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Annual march honors Native American children in foster care
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
For 13 years, a walk through the streets of Siouxland has brought together the community to honor a special group of people.
"The
March To Honor Lost Children" recognizes Native American children and
other children tribal members say have been lost to foster care and
adoption.
There are three children who have been honored throughout the years who died under foster care.
Larissa Star and Hannah Thomas died about 15 years ago.
Nathaniel Saunsoci was a 20-month-old who died in 2006.
He sustained severe head injuries while living in a foster home in South Sioux City.
Wednesday, was a day of remembering those three children and others in the foster care and adoption system.
The
morning began with a prayer of hope for a group of people looking to
bring awareness about the issue of Native American children who are
"lost" in the adoption or foster care system.
"Somebody is going
to see this today, a child is going to look at this, a child who feels
abandoned and isolated and they're going to see this group. And it's
going to make them feel good," said Frank LaMere, organizer of the March
to Honor Lost Children.
LaMere has organized the event since the
beginning and he says some children who aren't with their biological
families will see this and hopefully reconnect with them.
One family hoping to reconnect with their loved one through the march was Delphine O'Connor and her son Michael.
Delphine says her granddaughter Maria Helena Flores was taken into foster care nearly 20 years ago.
She says during that time, an injury caused Maria to become quadriplegic.
"I
would consider her lost as one of the lost children and in our family
since we don't have that contact with her and I relate to that to a lot
of our families out there right now," said Michael O'Connor, a member of
the Yankton Sioux Tribe.
Maria's story was just one of many shared by the marchers Wednesday morning.
Organizers say this wasn't only a day to remember those who are lost, but also for future generations.
"There's
still disproportionate numbers of our children in foster care," said
LaMere. "Disproportionate numbers of our children are being adopted. And
I think that we need to be vigilant, elevate the discussion."
For the marchers, spreading that message is just one step in their efforts to make change.
There were multiple stops for the marchers along their route Wednesday.
Two of them included the Siouxland Center for Active Generations and the Woodbury County Courthouse.
There were prayers for the children at each stop.
The cold weather did not prevent people from out-of-town from coming to support the cause.
There were people who traveled from Oklahoma City, Des Moines and other areas outside Siouxland to raise awareness.
One man came from Omaha to be a part of the march.
"I
feel like people look over this like people look over this a lot," said
Peter Janda, an Omaha, Nebraska resident. "I mean it's kinda sad to see
what's happening and seeing what's happening to these children and I
think that people should take a stand."
Janda says the march signifies so much more than just going on a walk and that it was important for him to participate.
Please support NARF
| |
| Indian Country is under attack. Native tribes and people are fighting hard for justice. There is need for legal assistance across Indian Country, and NARF is doing as much as we can. With your help, we have fought for 48 years and we continue to fight.
It is hard to understand the extent of the attacks on Indian Country. We are sending a short series of emails this month with a few examples of attacks that are happening across Indian Country and how we are standing firm for justice.
Today, we look at recent effort to undo laws put in place to protect Native American children and families. All children deserve to be raised by loving families and communities. In the 1970s, Congress realized that state agencies and courts were disproportionately removing American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families. Often these devastating removals were due to an inability or unwillingness to understand Native cultures, where family is defined broadly and raising children is a shared responsibility. To stop these destructive practices, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
After forty years, ICWA has proven to be largely successful and many states have passed their own ICWAs. This success, however, is now being challenged by large, well-financed opponents who are actively and aggressively seeking to undermine ICWA’s protections for Native children. We are seeing lawsuits across the United States that challenge ICWA’s protections. NARF is working with partners to defend the rights of Native children and families.
Indian Country is under attack. We need you. Please join the ranks of Modern Day Warriors. Please donate today to help Native people protect their rights. | | |
To Veronica Brown
Join!
National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network (NISCWN)
Membership Application Form
The Network is open to all Indigenous and Foster Care Survivors any time.
The procedure is simple: Just fill out the form HERE.
Source Link: NICWSN Membership
ADOPTION TRUTH
As the single largest unregulated industry in the United States, adoption is viewed as a benevolent action that results in the formation of “forever families.”
The truth is that it is a very lucrative business with a known sales pitch. With profits last estimated at over $1.44 billion dollars a year, mothers who consider adoption for their babies need to be very aware that all of this promotion clouds the facts and only though independent research can they get an accurate account of what life might be like for both them and their child after signing the adoption paperwork.
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