Carlisle’s mother is Native American and her late father was black. She has spent her life celebrating all of her heritage.

But as she heads into college, there’s a problem: She can’t get the government to acknowledge both parts of her identity.

Now
18, Carlisle was placed into the foster care system as an infant and
adopted when she was a child, but one box checked on her foster care and
adoptive records identify her as African-American. There’s no mention
of her Native roots, meaning the state doesn’t legally recognize her
status.

She’s spent the last two years
ping-ponging between county and state officials to add her Native
American heritage to her records, to no avail.


Her adoption records not only listed her race as African-American,
they also stated specifically that she was not Native American. Sarah
Carlson, her adoptive mother, was stunned. She had no idea they were
incorrect.

Carlson was sent to Ramsey
County, where the girl was first placed into foster care, to figure out
what had happened. She provided the county documentation from child
services at the time of adoption, including a family tree showing
Carlisle’s biological mother and grandparents, all Native American and
enrolled members of the Lower Sioux Community.




(This story originally appeared at: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/08/07/her-native-american-identity-was-omitted-from-her-adoption-records-now-she-wants-it-back)





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