Native America Calling

Wednesday August 26, 2015 – Welcoming Home Adoptees

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Before the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, many Native children were adopted by non-Natives and a large portion of those adoptees lost their cultural ties to their tribes. Sandy White Hawk is an adoptee who found her way back to her family on the Rosebud reservation. She has now organized the first Welcome Home Gathering for the tribe, which is scheduled to take place on August 29, 2015. This gathering is only the second time that a tribe will welcome its adoptees home. The first was White Earth Anishnaabe in Minnesota. What does it take to organize an event like this? How could it help heal individuals and tribes heal wounds from the past?

Guests:

Sandy White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota) – director of the First Nations Repatriation Institute and organizer of the Welcoming Home Gathering

Marlies White Hat – co-organizer of the Welcome Home Gathering at Rosebud, South Dakota

Conrad Eagle Feather (Sicangu Lakota) –  student, Sinte Gleska University

Also mentioned on the show today:

Adoption Triad Support Group in Santa Fe

 

Break Music: On The Road Missing Home (Corn Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

 

Monday, August 10, 2015 – Challenges to ICWA

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The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, or ICWA, was passed in response to a high number of adoptions of Native American children by non-Natives. The law requires the government to notify the tribes and include them in the process of adoptions and placement of American Indian or Alaska Native children. In July, the Goldwater Institute filed a civil rights class action complaint in the District Court of Arizona against the Department of the Interior and the Arizona Department of Child Safety asking that parts of ICWA, and the BIA guidelines on ICWA, be declared unconstitutional. The organization asserts that ICWA is “legally sanctioned race-based discrimination” and forces Indian children to “remain in dangerous and abusive homes.” But opponents say ICWA is the gold standard for child welfare law and continues to provide protections for Native children. Where do you stand? What is the future for the Indian Child Welfare Act?

Guests:

Clint Bolick – vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute

Mark Flatten – national investigative journalist at the Goldwater Institute

Sarah Kastelic (Alutiiq) – executive director for the National Indian Child Welfare Association

Matthew Newman – staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

 

Break Music: Awe Hai Hai (feat. Andrée Levesque Sioui / Lead vocal & Francois Dorion / Conductor) (song) Francois Couture, Andrée Levesque Sioui, Akienda Lainé & Francois Dorion (artist) Yahndawa’ (album)

Friday, October 10, 2014 – Adoption of Native Children

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Last month, the Alaska State Supreme Court ruled that non-Native parents could adopt an Alaska Native child from the village of Tununak. Advocates for Alaska Native communities expressed concern that this ruling may set a precedent for courts to disregard the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, which requires Native preference in the adoption of Native American children. How does this new ruling fit in with last year’s historic Supreme Court ruling in the case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl? Do you think the future of ICWA is at risk? Join us as we talk with experts about improvements and setbacks in the Indian child welfare system.

Guests:

Jim Davis – litigation attorney for Alaska Legal Services

Terry Cross (Seneca) – director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)

Chase Iron Eyes (Lakota – Standing Rock) – lawyer for the Lakota People’s Law Project

 

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