Reporting on Sex Trafficking | Suzette Brewer's Important Work

Suzette Brewer

Suzette Brewer specializes in federal Indian law and social justice issues, having written extensively on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Supreme Court and the environment for Indian Country Today Media Network. Her published books include Real Indians: Portraits of Contemporary Native Americans and America’s Tribal Colleges and Sovereign: An Oral History of Indian Gaming in America.

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All Work

NewsLaw and Policy

(click) Sold for Sex: Senate Committee Investigates Human Trafficking of Native Women and Children

Sep 28, 11:53am Suzette Brewer

Senators call for better data collection and more effective collaboration between federal agencies in addressing sex trafficking.

I Thought I was Alone | 60s Scoop Survivors

Todd Coon and his sister Patsy were “scooped” by child welfare authorities when they were just toddlers in the wake of a 1966 Winnipeg house fire. Coon’s father could made only one request — that his children be adopted together.
The pair were shuffled through foster homes over two years before they were adopted by a family in Ontario. For Coon, it was far from a happy childhood. “I seemed to be bullied because of my skin colour. I didn’t know why,” says Coon, now 53.
Coon was 11 before he understood that he was Indigenous and learned much later he was part of the “Sixties scoop” generation. Between the 1960s and 1980s, thousands of Indigenous children were adopted by white families. Like Coon, many found themselves with a foot in both cultures, but feeling alienated by both.
He will be among the 75 scoop survivors gathering in Ottawa this week from as far away as New Zealand, an event organized by National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare. In a way, it is a reunion of people who may not know each other, but who share the same scars.

READ: ‘I thought I was alone’: Sixties scoop survivors gather in Ottawa | Ottawa Citizen

ICD SEAT AT THE DRUM

The Surveillance of Cindy Blackstock

Surveillance. Turns out, we’ve invited it into our homes through digital assistants, connected toys and baby monitors.
LISTEN: I Spy With My Digital Eye

In this podcast episode, Dr. Cindy Blackstock who advocates for Native children in Canada is featured.
We have posted many articles on her on this blog.

READ:
Cindy Blackstock, Canada's Warrior for Children
CBC 8th Fire: Profile: Cindy Blackstock
Child Advocate Cindy Blackstock awarded damages

Government spies on advocate for Native children
Why is the federal government spying on Cindy Blackstock?
When does a life-long advocate for aboriginal children become an enemy of the state?
The answer, it would seem, is when you file a human rights complaint accusing your government of willfully underfunding child welfare services to First Nations children on reserves.
Accusing your government, in other words, of racial discrimination.
That’s what Blackstock, as executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, did in 2007.

14th Gathering for Our Children & Returning Adoptees Pow Wow

Please share far and wide. Adoptees have come as far away as Alaska. Thank you!

Greetings everyone!

It's that time of year again when we call out for our relatives who are
making their way back to the circle. We also encourage birth
mothers/fathers and relatives to be part of this celebration of life and
healing.

Dancers! Please come dance and welcome our relatives back to our circle.


Adoptees/formerly fostered individuals, birth relatives, foster
parents, foster youth, adoptive parents and your children - this pow wow
is for you............come and celebrate and let us celebrate with you!


1. Adoptees/formerly fostered individuals and birth relatives are
invited to gather in the auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Indian
Center. There we will meet and visit with other adoptees. We will meet
at 10:00 a.m. - 2 hours before the 1:00 grand entry.
2. The ceremony
for adoptees/fostered individuals and others who wish to be part of the
ceremony, will be sometime in the afternoon session around 3:00.
3.
The meeting room will be open again after the ceremony so we can
process and talk about the ceremony or whatever else may be on your
mind.
4. Sometime after the evening grand entry there will be an
honor song for all our Young Relatives who have experienced foster care.
5. There will be an honor song for all our foster and adoptive parents and their families.

14th Annual
Gathering for Our Children & Returning Adoptees Pow wow
November 4, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER
1530 EAST FRANKLIN AVENUE, MINNEAPOLIS, MN www.maicnet.org for directions