"If you're having problems, they'll take your kids anytime they want," said Robert Wabasha, of the Santee Sioux Nation, whose granddaughter and grandniece both died after being adopted out of his family. The granddaughter died at the hands of her adoptive father while a baby, and the grandniece recently drowned at age 5. Wabasha (shown below) and other Native people testified about experiences with Iowa's child-welfare system before the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs during a two-day meeting at Four Directions Community Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Preston Daniels, director of Iowa's human rights department, under whose umbrella ICNAA operates, addressed Native parents' sense of dread, saying, "Helplessness is terrifying." He also commended ICNAA's proposed solutions, including a bill to be introduced in the state legislature's 2011 spring session to restore parental rights to those who have lost them -- currently a permanent loss -- and to ensure grandparents' rights.
Daniels called the bill vital: "The relatively small Native population is in danger of losing its next generation, and therefore its heritage. Many are losing parental rights at a young age. However, every study shows that people generally mature out of youthful indiscretions at around age 25." They should have a second chance, Daniels said. "Children need their parents."
And parents need their children, said Four Directions' executive director Frank LaMere, from the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He recounted the suicide of a young woman who'd lost custody of her child and added, "Our Anishinabe relatives tell us children choose their parents when they come into this world. A parental-rights bill would sustain those relationships."
In an afternoon of testimonials, speakers described leaping through what Rosalie Two Bulls, from Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, called "hoops of fire" to prove they were competent. Two Bulls, a mental-health professional working on a Ph.D., reported being told she is too old to adopt her grandchildren.
Though the child-welfare system appears efficient at removing Native children, it seems ineffective when help may be needed. Reginald White, from the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, testified to the commission about roadblocks and hostility he was experiencing as he attempted to gain custody of his young son. "He's such a great, outgoing kid, but I'm seeing changes in him," White said. "He keeps asking me, 'Dad, when am I going home?'"
Misinformation, such as the idea that reservations are beyond the law, poor understanding of Native cultures, and uncooperative court officials complicate matters in overburdened child-welfare systems. An area newspaper's investigative report and anecdotal evidence from Sioux City attorneys have also suggested that adoptions may be a lucrative business there. And some officials may not realize how aggressively they must pursue ICWA requirements, using "active efforts" to keep Native families together, to find a child's tribe, and more.
Moving forward, ICNAA will develop cultural-competency training, work to ensure better home studies, and encourage recruitment of Native foster families. Commission chair Judy Allen, from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, was adamant: "In working with the system, we don't want to turn our Native families into white families and our kids into white kids."
Photos by Stephanie Woodard.
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