Time Magazine on #ICWA

Here

The first four paragraphs of the story:

Each time Elisia Manuel sees her daughter Precious rehearsing traditional basket dancing and humming tribal songs around their home in Casa Grande, Arizona, she’s overwhelmed with emotion. “It’s beautiful to witness,” the mother of three says. “She’s part of the community.”

This wasn’t always guaranteed. Elisia and her husband Tecumseh, who is a member of the Gila River Indian Community, became foster parents in 2012 after learning about the great need for Native American foster families in Arizona. They couldn’t have biological children of their own and felt a deep calling to help other families, Elisia says.

Within two years, the couple had taken in two foster children and adopted three more. Their two adopted sons are biological brothers, and each came to the Manuels when they were just days old.

Their daughter, Precious, also needed to leave her home as a baby but was going to be placed with a non-Native family at first. “She wouldn’t have received any education about her culture,” Elisia says. She knows what that would be like. Elisia’s family is Hispanic and has Apache roots, but, her grandmother was adopted and raised away from her biological family, so Elisia did not grow up learning about Apache culture and is not an enrolled tribal member.

Time Magazine on ICWA by ilpc

Saturday in Los Angeles Community Informational Meeting/Luncheon #ICWA #FosterFamilies

Community Informational Meeting/Luncheon

Saturday, July 16: This FREE event is to provide Native Foster Homes for Native children in the foster care system in Los Angeles County. We have had some success and publicity on this through local media for Lisa Smith, a local Cherokee Nation Citizen who has ​​​​opened her home to foster children.

 

See Article:

https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news-2/l-a-s-one-native-american-foster-mom/18823

You are invited to attend

Community Informational Meeting/Luncheon

this Saturday, July 16 from 11am to 1pm

at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

840 Echo Park Avenue Los Angeles, near Sunset Blvd and Echo Park Blvd.   

The purpose of this event is to supply information to Native American families who may be interested in providing safe and loving homes to Native American children.  

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is 1978 federal law which mandates placement preferences of Native American children:

• First – with Family members or non-related extended family
• Second - Members of their own tribe
• Third – Members of other tribes

The last resort is placement with non-native foster families.

WE NEED NATIVE HOMES

To ensure proper implementation of ICWA, we must provide Native homes to prevent our children from placement with non-Native families. When Native American children are placed in non-Native homes, they are at high risk of losing their identity, heritage, values, customs, culture and knowledge of their history.

Please join us. Bring your family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and all you know who are Native American and interested in helping to provide a safe and loving home to Native American children.

Lunch is provided – RSVP please call (626) 938-1822 to be included

 

CREDIT: Isabel Avila; Robert Rodriguez (left) and David White run DCFS’ ‘American Indian Unit.’

 

an earlier event