250,000 adoptees in Illinois can access records on November 15

Illinois adoptees will have access to birth parents’ names

By: Jim Anderson |   10-30-11

Source: http://wjbc.com/illinois-adoptees-will-have-access-to-birth-parents-names/

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz was adopted and plans to take advantage of the new law she helped pass. (WJBC file photo)

A new law takes effect in November regarding birth certificates for those who were adopted.
Adoptees born 1946 or after will be able to apply for their original birth certificates, which contain the names of their birth parents, as of Nov. 15. Starting last year, those born prior to 1946 could apply. The law was structured that way because the law sealing the records took effect in 1946. The pre-1946 records were sealed retroactively by a 1986 law.
Birth parents may prevent the release of the original birth certificate, but they would have to step forward and do so. They also may attach other restrictions, such as “do not contact.” Any restrictions will remain in place until the birth parent changes them or dies.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who sponsored the law and who herself will take advantage of it, expects few birth parents to place restrictions on access.
Feigenholtz says those who do apply probably just want the piece of paper. She says those looking for a reunion have, for some time now, had other ways to accomplish that.
The law affects 250,000 people.
Applicants must be over 18. Applications are available from the Department of Public Health, office of Vital Records.

[Here's the raw deal - it's conditional access - which means restrictions - which is NOT GOOD!  I cannot believe the ignorance of these legislators, including Feigenholtz - who caved to adoption lobbyists apparently.  If you are an Illinois adoptee, please comment here when you have opened your records.  I pray for all of you and your success with reunion.... Trace]

NPR's ICWA investigation (Parts 2 and 3, links and transcript)

NPR's year-long investigation has produced startling evidence the certain states are ignoring the Indian Child Welfare Act - and as you have read on this blog, this is often unquestioned criminal behavior, illegal by federal law and overt racism againt Indian People with the abduction of Native Children to foster care and adoption...   and today, some tribes ARE hiding the children they rescue from foster care...

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141728431/native-survivors-of-foster-care-return-home



Tribes Question Foster Group's Power and Influence (Part 2)

Transcript from "All Things Considered":

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=141700018

Copyright ©2011 National Public Radio®. 

October 26, 2011 -

MELISSA BLOCK, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

MICHELE NORRIS, host: And I'm Michele Norris.

There's a federal law that says Native American children who are removed from their homes should be placed with their relatives or tribes. The idea is to stay close to their culture. But this week, an NPR News investigation finds that in South Dakota's foster care system, that's not happening. Hundreds of Native children are placed instead in private group homes. The homes get paid millions of dollars to care for the kids.

BLOCK: The largest is a place called the Children's Home Society. South Dakota's governor used to run Children's Home, and he was on its payroll while he was lieutenant governor. As NPR's Laura Sullivan reports, that arrangement highlights the influence of South Dakota's powerful child welfare system.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Get ready. Set. Who's on first?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Let's go, dude.

LAURA SULLIVAN: On a small crest deep in South Dakota's Black Hills, a dozen children jump on sleds and float across the snow. These kids are wards of the state. This is their home, the western campus of the Children's Home Society.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK. Let's go. Let's go.

SULLIVAN: There are rolling hills, a babbling brook, even a new school. On a visit last winter, Children's Home Director Bill Colson says it's a place to help children who can't make it in regular foster care.

We want to solve the problems. And sometimes, it just seems like you're beating your head against the wall, but the reality is we are making progress. And I feel great about it, and our agency feels good about it.

State officials say Children's Home and other organizations like it are necessary. But Native American tribes say the homes are overused on kids who don't need to be there - kids who should be placed with relatives or their tribes.

That's what Congress mandated 30 years ago when it passed the Indian Child Welfare Act. But a 2005 government audit found 32 states are failing, in one way or another, to abide by it. One those states is South Dakota, where 90 percent of Indian children in foster care are placed in non-Native homes or privately run group homes; a generation of children torn from their traditions, cultures and tribes.

Many wind up here at Children's Home. Director Bill Colson says he's heard the tribe's complaints. And he says returning children to their relatives is a top priority

It's hard. It's frustrating for us, too, because we want to see children be successful. Our goal is to have kids, be in a family and be successful.

Children's Home provides services for almost 2,000 children. It's one of the largest nonprofits in the state. But it wasn't always. Ten years ago, this group was in trouble. Tax records show it was losing money. Then in 2002, a former banker named Dennis Daugaard took over as chief operating officer. A year later, he was promoted to executive director, and things began to change.

Money from the state doubled under his leadership. Children's Home grew seven times its size financially. It added two facilities. It seized on a big opportunity when the state began outsourcing much of its work, like training foster parents and examining potential foster homes. Children's Home got almost every one of those contracts. The group paid Daugaard $115,000 a year. But that wasn't his only job.

(SOUNDBITE OF A POLITICAL AD)

Governor DENNIS DAUGAARD: I'm Dennis Daugaard, and I want to be your next governor.

SULLIVAN: At the same time he was getting paid to be director of Children's Home, Daugaard was also the state's lieutenant governor and a rising star in state politics. He had just taken office at lieutenant governor when Children's Home promoted him to its top post. The years he spent running the place and his ability to turn it around were prominent features of his 2010 bid for governor.

(SOUNDBITE OF A POLITICAL AD)

DAUGAARD: I left the bank then and joined Children's Home Society, a home for abused and neglected children, and became their executive director.

SULLIVAN: He won. He is now South Dakota's governor. It could be that Children's Home was the best organization for the job, at the best price for all of those contracts it got. But it would be difficult for taxpayers to know. That's because in just about every case, the group did not compete for the contracts. They didn't have to bid against any one else. For almost seven years, until this year, Daugaard's colleagues in state government just chose his organization and sent it money - more than $50 million.

MELANIE SLOAN: It's a massive conflict of interest.

SULLIVAN: Melanie Sloan is the executive director of a government watchdog group called Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington. She says any private organization run by a lieutenant governor would have a lot of power in that state.

When you're lieutenant governor, people are anxious to curry favor with you.

Daugaard declined NPR's repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, his office said Children's Home was the only viable organization that could have done the work, and that Daugaard never used his influence as lieutenant governor to secure the contracts.

Tribal leaders, though, say the unusual relationship provides a window into the role money and politics place in South Dakota's foster care system. They say Children's Home's dominance in this area is but one more example of the interests of the state trumping the interests of Native children.

JUANITA SHERICK: They make a living off of our children.

SULLIVAN: In a basement office on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Juanita Sherick manages foster care cases for her tribe.

(SOUNDBITE OF TELEPHONE RINGING)

SHERICK: Hello. May I help you?

SULLIVAN: She says the state pushes aggressively to place kids in Children's Home. Kids, she says, would be better off with their own grandmothers, aunts and uncles.

Give the children back, you know, to their relatives. The Creator gave those children to those families.

In recent years, Children's Home has become a powerhouse. It examines potential foster families and homes, houses the most kids, trains the state's case workers; holds all of the state's training classes; does all examines of children who may have been abused.

Children's Home gets paid millions of dollars every year for this work, and Rose Mendoza says that's ridiculous. She runs social services for the Standing Rock Sioux, and she says her group would do it for free, especially the home studies, the job of examining tribes' potential foster homes.

Why is there no private agency onto our reservation? We can send our worker, our licensing worker out to go do a home study.

In a state where the majority of foster children are Native, Mendoza and many other tribal officials say home study, social worker training and family placements should be done by people who know and understand the children's culture.

ROSE MENDOZA: Everybody says, well, its cultural difference. Cultural difference, but it's a way of life. Our way of life is different.

SULLIVAN: Native tribes weren't the only ones left out. Troy Hoppes ran a similar group called Canyon Hills Center at the time. He says he didn't know about contracts until after they were doled out.

I just remember in the news there were some grants that were awarded, and I was envious. We wanted to get some grants for ourselves, as well.

Hoppes says his organization would have jumped at the chance.

TROY HOPPES: Facilities love the opportunity to branch out with things like that.

SULLIVAN: In its statement, Governor Daugaard's office says any group home with a license can care for kids. But Hoppes says Canyon Hills had a license, yet it struggled to fill its beds, while at the same time, Children's Home had a waiting list.

The statement also emphasizes that lieutenant governor was a part time job, and that Governor Daugaard never supervise any of the people who approved government contracts. Social service officials in their statement said Children's Home was treated the same way as every other organization.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: But I'm so excited. On Saturday is my grandmother's birthday.

SULLIVAN: On Children's Home campus, kids walk through the hallways to get to their next class. This place has won many state accolades for its work with these kids. But none of that means much to Suzy Crow or her granddaughter, Brianna.

SUZY CROWE: She was over there most of three years.

SULLIVAN: Suzy Crow was taken from her family and forced into boarding school like thousands of other Native American children over the past century.

CROWE: Every night, me and my sister would meet at her bed, and we would say, let's run away tomorrow, just to comfort ourselves that we're still there. This foster system reminds me of that.

SULLIVAN: Crow didn't want Brianna to grow up like she did, not knowing who she was or where she belonged. It took a court order for the state to finally send Brianna home.

CROWE: I didn't care what it took. I battled with them.

SULLIVAN: State records show South Dakota paid Children's Home almost $50,000 over three years to care for Brianna. And all across the state, grandmothers, aunts and uncles, family and tribal members would have cared for Brianna and hundreds of other Native American children like her for free; close to their tribes and culture like federal law intended.



Part 3  (October 27, 2011) Native survivors of Foster Care Return Home:

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141728431/native-survivors-of-foster-care-return-home



Disproportionality Rates of Native American Children In Foster Care (statistics)

click here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141475618/disproportionality-rates-of-native-american-children-in-foster-care

Native foster care providers are not getting children in South Dakota? 32 states are failing to abide by the ICWA.... A Congressional Investigation by the Federal Government will be one way to solve this... prosecution of social workers and state government officials? Stop their funding? I am grateful to NPR for this ground-breaking investigation and shining a light on this... 

Please email me if you are interested in providing testimony to Congress... It will take time but We must act...   Trace (my email: tracedemeyer@yahoo.com)

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.

* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.

* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.

* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.

* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR

Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.



Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system

and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/



This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!

A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!

This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.

Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!

Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.

Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.

For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.

A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  



Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439

Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 

After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.

Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.



If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!

Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.



FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children

Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.

Read the complete report here:

http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

Oklahoma the latest to examine its adoption laws

archival photo

Oklahoma adoption laws merit serious look by Legislature


The Oklahoman Editorial
October 23, 2011

MANY adoptees go through life with nagging questions about their backgrounds. Who were their parents? Why did they give them up for adoption? A cloud of secrecy envelops the adoption process primarily to protect the parents' identity.

Oklahoma is helping adoptees answer some of those questions.  Under a 1997 state law, a child adopted after November 1997 can obtain a copy of his or her birth certificate at age 18, unless the birth parents file an affidavit of nondisclosure. The law also instituted a statewide reunion registry and allowed for intermediary searches. (This is conditional access...Trace)

Older adoptees, however, believe the law should be made retroactive, allowing everyone to obtain their birth certificates. That argument deserves serious consideration by the Legislature next session.

Sand Springs mental health therapist Rhonda Noonan lobbied for the proposal before the House Human Services Committee, which is studying the issue. “Everyone deserves the truth and the ability to find themselves and their ancestral history,” Noonan said.

She told committee members of her 30-year search to find her birth parents and of discovering her grandfather was Winston Churchill, whom (she was told) had shown interest in her as an infant.

Learning about their parents' background also can be invaluable for adoptees for medical reasons. Several adoptees have petitioned the court to have their birth certificates unsealed for medical reasons. One man said he petitioned the court to make sure he wasn't marrying his sister.

Michael Nomura, co-director of a Tulsa adoption agency, warned committee members about negative consequences of adoptees showing up unannounced at the front door of their birth parents. “That may not turn out well for either the biological parent or the adult adoptee who may end up being rejected again,” he said.

However, a study released last year by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute indicates that the majority of birth mothers don't want to be anonymous to the children they relinquished. In four states that grant adoptees unconditional access to birth certificates, only 1 percent or less of the birthparents filed no-contact preference forms.

When Oklahoma sealed birth certificates for adoptees in 1939, it primarily was to protect the parents. Society has changed dramatically in the meantime. The negative stigma of children born out of wedlock is much less these days.

Another concern is that some birth mothers might be under the assumption that the records would remain sealed and may not have told others about giving up a child for adoption. As Noonan notes, everyone should have a right to learn about their ancestry. These are sensitive points and deserve serious deliberation by lawmakers.

Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-adoption-laws-merit-serious-look-by-legislature/article/3615606#ixzz1bcRYsWW6

Again, we have to educate lawmakers it is not so much about reunion (though adoptees want a good one) as it is to have the same basic human right as others have - to possess a copy of our Original Birth Certificate and to know our ancestry, tribe and medical history....Trace

Adoption Truth: Don't We Sacrifice Enough

Adoption Truth: Don't We Sacrifice Enough
This is a MUST READ!

The SCARY Culture of Adoption (and the Real ID ACT)



http://www.electricityforum.com/poetry/call-me-never.html

 In March 2007, I gave two workshops on the Culture of Adoption here in western Massachusetts. I used the subtitle, “We can’t fix adoption until we fix poverty..." My earlier post is here. 
Those working in my county were oblivious to effects of adoption on the adoptee. The social services employees who attended my workshops were open to the information but seemed clearly shocked.
Is this what adoption propaganda does to people? Sure it does! It's scary!
Their oblivion makes it all the more difficult to convince lawmakers and policy makers to change adoption laws that continue to prevent adoptees from accessing their adoption file and obtain a copy of their original birth certificate (OBC). 
If these same social workers who handle children and families are not aware of adoption effects, then we remain stuck - addressing the same issues over and over and over!
I don't want to call this ignorance but it does appear to be apathy.
Non-adopted people ask me all the time- "What's the big deal!? Why would adoptees need to know their real identity?"
If adoptees do not have access to our OBC and soon, we face scary and alarming new issues with the REAL ID ACT of 2005. Adoptees could be prevented from voting without a national identification card, which requires everyone produce an original birth certificate. Our old drivers licenses won't suffice anymore. Those of us without this new card could be prevented from voting, getting hired, driving or even flying on an airplane. These new national identification cards will replace driver's licenses.
Believe me, this is an urgent human rights issue for adoptees, one that the writers of the 2005 REAL ID ACT failed to recognize or address.
(Add this to my list of why adoptees need their adoption files and original birth certificate NOW!)
The reason our amended birth certificates will look suspicious are the dates. For example, I was born in 1956 but my adoption was not finalized until 1958. With that much time difference, it makes my amended birth certificate appear suspicious! I had no control that I was adopted then handed fake documents to prove my identity. Can you see how farcical this is?

I am asking you to please write your local lawmakers and ask them to repeal the REAL ID ACT. [This is the actual bill: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-109hr418rfs/pdf/BILLS-109hr418rfs.pdf]
Use this EPIC weblink for information to write your letters or call your state legislators! http://epic.org/privacy/id_cards/ 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) originally estimated that REAL ID will cost $23.1 billion over 10 years. DHS is planning to extend the deadline for implementation across America to January 15, 2013.
Tell your governor to boycott it!  If you are an adoptee, explain why you cannot access your original birth certificate (if you live in a state with sealed adoption records.) Tell them what you stand to lose!
When an adoption is finalized, a new birth certificate for the child is customarily issued to the adoptive parents. The adoptive parents names are listed on our amended birth certificate.  The original birth certificate is then sealed and kept confidential by the State registrar of vital records. In the past, nearly all States required a court order for adoptees to gain access to their original birth certificates. In approximately 26 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico, a court order is still required.
Read more about your state's adoption laws here (2009 report):
www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/infoaccessap.cfm

Lawmakers ignorance about adoptees is not only dangerous, it's another SCARY chapter of adoption culture!

These states passed legislation Rejecting the REAL ID Act (19 total)


•Alaska, SB 202  (adopted April 11, 2008)

•South Dakota, SCR 7 (passed February 25, 2008)

•Tennessee, SJR 0248

•South Carolina, S 449 ( (enrolled June 5, 2007)

•Nebraska, (adopted May 30, 2007)

•New Hampshire, HB 685  (adopted May 24, 2007)

•Oklahoma, SB 464  (approved May 23, 2007)

•Illinois, HJR 0027  (adopted May 22, 2007)

•Missouri, HCR 20  (adopted May 17, 2007)

•Nevada, AJR 6  (enrolled May 14, 2007)

•Colorado, HJR 1047 ( (signed May 14, 2007)

•Georgia, SB 5 (signed May 11, 2007)

•Hawaii, SCJ 31  (adopted April 25, 2007)

•North Dakota, SCR 4040 (signed April 20, 2007)

•Washington  (signed April 18, 2007)

•Montana, HB 287  (signed April 17, 2007)

•Arkansas, SCR 22 (signed March 28, 2007)

•Idaho, HJM 3  (signed March 12, 2007);
Idaho, HB 606  (signed April 9, 2008)

•Maine, SP 113  (adopted January 25, 2007)

•Utah, HB 449 (unanimously passed by committee on February 19, 2008; lost on House floor)

•Louisana, HB 715 (passed May 14, 2008; signed July 16, 2008)

•Virginia, HJR 42 (SB 492); SB 1431 (enacted March 31, 2009)

•Minnesota, HF 3807 (passed House and Senate May 13, 2008; vetoed May 16, 2008); HF 1351  (passed House April 14, 2008; passed Senate April 21, 2008; vetoed April 25, 2008)

•Arizona, HB 2677 (passed House March 19, 2008; passed Senate May 6, 2008; signed June 17, 2008)

Republican Candidates Debate American Indian issues

Republican Candidates Debate American Indian issues

Republican Candidates Debate American Indian issues

Republican Candidates Debate American Indian issues

Republican Candidates Debate American Indian issues

Status Indians could be extinct: Entire way of life vanishing

By Alexandra Paul (10/19/2011) http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/status-indians-could-be-extinct-132123088.html

Limiting rights: THE key to extinction of status Indians in Canada is a section of the Indian Act that refers to the second generation cut-off rule. It says that after two successive generations of out-parenting (parenting with a non-Indian), the child will be a non-Indian. The concept limits full status rights and the passing on of partial status rights. It prevents parents from transmitting status to their children. 


A Mi'kmaq author is touring the country with a dire warning for First Nations people: the rights that set them apart from other Canadians are dying out.

Ryerson University associate Prof. Pamela Palmater says status rights are slowly being legislated out of existence but few people, including many in Canada's 633 First Nations, are aware of it.

The consequences mean the lands set aside for First Nations will return to provincial control as birth rates of children entitled to full status fall, registration rolls decline, adults die off and reserves are lost.

Some internal federal projections Palmater obtained through federal access to information laws predict many of the country's First Nation lands will be dissolved within 75 years.

An entire way of life is vanishing, she said.

"I go around the world presenting this information to people and they say, 'What? That can't be. You have a Charter of Rights. A constitution that protects aboriginal rights.'

"The thing is, a lot of this information doesn't ever filter down to the people."

Palmater is the chairwoman of Ryerson's Centre for Indigenous Governance and she's laid out a complex scenario for the legislative extinction of Indian status in a new book, Beyond Blood, Rethinking Indigenous Identity.

Palmater said her research shows the legislative foundation dates back more than a century to the 1876 Indian Act.

Successive amendments, including changes in response to landmark court victories against gender discrimination in status rights in 1985 and 2010, entrenched the timeline to status extinction.

Manitoba First Nation chiefs have been briefed in closed-door sessions about the research Palmater presents publicly. Those consequences are the elephant in the room behind pronouncements that focus on sovereignty rights.

For years, lawyers have privately warned First Nations leaders to do something or watch their power base disappear and treaty rights vanish.

First Nation leaders in British Columbia and Ontario have issued explicit warnings to their people, Palmater said.

When thousands of children and grandchildren of women who lost their Indian status were recently entitled to restore their Indian status for up to two generations, the downside was never mentioned, the professor said.

"You went from a situation that was gender discriminatory you were supposed to fix to a situation now where it will guarantee the extinction of status Indians," Palmater said.

"There are some First Nations that in less than 75 years will be legally extinct. The people will still be living. They will still be there but that means there will be no legal land owners... and the land goes back to the Crown.

"So your land's gone. You're no longer a community. You can't exercise your aboriginal rights. Then what about the treaties? If there are no treaty beneficiaries, I guess you don't have to worry about treaty rights, either."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 19, 2011/B3

[Genocide is alive! I hope you'll leave comments on this blog and share your thoughts on this...Trace]

Rest in peace Elouise Cobell, you fought the good fight...

In a Dec. 17, 2009, file photo, Elouise Cobell watches a Senate Indian Affairs meeting…

National Congress of the American Indian (NCAI) Statement on Passing of Elouise Cobell


Organization calls on Indian Country to honor tireless leader’s advocacy work with continued action on rights protection and cancer awareness

Washington, DC – The President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Jefferson Keel, has released a statement on the passing of Elouise Cobell, calling for Indian Country to honor the legacy of one of Indian Country’s most influential advocates by continuing to protect the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere. NCAI also called for Indian Country to honor her life by confronting the quiet but devastating force of cancer, which took the life of Elouise Cobell and is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and Natives older than 45.

“Elouise Cobell represented the indelible will and strength of Indian Country and her influence and energy will be greatly missed. Her passing on from this world must be honored by reaffirming our resolute commitment as Indigenous peoples to protect the rights of our citizens and our sovereign nations,” said Keel, President of NCAI, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization. “NCAI joins all who mourn the loss of this great individual. She committed her life to strengthening Indian Country and she contributed greatly.”

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and lead plaintiff in the historic Cobell v. Salazar litigation, was presented with NCAI’s Indian Country Leadership Award soon after the Cobell Settlement was finalized in 2010. The award recognized her years of work as the spokesperson and moral force behind the effort to restore justice to American Indian account holders. NCAI has also passed resolutions strongly supporting the Cobell settlement.

“From her life, we have lessons of resilience and commitment, and in her passing, we have lessons that will inspire us to continue improving the health of Native people,” continued Keel. “Just like Elouise taught us, we must not shy away from taking on what seems impossible. We must acknowledge cancer’s vicious assault on Indian Country’s most valuable resource, our people. We will honor her with a promise to the future generation of leaders that follow in Elouise Cobell’s footsteps, to continue the fight for the health of our people.”

According to Native American Cancer Research (NACR), cancer is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and among American Indians older than 45 years of age. In 2008 the American Cancer Society released the first large-scale national study about cancer rates of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report stated “For all cancers combined: Incidence rates among American Indians in the Southwest, the Plains and for Alaska Natives were 50 percent higher than the rates for non-Hispanic whites.”

About The National Congress of American Indians:
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org

A true warrior has passed and has gone on to be with her ancestors...We will never forget your bravery, strength and determination, Elouise... AHO!... Trace

Rest in peace Elouise Cobell, you fought the good fight...

In a Dec. 17, 2009, file photo, Elouise Cobell watches a Senate Indian Affairs meeting…

National Congress of the American Indian (NCAI) Statement on Passing of Elouise Cobell





Organization calls on Indian Country to honor tireless leader’s advocacy work with continued action on rights protection and cancer awareness



Washington, DC – The President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Jefferson Keel, has released a statement on the passing of Elouise Cobell, calling for Indian Country to honor the legacy of one of Indian Country’s most influential advocates by continuing to protect the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere. NCAI also called for Indian Country to honor her life by confronting the quiet but devastating force of cancer, which took the life of Elouise Cobell and is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and Natives older than 45.



“Elouise Cobell represented the indelible will and strength of Indian Country and her influence and energy will be greatly missed. Her passing on from this world must be honored by reaffirming our resolute commitment as Indigenous peoples to protect the rights of our citizens and our sovereign nations,” said Keel, President of NCAI, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization. “NCAI joins all who mourn the loss of this great individual. She committed her life to strengthening Indian Country and she contributed greatly.”



Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and lead plaintiff in the historic Cobell v. Salazar litigation, was presented with NCAI’s Indian Country Leadership Award soon after the Cobell Settlement was finalized in 2010. The award recognized her years of work as the spokesperson and moral force behind the effort to restore justice to American Indian account holders. NCAI has also passed resolutions strongly supporting the Cobell settlement.



“From her life, we have lessons of resilience and commitment, and in her passing, we have lessons that will inspire us to continue improving the health of Native people,” continued Keel. “Just like Elouise taught us, we must not shy away from taking on what seems impossible. We must acknowledge cancer’s vicious assault on Indian Country’s most valuable resource, our people. We will honor her with a promise to the future generation of leaders that follow in Elouise Cobell’s footsteps, to continue the fight for the health of our people.”



According to Native American Cancer Research (NACR), cancer is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and among American Indians older than 45 years of age. In 2008 the American Cancer Society released the first large-scale national study about cancer rates of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report stated “For all cancers combined: Incidence rates among American Indians in the Southwest, the Plains and for Alaska Natives were 50 percent higher than the rates for non-Hispanic whites.”



About The National Congress of American Indians:

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org



A true warrior has passed and has gone on to be with her ancestors...We will never forget your bravery, strength and determination, Elouise... AHO!... Trace

Rest in peace Elouise Cobell, you fought the good fight...

In a Dec. 17, 2009, file photo, Elouise Cobell watches a Senate Indian Affairs meeting…

National Congress of the American Indian (NCAI) Statement on Passing of Elouise Cobell


Organization calls on Indian Country to honor tireless leader’s advocacy work with continued action on rights protection and cancer awareness

Washington, DC – The President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Jefferson Keel, has released a statement on the passing of Elouise Cobell, calling for Indian Country to honor the legacy of one of Indian Country’s most influential advocates by continuing to protect the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere. NCAI also called for Indian Country to honor her life by confronting the quiet but devastating force of cancer, which took the life of Elouise Cobell and is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and Natives older than 45.

“Elouise Cobell represented the indelible will and strength of Indian Country and her influence and energy will be greatly missed. Her passing on from this world must be honored by reaffirming our resolute commitment as Indigenous peoples to protect the rights of our citizens and our sovereign nations,” said Keel, President of NCAI, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization. “NCAI joins all who mourn the loss of this great individual. She committed her life to strengthening Indian Country and she contributed greatly.”

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and lead plaintiff in the historic Cobell v. Salazar litigation, was presented with NCAI’s Indian Country Leadership Award soon after the Cobell Settlement was finalized in 2010. The award recognized her years of work as the spokesperson and moral force behind the effort to restore justice to American Indian account holders. NCAI has also passed resolutions strongly supporting the Cobell settlement.

“From her life, we have lessons of resilience and commitment, and in her passing, we have lessons that will inspire us to continue improving the health of Native people,” continued Keel. “Just like Elouise taught us, we must not shy away from taking on what seems impossible. We must acknowledge cancer’s vicious assault on Indian Country’s most valuable resource, our people. We will honor her with a promise to the future generation of leaders that follow in Elouise Cobell’s footsteps, to continue the fight for the health of our people.”

According to Native American Cancer Research (NACR), cancer is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and among American Indians older than 45 years of age. In 2008 the American Cancer Society released the first large-scale national study about cancer rates of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report stated “For all cancers combined: Incidence rates among American Indians in the Southwest, the Plains and for Alaska Natives were 50 percent higher than the rates for non-Hispanic whites.”

About The National Congress of American Indians:
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org

A true warrior has passed and has gone on to be with her ancestors...We will never forget your bravery, strength and determination, Elouise... AHO!... Trace

Rest in peace Elouise Cobell, you fought the good fight...

In a Dec. 17, 2009, file photo, Elouise Cobell watches a Senate Indian Affairs meeting…

National Congress of the American Indian (NCAI) Statement on Passing of Elouise Cobell


Organization calls on Indian Country to honor tireless leader’s advocacy work with continued action on rights protection and cancer awareness

Washington, DC – The President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Jefferson Keel, has released a statement on the passing of Elouise Cobell, calling for Indian Country to honor the legacy of one of Indian Country’s most influential advocates by continuing to protect the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere. NCAI also called for Indian Country to honor her life by confronting the quiet but devastating force of cancer, which took the life of Elouise Cobell and is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and Natives older than 45.

“Elouise Cobell represented the indelible will and strength of Indian Country and her influence and energy will be greatly missed. Her passing on from this world must be honored by reaffirming our resolute commitment as Indigenous peoples to protect the rights of our citizens and our sovereign nations,” said Keel, President of NCAI, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization. “NCAI joins all who mourn the loss of this great individual. She committed her life to strengthening Indian Country and she contributed greatly.”

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and lead plaintiff in the historic Cobell v. Salazar litigation, was presented with NCAI’s Indian Country Leadership Award soon after the Cobell Settlement was finalized in 2010. The award recognized her years of work as the spokesperson and moral force behind the effort to restore justice to American Indian account holders. NCAI has also passed resolutions strongly supporting the Cobell settlement.

“From her life, we have lessons of resilience and commitment, and in her passing, we have lessons that will inspire us to continue improving the health of Native people,” continued Keel. “Just like Elouise taught us, we must not shy away from taking on what seems impossible. We must acknowledge cancer’s vicious assault on Indian Country’s most valuable resource, our people. We will honor her with a promise to the future generation of leaders that follow in Elouise Cobell’s footsteps, to continue the fight for the health of our people.”

According to Native American Cancer Research (NACR), cancer is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women and among American Indians older than 45 years of age. In 2008 the American Cancer Society released the first large-scale national study about cancer rates of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report stated “For all cancers combined: Incidence rates among American Indians in the Southwest, the Plains and for Alaska Natives were 50 percent higher than the rates for non-Hispanic whites.”

About The National Congress of American Indians:
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org

A true warrior has passed and has gone on to be with her ancestors...We will never forget your bravery, strength and determination, Elouise... AHO!... Trace