One of the greatest challenges that many of us encounter when trying to encourage better ICWA compliance is the lack of understanding of the impact of governmental policies on Native communities. In particular, people do not comprehend how many Native children have been adopted by families with no connection to their tribal communities nor do they understand the impact this has had on these children.

Al Jazeera America published a very nice article on this called “Lost Birds”.

For more than one hundred years, U.S. policies and practices separated Native American children from their families. Prior to 1978, when the Indian Child Welfare Act went into effect, Native American children were regularly plucked from their homes and sent to live with non-Natives. Some children grew up surrounded by love; others suffered enormous hardships. Many had a powerful desire to reconnect with the culture that they had lost.

In “Lost Birds,” we profile four adopted women who sought out their Native American roots