NEW BOOK: "A Child of the Indian Race"

  "A Child of the Indian Race": A Story of Return

Sandy White Hawk

Foreword Gene Thin Elk

Introduction by Terry Cross

Minnesota Historical Society Press (December 1, 2022)

Description

An adoptee reconnects with the
Lakota family and culture she was born into— and nurtures a new
tradition that helps others to do the same.

In the 1950s, when Sandy White Hawk was a
toddler, she was taken from her Lakota family on the Rosebud Indian
Reservation in South Dakota. Her adoption papers identify her as “a
child of the Indian race,” and her adoptive mother never let her forget
it, telling her she was unwanted and shaming her for being “Indian.”
White Hawk medicated her traumas with drugs and alcohol. At age
twenty-eight, she gained sobriety and reconnected with her birth
relatives. As she learned what it means to be Lakota, she also learned
that thousands of Native adoptees shared her experience—left to navigate
racial and cultural complexities as children, with no way to understand
what was happening to them.

Mentored by a respected elder, White Hawk
began to work with relatives who also had been separated by adoption and
foster care, taken away from their families and communities. Fighting
through her feelings of inadequacy, she accepted that she could use her
voice to advocate. Ultimately, White Hawk founded the First Nations
Repatriation Institute, an organization that addresses the post-adoption
issues of Native American individuals, families, and communities.

White Hawk lectures and presents widely on
the issues around adoption. She exposes the myth that adoption is a path
to protecting "unwanted children" from "unfit mothers," offering a
child a "better chance at life." Rather, adoption, particularly
transracial adoption, is layered in complexities. “A Child of the Indian
Race” is Sandy White Hawk's story, and it is the story of her life
work: helping other adoptees and tribal communities to reconcile the
enormous harms caused by widespread removals.

Advance Praise

“Of all human rights assaults on Native peoples in the United States, the stealing
of Native children is perhaps the most heartbreaking. Adopted by a white couple,
Sandy White Hawk grew up without cultural defenses against the onslaught of racism and
erasure she experienced. Her eloquent, riveting book takes the reader
on her journey back home and toward her life’s work: helping Native
families to reconnect and, together, face down generations of trauma.”
Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), writer, curator,
policy advocate, and recipient of a 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom

"In this profoundly moving
memoir, Sandy White Hawk, Sicangu Lakota, speaks eloquently of her life
as a young child adopted by a white family. It is an intensely personal
story of resilience and perseverance in spite of trauma, racism, and
painful truths. At the core of her healing is her tribe’s Welcome Home
song and ceremony for adoptees. To all Native adoptees, this book is a
must read. Welcome home."
Denise Lajimodiere (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), author of Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of Northern Plains American Indian Boarding School Survivors

"Worthy
of a novel—but true. A young child is transported to a strange place
where she is challenged to overcome events no child should have to face.
She lives in a world that doesn’t recognize or accept her, all the
while being told that this is in her own best interest. This is a story
about the triumph of the human spirit that finds love, acceptance, and
purpose in restoring hope to others who were also lost.
William A. Thorne, Jr. (Pomo and Coast Miwok), retired tribal and state court judge

"Since
the 1870s, first through boarding schools and then through forced
adoptions, federal bureaucrats have permanently removed Native children
from their families. Their goal was the erasure of Native people; the
result was trauma and severely damaged families. Sandy White Hawk, who
lived this adoption experience, has become a strong advocate for Native
people and Native families. In this compelling and immensely readable
story, her compassion and dignity shine through."
Anita Fineday (White Earth Tribal Nation), managing director, Indian Child Welfare Program, Casey Family Programs

“Sandy White Hawk is ‘a child of the Indian
race.’ This is her powerful memoir of coming home to the Rosebud Sioux
Reservation in South Dakota as an ‘Indian adoptee.’  It is a story of
much suffering and great courage, and it highlights the indelible
importance of song, ceremony, culture, and landscape in the arduous
journey towards truth, reconciliation, and healing.  It is also a
journey greatly facilitated by the vision and hard work of many Native
mentors, families, and communities. Read this book. It will change
you.” 
Frank Pommersheim, professor of law and associate justice, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Supreme Court

Author Information

Sandy White Hawk is a Sicangu Lakota adoptee from the Rosebud
Reservation, South Dakota. She is the founder and director of First
Nations Repatriation Institute, which offers resources for First Nations
people impacted by foster care or adoption to return home, reconnect,
and reclaim their identity. White Hawk is Director of Healing
Programs at the National Native American Boarding School Healing
Coalition and was elder-in-residence at the Indian Child Welfare Law
Office in Minneapolis. She is the subject of several documentaries,
including Blood Memory: A Story of Removal and Return.

Gene Thin Elk (Great Sicangu Nation) is an internationally known consultant in the area of Indigenous healing methods.

Terry Cross (Seneca
Nation) is the founding executive director of the National Indian Child
Welfare Association. He is the author of the Heritage and Helping and
Positive Indian Parenting curriculum, as well as Cross-Cultural Skills
in Indian Child Welfare.

$ 18.95 Minnesota Historical Society