Author Topic: Adoption and Native America  (Read 9694 times)

Laurel

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Adoption and Native America
« on: April 24, 2007, 12:30:06 pm »
I'm adopted, and the lack of ethics surrounding adoption sickens me.  I recently saw an adoption show rerun in which a white couple adopted two Native kids.  I can't read minds, so it's uncool of me to ascribe motives to strangers, but damnit, these folks were so tickled to be able to take the kids to "a real Indian naming ceremony" that it struck me they might be "buying their way in" to Native culture by taking these kids.  Some transracial adoptees have accused their adoptive parents of the same thing as re:  Chinese, Korean, African-American cultures.  Yet naturally I feel adopters of children of different races ought to make sure the child is exposed to his/her own culture as much as possible, so maybe that's what they meant to do.  I really couldn't tell, but it's got me thinking.

Am I way off base?  Can someone point me to no-bullshit, no-sentimentality resources about the history and ethics of whites adopting Natives?  I found this article, but I'd like to know more.

http://library.adoption.com/us-adoptions/coming-home/article/3941/1.html

Thanks,
Laurel

frederica

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2007, 04:10:38 pm »

Laurel

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2007, 04:48:54 pm »
!!!!  Wow.  THANKS!  This'll keep me busy for weeks!

Laurel

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2007, 09:36:26 pm »
I have met people who adopted Indian children o they could "christianize them." Same kind of people fostered my stepdaughter for 6 months. (Your mom is no good and you can't live with your dad because he is Indian and Indians worship satan." ) I have met people who adopted an Indian choild because they just wanted a child to love and never considered the implications of adopting a child of another culture. I have met people who have adopted Indian kids and really tried hard to keep them in their culture. No one size fits all here. But most of the adoptees I have met, Indian ones, felt disconnected from their culture even when they dearly loved their adoptive parents. The best that can happen is that a child is adopted by someone from their family. Next from their tribe. And after that another Indian family. But if there is no one but a non-Indian to adopt said child, then that is better than foster care, IMO.

Laurel

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2007, 11:41:50 am »
Very well said--no one size fits all in any aspect of adoption.  Or, I suppose, life in general...

Offline Ric_Richardson

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2007, 01:12:53 pm »
Tansi;

I have always believed that children would be in a better situation, if they are raised as part of a family, rather than as "Children In Care" of government agencies.  That being said, I have reviewed cases where the families have had motives, other than those in the best interest of the child, in their determination to adopt.  I have also seen many adoptive situations where the families did their best, with Love and Respect, and included ensuring that the adoptive child was exposed to their Cultural roots.  This applies to children of a number of different Cultural backgrounds, not just Aboriginal.

Recently, some Canadian child welfare departments have developed placement standards, which reflect Cultural sensitivity.  In one of these government departments, I participated in developing foster care and adoption standards, which included "Priorities in Placement."  Debbie has already described some of these.

Working in a region, which included seven First Nations, we chose to use standards, such as:
1) Same Nation, same Clan, same family.
2) Same Nation, different Clan.
3) Different First Nation, in region.
4) Different First Nation, different region.
5) Other Cultural group, approved through departmental process.

If the child was adopted by a different Cultural group, adoptive parents are instructed in ways of providing for Cultural awareness of placed child,

In past years, governments had several problems in foster care and adoption proceedures, often trying to remove Aboriginal children from their birth Cultures, as one form of assimilation.  The "baby scoop" of the 60's was one of these efforts, in which many Aboriginal children were placed in non-native families.  Many of those children are now making attempts to reconnect with their Cultures.  Many First Nations, including the one where my Grandfather was from, are encouraging these people to feel welcomed back to their Aboriginal roots and acknowledge them as "returning Band members."

As Aboriginal people are gaining strength in our self-determination, we are now a part of the process of developing ways of dealing with many of the problems of the past.  This is a huge challenge, which will not correct the past injustices, but will help to ensure that problems of the past will not be able to happen again.

Ric

Offline wolfhawaii

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Re: Adoption and Native America
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2007, 08:33:27 am »
I also was adopted, and didn't learn that my Indian heritage was Cherokee until I was 29 years old. I was told as i was growing up that I was adopted and had Indian blood, but never felt connected until many years had passed and i began going to traditional Cherokee communities. The adoption agency followed the policy of attempting to place children with families that had the same ethnic background as the child; unfortunately, in 1962 when I was born it was not common for Indian families to be considered for placement, so I grew up in a Czech/German American household. I plan to do some writing on identity issues as a mixedblood adoptee and the path to reconnecting with tribal identity in the future.