Did you experience divorce or parental separation?
How many checks do you have? This is what clinicians call your ACE score. It stands for “adverse childhood experiences”
and study after study has confirmed that it has a huge influence on
your lifetime health. For starters: The life expectancy of individuals
with ACE scores of six or more is twenty years shorter than it is for
people with no ACEs. And a person with four or more ACEs is twice as
likely to develop heart disease and cancer.
Editor Note: Being adopted is high stress, too. We have posted about ACE on this blog - use the search bar.
In 2017, Second Judicial District Children’s Court judge Marie Ward and ICWA court hearing officer Catherine Begaye (Diné/Navajo) sketched out an ICWA court blueprint for New Mexico.
But it wasn’t until a November 2018 visit by Judge Katherine Delgado, who helped start an ICWA court in Adams County, Colo., that pushed Ward and Begaye to accelerate. The Second Judicial Court in Albuquerque presides over the largest amount of overall child welfare cases as well as ICWA cases in the state, Ward said. A few months after Blalock’s January 2019 appointment to cabinet secretary, CYFD created an internal, all-Native female ICWA team of four ICWA caseworkers, an ICWA supervisor and two children’s court attorneys. The ICWA unit educates ICWA court caseworkers, guardian ad litems, lawyers and affiliated parties on the historical and intergenerational trauma that a Native family has experienced. “They need that expertise and knowledge so that Indian families can receive support,” Chavers said.
House Bill 4148 was passed in the Oregon House of Representatives
on Thursday, February 20. The legislation seeks to place Native
American and Alaska Native foster children in culturally appropriate
care. 
