Here.
NYTs: “Canada to Pay Millions in Indigenous Lawsuit Over Forced Adoptions”
Here.
Indian children
Barbara Atwood on Permanency for Indian Children under ICWA
Barbara Atwood has posted “Permanency for American Indian and Alaska Native Foster Children: Taking Lessons fromTribes” on SSRN. This paper is forthcoming from the Capital University Law Review. The abstract:
This paper, presented at Capital University’s 4th Annual Wells Conference on Adoption Law, addresses the implications of the child welfare goal of permanency for children who qualify as “Indian children” under federal law. The federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 currently promotes permanency for foster children through severance and adoption, despite the policies of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the traditions of many North American tribes in which more fluid approaches to parenting and child-rearing are common. With tribal practices as a model, the paper advocates that state courts make greater use of customary adoption, extended family care, and guardianship as a culturally appropriate path to permanency.
Indian Children Overrepresented in Foster Care
From Indianz:
Report: Too many Native children in foster care
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
American Indian and Alaskan Native children are overrepresented in the foster care system, according to a report released on Monday.
“Time for Reform: A Matter of Justice for American Indian and Alaskan Native Children” is a joint report from the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the Kids Are Waiting campaign of The Pew Charitable Trusts. It examined child welfare data across the nation. According to the report, Native children are overrepresented in the foster care system at more than 1.6 times the expected level. Native children are more likely to be considered victims of neglect than any other racial or ethnic group. In Alaska, Native children are 51 percent of foster care cases but only 20 percent of the child population. In Montana, Native children are 33 percent of foster care cases but only 10 percent of the child population. The report calls on Congress to authorize tribes to receive funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, an entitlement program that reimburses states for a portion of foster care costs. States receive billions of dollars under the program.
Get the Story:
American Indians overrepresented (The Salt Lake Tribune 11/20)
Relevant Documents:
Report | Press Release
Relevant Links:
National Indian Child Welfare Association – http://www.nicwa.org
Indian Families and Peyote
From the Leelanau Enterprise: “Leelanau County Family Court Judge Joseph E. Deegan last week ordered that the parents of three children who are members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians must refrain from giving their children hallucinogenic peyote as part of Native American religious rituals.”
This appears to be an emerging issue in Michigan and perhaps elsewhere. Naturally, these cases arise when the families split and custody and visitation questions are decided in court. Interestingly, because there is relatively little trust land in Michigan, I would imagine that few (if any) of these cases are heard in tribal court. I wonder if the outcomes would be different.
WaPo: Aurene Martin on ICWA
Whose Best Interest?
Monday, October 15, 2007; A14
Regarding the Oct. 9 editorial “A Tribal Question”:
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) provides protections to Native American children to prevent their unnecessary removal from their families, but it does not prevent them from receiving the help necessary to protect their best interests.
The ICWA was passed in 1978 in response to the staggering number of children being removed from their homes, the vast majority of whom were placed out of their communities and lost their connection to their tribes.
Unfortunately, most attorneys and courts don’t learn about the ICWA until it is too late. Once confronted with its requirements, they find that they have failed to meet its standards.
Most tribes understand this and are willing to work with authorities to make sure that the children involved receive the best care possible. Although tribes would like to place children within their communities, they first prefer that children are placed with family members.
Given the facts that the editorial reported, I find it hard to believe that any court would find that it is in the best interest of those children to be returned to their parents.
AURENE M. MARTIN
Washington
Turtle Talk 