Help for Minnesota Adoptees (I am one, too)

I am an adoptee who was born in Minnesota in 1956.
When I was searching, I did call Catholic Charities since they handled my adoption. This was in the late 1970s and they, of course, were shocked I was asking for my birth certificate and wanting to know who my parents were. They didn't slam down the phone but they were no help at all - but times have changed somewhat since then and this is the  link  to contact Minnesota for access to your birth records and birth certificate.
It is "conditional" access - which means your birthparent has had to file a consent form - and if they have done that, the adoptee will be able to have a certified copy of the original birth records. (read below)
You can check my blog here about what was in my adoption file from Wisconsin; the judge ordered an investigation before my adoption was finalized and the investigator had to get a copies of my files which listed days spent in a Minnesota Catholic orphanage, other records from Minnesota, my foster care address in Wisconsin - prior to my being legally adopted. (Yes, states did transfer children around like Minnesota-Wisconsin-Illinois). I was born in MN but adopted in Wisconsin - which meant I had two places to look. A Wisconsin judge let me read my files in 1979.
In 2010, I did contact Minnesota to request a copy of my original birth certificate. Because records are still sealed, they said NO. My birthmother Helen died in 2007, so she obviously will not ever give her consent.
This also presents a problem since the government will be refusing to give certain people with strange-looking birth certificates a driver's license in the not-too-distant future. (REAL ID ACT OF 2005)
My friends at Soaring Angels on Yahoo Groups (search angels for adoptees & birthfamilies) posted this so I wanted to share it with adoptees who need help in Minnesota!

Access to Original Birth Record in MN


A child, age 19 or older who was adopted, may request a non-certified copy of the original birth record. To request a non-certified copy, complete the Adoptee's Request for Original Birth Record Information and Search for Affidavit of Disclosure or Non-Disclosure( Interactive PDF: 60KB/1 page)
<http://www.health. state.mn. us/divs/chs/ osr/disclosesear chnew.pdf> . 
Mail the completed form with a fee of $13 to the Minnesota Department of Health, Central Cashiering - Vital Records, P.O. Box 64499, St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0499.

If a birth parent has given permission to release the original birth information to the child, MDH will send the child a non-certified copy of the original birth record. If no Affidavit of Disclosure or Non-Disclosure
has been filed, MDH will notify the child that a non-certified copy of the original birth record cannot be released at this time. MDH will also notify the Department of Human Services for the purpose of conducting a search for
the birth parent(s) according to Minnesota Statutes, section 259.89. The search may take up to six months. MDH will contact the child when the search is complete.

Searches for Information about Siblings or Parents who were Adopted
The Minnesota Department of Health does not retain adoption information. The Office of the State Registrar retains:

1) current birth records that include the post adoption names of adopted persons and their adopted parents; and
2) the original birth record that includes original birth information.

The original birth record may be released only:

1) by court order
2) to the adopted person if the parent(s) named on the original birth record have been given permission; or
3) to a parent named on the original birth record.

Other than releasing the original birth record as described above, the Office of the State Registrar does not provide post adoption services and cannot help with searches for information about siblings or parents. If you are looking for information about a sibling or a parent who was adopted, please contact the adoption agency or the Minnesota Department of Human Services at 651-431-4682 or write to: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child Safety and Permanency Division, Adoption Assitance Program, P.O. Box 64944, St. Paul, MN 55164-0944.

Telling interview with adoptive mother Joan Didion

The Leonard Lopate Show

Joan Didion's memoir Blue Nights (radio interview)

The comments are much better than the interview with this famous adoptive mother who clearly doesn't get ..IT..

Here's a few comments about the release of Blue Nights shared via NYMag.com/arts/books back in Oct 2011:

"Didion is an gold medal narcissist. Look at it in her face, her deathly cool self-obsession. She wrote the book to "get IT off her mind?" how telling. IT? Funny name for a daughter. Face it: There was no room in her life/drama for a beautiful daughter full of life who would draw attention away from Didion (look at the daughter at age 8 or 9 and see a vibrant life force that would outshine her mother in a matter of time). I could barely stomach the narcissistic prose bleating about her husband's death. No one could/would out live her. Her daughter would die before her, she had to, it was an unspoken rule, there was not room for both of them. Didion is surrounded by enablers. And yes, she can write, well, but who can read IT?" - Candida Worthington

"Why do people care about such stupid, self-indulgent, abusive people? Why does anyone want to enter the world of these precious non-entities? And it is sad how the psychological abuse of the daughter is glossed over. Instead we are supposed to be fascinated, somehow, by these people's oh-so-important "work". I just don't get it." - JS7

"It's hard to believe someone as bright as Didion could really be so clueless as to why her daughter was so 'troubled'.

As an adopted adult, I can tell you that Quintana was hardly unique. THOUSANDS of adoptees cannot make sense of the abandonment, the unacknowledged grief of losing their families,and the weathering the shift a CHILD must make into a family of strangers. Adoptees overpopulate residential treatment centers, prisons, etc. We are not an emotionally healthy lot.

Didion really ought to consider psychologist David Kirschner's theory 'adopted child syndrome' to understand her daughter, as opposed to the tired 'bi polar disorder' explaination. Everything Quintana lived through as a depressed child and a lost adult is outlined in the lifelong work of the late Betty Jean Lifton and adoptive mother and author Nancy Verrier's book, "The Primal Wound".

Didion claiming ignorance as to why her daughter was so emotionally pained is frustrating to those of us who have experienced life much like Quintana did, no matter who we came from, or to whom we were given to: the commonality is *being* adopted. It really is a life long condition as opposed to an 'event'."- Michelle Booth

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2012/jan/02/joan-didions-emblue-nightsem/

The Time to Mourn

First, let me say Happy New Year to everyone.

Let me share a bit about the past month... while I have been mourning and tending my spirit.

Mourning ignited with the loss of Edie, the only mother I knew for 50+ years, when a cruel disease, dementia, erased her memory and caused her death on December 9 in Oregon. 

Until her diagnosis in 2007 and her move to Oregon in 2010, I had a very close and loving relationship with my mom. We spent months together each year, goofing off in Wisconsin, or if I was in Massachusetts, we spoke daily on the phone. Over the years, we grew inseparable. Our love was real.

Also last year two cherished aunts in my adoptive family died, and I had not properly grieved them and I needed to... and with mom gone, I had to... suddenly, grief erupted like a volcano and swallowed me up.

During my grieving, I felt it was important to be “real” about the people and events that shaped my life. I lived far too many fantasies as a child-young adult and never will go back into that “fog” mode. I choose to be as clear and real as humanly possible. 

The mind will naturally want to block what is painful so I made time to look at old photos, an important part of a grieving process. I looked at them with heart and eyes wide open. 

I could see in the photos how my parents adopted a stranger's child yet pretended it wasn't relevant to them they’d adopted me. They decided not to talk about it. (At least they didn’t in front of me.)

I see my a-parents unaware of how my emotional edges grew raw and ragged. I see my spirit go cold and numb in the photos. They ignore the child staring back at them and simply pretend everything is fine and normal. After many years, it does get to the point when we do become family. Your adoptive parents are the only parents you’ve known and the only truth you have known.

But this taught me a lesson. Adoption was forced, when parents force us to adapt and accept them as parents or you go insane. 

I admit I had a very difficult childhood which can kill you or make you strong. There was alcoholism and abuse at home. I will never completely understand what happened. I comprehend some parts as the child and others parts as an adult. 

Never could I tell them of my decision to open my adoption or when I did it. They would have seen it as my rejecting them. Still I had to do something about it and I did. Adoptees learn quickly what is possible and what is impossible with each parent and each situation. At home I was expected to adjust and adapt without any discussion or therapy. That’s the juggle for adoptees.

We know THAT needs to change. Adoptees confirm this on blogs and in books and in support groups.

No great surprise, the adoption industry didn't educate my parents before my adoption that I would have emotional difficulties being their adopted daughter.  That apparently wasn't discussed.

Sadly, there is too much the adoption industry will not disclose to adoptive parents. 

In 2012, ignorance is no longer an excuse.

Today's adoptive parents can turn to the internet and numerous books on how to deal with our emotional hurt, grief and adoption trauma. They can understand adoption better today because of adoptees. Parents can educate themselves and advocate for the child they adopt or foster. Some of these parents deal in truths and get their child into therapy. There isn't a cure for the primal wound (post-traumatic stress disorder, or severe narcissistic injury) but there are new treatments discussed every day on the internet.

I was not able to speak to Edie about my reunion with my natural father and my siblings. She had no interest in this or my search or how I felt. That was not a part of our relationship.  

Edie's death also made me realize I had not mourned my other mother Helen who I never met. I do admit it's a delayed reaction - because when you lose someone so important to you , other losses and grief can surface and erupt out of nowhere. I'll cry in spurts. I'll cry for myself. I'll cry because I miss their voices and the many stories of our life.

With my parents (adoptive and natural) all gone, it felt to me like my own history was disappearing.  

I know it's very important to mourn our relatives, and then let them go.  It would be selfish of us to try and keep their spirits here. The dead visit us in dreams. We can still speak to them.

Grief simply pours out of our soul because it needs release. I made the time to mourn. 

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

i have no indian name

http://youtu.be/BhC5-Myj6gs

Rita Coolidge explained in an interview she met a young woman who was adopted and the result of their meeting was this song…. beautiful song…tragic, too…

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.



"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."



At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.



What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.



"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."



It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.



"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."



Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.



"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."



A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.



More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.

Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.

"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."

At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.

What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.

"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."

It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.

"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."

Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.

"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."

A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.

More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.
Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.

"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."

At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.

What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.

"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."

It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.

"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."

Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.

"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."

A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.

More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.
Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.

"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."

At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.

What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.

"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."

It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.

"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."

Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.

"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."

A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.

More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.
Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.

"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."

At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.

What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.

"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."

It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.

"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."

Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.

"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."

A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.

More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.
Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Minnesota's Healing Spirits

Healing Native Spirits in MN Long-Term Foster Care

MINNEAPOLIS - A unique program in south Minneapolis is finding success helping American Indian boys in long-term foster care. The director of the Healing Spirit program for boys, Kirk Crow Shoe, says the group home they operate takes in teens with a history of running away, skipping school and runs-ins with police. Many have been placed in multiple foster-care situations without success.

"They go into these homes and they're not making it. They're not connecting; they're not getting their needs met, so then they go back to the emergency shelter. They wait for yet another placement; they go to another placement, then they disrupt from that placement. Healing Spirit was developed as an answer to this particular problem."

At Healing Spirit, Crow Shoe explains, the focus is not just on school and living skills, but also on the sacred Native American culture, which he calls a significant part of helping the kids believe in themselves.

What makes Healing Spirit effective, Crow Shoe says, is that the teen boys are overseen by staff members who share the same Native American background.

"Many of them have been in long-term foster care themselves. They struggled greatly in their upbringings, and as adults they have the heart to give back to the community. The kids know that they've been in their shoes, as well, so there's an immediate sense of respect that's paid to one another in that relationship."

It is key for the troubled teens to connect with their culture and community and feel a sense of family - particularly in a system in which they've been shuffled from one place to another, Crow Shoe adds.

"These kids, after a period of time, they feel like they're throwaways and they're very broken kids. Because we understand that and because many of us have lived that life, they know that we are going to be more patient, more generous - and we're not going to give up on them quite so easily."

Since Healing Spirit was founded in 2003, the average length of stay has grown to around 2.5 years, and most boys now stay until they "age out." Crow Shoe says with that success, the program has generated interest from across the country.

"Because we have done as well as we have over the years, there are other communities that are interested in what we're doing; and as such, we then shared our model at the National Indian Child Welfare Act conferences."

A similar foster home for girls opens in south Minneapolis in January. American Indians make up just over one-percent of Minnesota's population, but account for 12 percent of the children in the state foster care system.

More information is available at http://diw.gmcc.org/programs.php.
Public News Service - MN » December , 2011

Russell Means on THE BIG LIES

You will hear lots on this clip! How reservations came to be...land in trust...assimilation....the big lies....

Guest Column: Johnathan Brooks JOINING THE DOTS

http://www.spiritbearcoaching.com/

Joining The Dots: 

The Spiritual Purpose of My Life

It has become popular in counselling for clients to be encouraged to write their story and so come to recognise how detrimental experiences can be used as opportunities for living life to the full.  In a sense this could be called allowing oneself to move into new situations, places or environments where this can happen.

I believe adoption and fostering offers a unique opportunity for adopter and adoptee for personal growth and the healing of the wounds we all carry, and may have to re-experience several times in order to except the wisdom of their lesson and move on. Before we are born our spirit/soul chooses the particular set of circumstances and the environment that will give us the greatest opportunity for growth into self responsible adult instead of remaining a victim.

When we are born we are totally dependent on others, but if we are unable to bond with a parent or nurturing figure with any degree of closeness, we may find it difficult to become self reliant and free to create a life of our own.

We may allow the values of others and the culture to dictate the patterns of our lives and try to fit in, or equally restricting, being constantly at war with that culture instead of freeing ourselves to fulfil the reason for incarnation.

In my own case I can now look back and recognise certain significant sets of circumstances that have led to being able to heal sum of my earlier wounding. My birth mother was a Native American of the Cree tribe which was not compatible with my birth fathers Northern Cheyenne. The Catholic Church arranged for my adoption after a few months old by an American Jewish man and Austrian/German then Protestant wife, at least four different types of cultural influences.

This was at a time when it was popular to adopt little Vietnamese orphans and babies from countries where America had been involved in destructive wars. While I was not from the Far East it could be said that White Americans had progressively destroyed my birth parents culture. I was never able to bond with my adopted mother, nor do I feel she was able to nurture me in any way. I felt very unclear who I was, felt deeply insecure, and separate from those around me. It is I think significant that when I married it was to a South Korean girl who was also adopted as a very young child and also had problems with bonding.

As I see it now part of my life task is to heal the wounds inflicted on First Nation peoples through myself as a First Nation individual and learn to recognise the Unity of Humanity, we are not separate.

The next significant event was when at age five my adopted parents moved from the USA to England. I was eventually sent to a Steiner school where both teachers and pupils were multi-national so being one of two Native Americans there was no big deal about my race. However, by this time I had become so inhibited and unable to express or be myself in any way to my adopted mother I was considered a bit slow and unresponsive. In fact, I still felt lonely, imprisoned and separate from the love of anyone who understood me, and I believe I was re-living a prison like isolation experience when the Cheyenne’s were split into two and vanished from their tribal grounds.

When I was later able to find my birth parents and was enrolled as a Northern Cheyenne I achieved a healing sense of belonging, and a cultural philosophy with which I could resonate. I began to feel who I was.

However, before this took place I was sent to live with foster parents during term time. These were an Austrian/Australian and his English wife together with their son who was in the same class at school, and was four days older than myself.

This son’s name was John to my Johnathan in a sense we were like dissimilar twins finding each other after a long separation. My foster parents never regarded me as anything but a welcome second son, and frequently said “How lucky we are to have two such good boys” and missed me when I was away.

My foster mother regarded the extraordinary world-wide travelling experiences on both our parts that had brought us all together as a sign of a beneficent and supportive universe, pointing to the fulfilment of the cosmic plan for Humanity. To Unify everything and return to Source through the magnetism of Love.

It was my foster mother who discovered I was Dyslexic. Dealing with this problem and wound led to me studying acting and later to become a NLP Master Practitioner. So a wound became an asset.

I remained with these foster parents for over 18 years before moving to London and training and working in several jobs which while I did not find particularly satisfying at the time were all useful in helping me on my way to a recognition of my sacred contract as Caroline Myss puts it [www.myss.com].

A greater understanding of this contract was given me by a tribal elder when I was working in a home for under privileged children on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. He remarked on the number of mothers I had, had. I slowly began to realize the importance of mothering, of grounding, of security on Mother Earth and bonding of all humanity.

During the summer of 1985, I had been given the Right to build and lead sweats in England by the Northern Cheyenne Sacred Hat Keeper, he’s a bit like the Pope.  When I got back, I built a sweat lodge in the garden and invited my foster brother to our first sweat not knowing that the covering of this place of purification creates feeling of returning  to the dark womb of Mother Earth, where we can safely release all the negative conditionings we have acquired and re-emerge re-born. I was, much later, to understand the value of ritual for impressing our minds in a learning/healing process.

A further opportunity to develop the theme of mothering, security and bonding when my daughter was born, at the same time of night on the same date as my foster mother 81 years before.

Circumstances arose that it became necessary/convenient for me to become a full time house father while still seeing clients. This has made me more and more conscious of the feminine, nurturing life and each person’s uniqueness while the male role is to encourage and give support for change and progress.

When Father Sky and Mother Earth unite, life can become an adventure, instead of something to be endured while every wound is seen as a valuable sign post and opportunity for becoming Whole or Healed.

In A Nutshell:

I feel my sacred contract is to help others recognise their legitimate and unfulfilled needs or wounds as the reverse of the positive qualities they are here to manifest.

Life is a paradox and unless we are able to recognise both opposite poles in ourselves we cannot make life meaningful, adventurous or creatively joyous. If we do not achieve this recognition or healing we will pass the problem onto the next generation.

This is a particular time of a return to the Great Mother.

‘Walk in Peace;

Walk in Beauty.’

Johnathan

Johnathan Brooks, PG Dip, MAC, CBT, MNLP, EFT is a Cognitive Behavioural Coach who has trained in a wide range of treatment methods including the “Power Therapies” (CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (post grad), EFT Emotional Freedom Technique, Master NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming) and has a Post Graduate Diploma in ‘Coaching and NLP’ - passed with a ‘Commendation’ from Kingston University.

Is a registered Gold member of The Professional Guild of NLP and is a full member of the Association for Coaching UK.

Thank you Johnathan for starting us out in 2012 with beauty, wisdom and inspiration! Trace

Russell Means on THE BIG LIES

You will hear lots on this clip! How reservations came to be...land in trust...assimilation....the big lies....

Russell Means on THE BIG LIES

You will hear lots on this clip! How reservations came to be...land in trust...assimilation....the big lies....

Russell Means on THE BIG LIES

You will hear lots on this clip! How reservations came to be...land in trust...assimilation....the big lies....

Russell Means on THE BIG LIES

You will hear lots on this clip! How reservations came to be...land in trust...assimilation....the big lies....

2nd Edition One Small Sacrifice.wmv

Now on Kindle!

ONE SMALL SACRIFICE 2nd Edition coming soon

2012

I have retired the first edition of One Small Sacrifice and will no longer be using Lulu.com. (Your 1st Edition paperbacks will be collector's items!)

The Kindle version of the 2nd edition of One Small Sacrifice: A Memoir (Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects) should be up in a few days.

The book will also be uploaded to Nook on Barnes and Noble in January.

The new paperback will be available in January 2012 on Amazon.com using Create Space on Amazon.com! This is better!

The 2nd Edition has been reformatted with chapters and additional writing.


Look for more ebooks and paperbacks from Blue Hand Books in 2012!
www.bluehandbooks.org 

2018: One Small Sacrifice was retired.

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.

But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."

There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.

Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE

If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:
Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"

The actual special:
ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"

Earlier:
Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.



But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."



There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.



Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE



If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:

Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"



The actual special:

ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"



Earlier:

Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.

But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."

There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.

Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE

If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:
Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"

The actual special:
ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"

Earlier:
Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.

But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."

There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.

Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE

If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:
Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"

The actual special:
ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"

Earlier:
Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.

But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."

There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.

Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE

If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:
Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"

The actual special:
ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"

Earlier:
Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves

More than that! Indian Country responds to Diane Sawyer

Students respond to ABC's "Children of the Plains"

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:02 AM PST

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/

"I know what you probably think of us...we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or read an article. But we want you to know, we're more than that...We have so much more than poverty."

I know many of you saw the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special "Children of the Plains," and I let it pass by without much comment on the blog. I had plenty to say, but I knew a lot of folks from the community, and some of my friends, thought it was great--so I let it go, and didn't think it was really my place to barge in with my super-critical lens on the whole thing.

But some awesome kids from Pine Ridge put together this short, but powerful video in response to the special, which I love:

Reminded me of this quote from Adam Sings in the Timber: "It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its Native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction."

There's a lot of power when we get to represent ourselves.

Youtube: More Than That

Send this video around the globe... SHARE

If you're interested in some of the criticisms of the special:
Indian Country Today: Children of the Plains was little more than "Poverty Porn"

The actual special:
ABC 20/20: "Hidden America: Children of the Plains"

Earlier:
Between Pageantry and Poverty: Representing Ourselves