This is a summary:
Indian Adoption Project(s)
“Government policies shifted in the 1950’s
towards a more humanitarian view, but not without serious consequences.
Humanitarians still viewed assimilation as the best answer to the
‘Indian problem’ and viewed tribes as incapable of caring for their
children. New projects began, such as the Indian Adoption Project,
which used public and private agencies to remove and place hundreds of
Indian children in non-Indian homes far from their families and
communities (Mannes, 1995). Few efforts were made or resources
committed to help tribal governments develop services on tribal lands
that would strengthen Indian families. As efforts to outplace Indian
children continued into the 1960s and 1970s, the Association on Indian
Affairs conducted a study in the 1970’s that found between 25 percent
and 35 percent of all Indian children had been separated from their
families (George, 1997). This study also found that in 16 states in
1969, 85 percent of the
Indian children were placed in non-Indian homes (Unger, 1977). The
long-term effects of these massive out placements of Indian children
were only just beginning to be understood in the 1970’s, which included
effects not only on individuals, but also the well-being of entire
tribal communities. Not until 1978, after the passage of the Indian
Child Welfare Act (P.L. 95-608), did the federal government acknowledge
the critical role that tribal governments play in protecting their
children and maintaining their families.”
— Act Against Indians, Terry Cross (Seneca Tribal
Nation) STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION
PRESENTED BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS Regarding the
REAUTHORIZATION OF THE INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
PREVENTION ACT S. 1601, SEPTEMBER 24, 2003 [online source]
“These are the facts. Between 1958 and 1967,
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) cooperated with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA), under a federal contract, to facilitate an
experiment in which non-Indian families removed 395 Indian children from
their tribes and cultures for adoption. This experiment began primarily
in the New England states. CWLA channeled federal funds to its oldest
and most established private agencies first, to arrange the adoptions,
though public child welfare agencies were also involved toward the end
of this period. Exactly 395 adoptions of Indian children were done and studied
during this 10-year period, with the numbers peaking in 1967. ARENA,
the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America, began in early 1968 as
the successor to the BIA/CWLA Indian Adoption Project. Counting the
period before 1958 and some years after it, CWLA was partly responsible
for approximately 650 children being taken from their tribes and placed
in non-Indian homes. For some of you, this story is a part of your
personal history. Through this project, BIA and CWLA actively encouraged states to continue and to expand
the practice of ‘rescuing’ Native children from their own culture, from
their very families. Because of this legitimizing effect, the indirect
results of this initiative cannot be measured by the numbers I have
cited. Paternalism under the guise of child welfare is still alive in
many locations today, as you well know….”
—Working Together to Strengthen Supports for
Indian Children and Families: A National Perspective, Keynote Speech by
Shay Bilchik at the National Indian Children Welfare Association (NICWA)
Conference, Anchorage, Alaska on April 24, 2001
“If the Native American population was 2 million and just one quarter of all
children were removed before the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, then
(on-paper) 80,000+ children were removed from their families during the
early to mid-1900s. If the population was 3 million, then over 100,000
were removed and relocated via adoption.” (You do the math…)
—Trace A. DeMeyer, One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects
“In 1984, 80% of American Indian infant
adoptions into non-Indian homes were made without notification to the
child’s tribe or the Secretary of the Interior. Six years since its
development, the ICWA still was not understood, was not being
implemented correctly or was simply ignored. The problem exists today;
and with the time-frame of child adoption procedures being accelerated
under President Clinton’s new adoption policies, the risk of Indian
children being permanently removed from their families, their tribes,
and their culture continues to increase.”
—American Indian Child Resource Center
An adoptee’s ‘records’ include:
the adoption decree; information about birth parents and their
families gathered during pre-placement interviews; and the Original
Birth Certificate (OBC). Several states offer restricted access, like
Michigan. Restrictions include consent vetoes, required parental
permission even for adults, mandatory intermediaries, and open records
for adoptees born in certain years. Proposals to change the laws are
being considered in several states.
my ggrandmother was born 1897 and adopted at the age of 14 how could I find out if she was one of them? she was adopted by an irish family in friendsville pa around 1912
ReplyDeleteMy Granfather William G Cornette born 1917 American soldger was in iceland in the secont world waar where he met my Granmother I did hear story of my granfather he told his friend here in iceland he haw a natiwe American blood all we hawe found is the Irish half and not my grate granfathers parents there is wery difficult to find the other half. My Granfather looks Native American and so Dous my Mother, My mother haw 8 children meny of us hawe strong ficical aperance like Native American and granchildren and grate gran children all of us were born in Iceland. We wuld like to find the missing other half i tried to get dna test kit from Ancestry.com.and we were not able to get the kit becous of legal striction here in iceland.i am hoping to find help how to find way passed this strictions.
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