Veronica deserved better #BABY VERONICA #WICWA

Published on Sep 28, 2013

This 40-minute documentary explains the reason for and the process of creating and implementing the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act (WICWA). This historic piece of Wisconsin legislation passed both houses unanimously in 2009, a rare feat, especially given the opposition its enactment faced.

By Trace A. DeMeyer

I've had a hole inside me for my entire life. Veronica will, too.

I was born in Minnesota in 1956.  In 2013, Minnesota still has my original birth certificate locked away in a file somewhere.  Because of archaic adoption laws, I am NOT able to have a copy of my original birth certificate with my birth name Laura Jean Thrall and my mother's name Helen Thrall.  Until laws change, I have to live with my amended "fake" birth certificate which lists my adoptive parents as my biological parents. Veronica will have a fake birth certificate, too.

In 1958, I was adopted in Wisconsin. In 2010, I paid for a court order in Wisconsin to have my adoption file released to me.  I wrote about what was in this file in my memoir ONE SMALL SACRIFICE (the second edition) and on this blog.  Years earlier I went to a judge in Wisconsin and at his discretion, he let me read my sealed adoption records when I was 22 years old.  I didn't get to keep a copy of any papers, just my notes. I started my search for Helen and my unnamed father that day.

Since I was illegitimate, there was nothing about my Native father or his ancestry or history in my adoption file.  As this video describes, I was denied truth. I was lost. I was denied my birthright. I was deprived of my family stories. I was denied my culture which would have been handed down by my father and grandparents. I was denied medical history of both my birth parents because I was placed in a stranger adoption and no vital information was given to my adoptive parents to give to me.

Did a closed adoption consider my rights? Absolutely not.

Because the Veronica Brown case threw a light on the atrocity of her adoption, we see how her father lost custody of her, and how adoption lawyers cleverly bypassed ICWA federal law. How? The adoption attorneys made sure Veronica's mother cut off all contact with Dusten - so the Supreme Court could rule he didn't support his pregnant girlfriend or their baby and was a deadbeat.

According to South Carolina court records, Christy Maldonado (Veronica's birthmother) and the Capobiancos were connected by the Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency. It is a fact the adoption lawyers connected to the adoption of Veronica filed error-filled ICWA paperwork to the Cherokee Nation.  Even the original South Carolina Supreme Court decision stated that though Maldonado alerted the agency of the father’s status as citizen of the Cherokee Nation, “It appears that there were some efforts to conceal his Indian status.” 

Private adoption lawyers like Raymond W.  Godwin and private adoption agencies like Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency will continue to work behind the scenes to profit from adoptions - but they will lose money if ICWA is understood and implemented nation-wide.  Godwin's wife Laura is the director of the adoption agency that handled Veronica's adoption.

Many more tribes need to unite like in Wisconsin to draft new legislation in their states to layout how to implement the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and make ICWA stronger and clearer for judges. Social workers and courts in EVERY STATE need to ask if it is an Indian child (even with one Indian parent like me and Veronica) and then abide by ICWA.

No child should ever be lost to her own father and tribal nation. I was lost. Baby Veronica was lost.

As Cassi wrote on her Adoption Truth blog:

"...Veronica deserved better than this.  She deserved protection from an industry that used her for gain.  She deserved her rights to her family to be recognized instead of trampled on...."

Beacon Hill Training: Two Worlds: an adoption tale

Beacon Hill Training: Two Worlds: an adoption tale:

In the final countdown to BAAF National Adoption Week, I stumbled across a story on Twitter reported in the Kent and Sussex Courier about a Native American man adopted into a Western family in the mid 1960s.  The article caught my attention, not only because of my interest in adoption but also because of the fascinating cultural implications of such a tale.  Johnathan Brooks has contributed a chapter to the edited volume Two Worlds: Lost Children of the Adoption Projects, which I have now been able to read.  Johnathan's is just one of several stories detailing the cultural assimilation of Native Americans into a wider American / Europe world, something about which I was previously unaware. 

Read the entire review: http://beaconhilltraining.blogspot.com/2012/10/two-worlds-adoption-tale.html

Baby Veronica & Baby Deseray: Sold Babies!

By Trace A. DeMeyer

It appears that Baby Deseray was placed by the same adoption lawyer Ray Godwin and the birthmother dealt with the same adoption agency Nightlight. They are also responsible for the trafficking of Veronica Brown.
History does repeat itself until we learn and get it right.
I have been thinking about the abolition of adoption - and came across this quote: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” said Buckminster Fuller.
The adoption industry propaganda is like fairy dust – it blinds the world to the trafficking of children by calling them orphans and their adopters as saviors while protecting a billion dollar industry. The industry has operated in virtual secrecy for far too long, getting rich selling babies to the highest bidder.
As I said before on this blog, a new war of awareness has begun.


Here is the link to an Op-Ed from a writer in South Carolina:
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/13/baby-veronica-baby-deseray-dont-let-them-sell-our-babies

Now this:

Baby Deseray was removed from Oklahoma shortly after her birth in May by Bobby and Diane Bixler of Irmo, South Carolina.

Adult Son of Couple Adopting Deseray Says They Were Abusive Parents

Suzette Brewer, ICT,  10/16/13

A family court judge in South Carolina has scheduled a hearing on October 25 to finalize of the adoption of Baby Deseray, despite an Oklahoma court ruling last month that granted custody to the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, and ordered her return to that state. The infant, who was removed from Oklahoma shortly after her birth in May by Bobby and Diane Bixler of Irmo, South Carolina, has been the subject of a second heated interstate custody battle between an Oklahoma Indian tribe and the state of South Carolina. The Bixlers are represented by Raymond Godwin, attorney for Nightlight Christian Adoptions of Greenville, South Carolina, and Paul Swain, a Tulsa, Oklahoma attorney. Both lawyers also represented Matt and Melanie Capobianco in their adoption of Veronica, which was finalized in September after a bitter four-year custody battle with the girl's biological father, Dusten Brown.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/16/adult-son-couple-adopting-deseray-says-they-were-abusive-parents-151775

 

RELATED: Oklahoma Judge Gives Custody of Deseray to Absentee Shawnee Tribe
Cherokee Nation Mourns as Veronica Is Returned to Adoptive Family

 

Dusten Brown honored by NCAI

Jefferson Keel of the Chickasaw Nation (left), president of the National Congress of American Indians, and Sandy White Hawk wrap Dusten Brown in a prayer quilt Tuesday. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World

The custody case is viewed as 

an issue of tribal sovereignty

By MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer |

At the end of an open-mic session Tuesday morning, delegates were still lining up to talk about tribal sovereignty when the sergeant at arms interrupted.
"We want to take time to honor somebody," explained Dan King, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, who introduced Dusten Brown.

At the National Congress of American Indians, it wasn't necessary to explain that Brown is the biological father of "Baby Veronica."

..."Dusten and Veronica represent many, many families all over the country," Sandy White Hawk said. "There's a reason all of this is happening."

Read here:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/dusten-brown-honored-by-national-congress-of-american-indians/article_b8b6d647-25f9-5037-80da-3202a4c36e83.html

 MORE HERE

Angel Smith on decision not to pursue civil right lawsuit #BABY VERONICA

From the NICWA Facebook Page:
Here is the statement by Angel Smith, attorney for Veronica Brown, on her decision to not pursue the civil rights lawsuit. NICWA's role is, and has always been, to support the decisions of the parties involved in the litigation. They have arrived at these decisions after wrenching deliberations that no one should ever be asked to make. We ask that their wishes and privacy be respected. Our hearts are broken, as are theirs, as are many of yours. Let's come together to continue with the important work needed to ensure no family ever goes through this again. We cannot do it without you.

Statement of Angel Smith:
"I was appointed to represent the legal rights and claims of Veronica. It included her legal right to a best interest hearing for custody and, at a minimum, for the process of transfer of custody. Her rights and claims were taken up in multiple forums, and much to my regret, no court took present consideration of her best interest in the decision for custody or transfer.

No matter how fit or even wonderful both families are or may be, it is disheartening that Veronica was ever in a position to know one mom and dad at bedtime one day, and the next night to be in a different home with another mom and dad. The fact that she did is unquestionably a failure of the legal systems as to this child. It is the judicial systems placing upon the little head of Veronica the issues many courts had an opportunity to and should have resolved under the legal right of Veronica to a present best interest hearing.

In legal matters, any child -including Indian children- hold legal rights and claims under various tribal, state, federal and/or international law. These legal rights are those of the child and independent of any other party. Failure of judicial systems to consider these independent rights and claims due the child is truly a failure to protect the most vulnerable of our societies and puts upon children the historic semblance of property. All our children deserve and are legally guaranteed more from our judicial systems. For that failure in these matters, my apologies to dear Veronica and both her families because it is now the two families who are left to pick up the pieces of Veronica and help her heal.

Today finds me in a place where continued litigation only places my client at the heart of potentially years of legal proceedings with no guarantee of outcome. This is not in the interest of my client, and it is Veronica who I was appointed to represent. It is time for all of the United States and Indian country, the legal systems, and any acts growing out of self-motivation or hatred to quietly step aside. Yes, there remains work to do for children and Indian children, but it is time to allow Veronica and her families to heal and grow together in private."

Wa do

(Bold added by Trace)

And a new petition on Change.org:

WE'RE BOYCOTTING SOUTH CAROLINA" UNTIL all "charges" against Dusten Brown, Cherokee father of "Baby Veronica" are dropped...

This petition against South Carolina is important because it not only sends a strong message about the "Baby Veronica" adoption debacle, but could also effect the pending outcome of other similar cases on the dockets. Hitting the state in the "pocketbook" is what they deserve until they do what is right and just.
South Carolina has become a "hotbed" of illegal adoptions, especially targeting those of "Native American Heritage," and in many cases it's blatant "baby stealing, buying and selling." Corrupt forces protect only rich "adoptive" couples.   Dusten Brown was tricked by the birth mother of his baby and was brought to his knees by the "slick P.R. firm" adoptive couple Matt and Melanie Capobianco were able to hire immediately.


http://www.change.org/petitions/we-re-boycotting-south-carolina-until-all-charges-against-dusten-brown-cherokee-father-of-baby-veronica-are-dropped-and?utm_campaign=petition_created&utm_medium=email&utm_source=guides

Calling out to Native Adoptees, Lost Birds #ICWA

Reminder: We are putting together a new anthology of Native American and First Nation adoptee narratives and reunion stories.  The first anthology was published in 2012 and is called TWO WORLDS: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects. 

The deadline for the new book is November 1.  

If you are not in reunion and still searching for your first family and tribal nation, please send your birth information and a photo so we can publish this in the new book. 

We are asking writers to submit no more than ten (10) typed pages.

We do have a list of questions to guide you through writing, if you need them. Email Trace.  If you need more time to write, also email Trace.

Patricia Busbee is co-editor. The new book will be published this winter.

Email your stories to: tracedemeyer@yahoo.com

Contributors will receive copies of the new anthology as payment.

Help Innocent Yankton Sioux Families #ICWA

My name is Lucritia Rouse, Yankton Sioux and I´m the descendant of a once proud and mighty people.
I have been the victim of genocide against my family by the State of South Dakota and I need your help!
Help me to fund my campaign to find a civil rights attorney to represent me and my sisters, brothers and cousins!
IMAGINE YOU ARE arrested on lies like a witch in the dark ages. Nothing you say or do makes any difference to the Verdict... GUILTY
Imagine your children being abducted,starved,tortured& interrogated against you. Imagine prison for 33 years INNOCENT.
Help me to fund my campaign to free my innocent beloved uncles! I want to travel the United States, Talk to the Media, Press, Senators, Governors, Politicians, Celebrities, Corporate leaders and Officials. I need money to fund my trip and my food. I´m from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in Marty South Dakota. We are poor. I humbly ask you for your help to bring justice to my family. Wopida tanka. (thank you kindly)
Mitakuye Oyasin-we are all related



OPEN LETTER

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are Lucritia Rouse, Jessica Rouse, Fury Rouse, Trista Rouse and Rosemary Rouse.
We are victims of the SD foster service. A lot of so called ‘professional’ people build a great career on our families’ misery. For 18 years we have been labeled as sexually abused children when we were never abused. In reality the only people that abused us are the state’s foster parents and law enforcement officials; our so called 'guardian ad litem' who told the prosecutor she was going to party if “we get these guys convicted”. This woman appointed by the court to act in our ‘best interests’ was talking about our innocent uncles. BUT IN THIS DAY AND AGE and IN THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD you can only have justice if you can pay for it? WHY?Why does it cost thousands of $$$$ Dollars for justice to be served when the truth is staring into your face? WHY? As small children we were kept behind electric fences to keep us from escaping the FOSTER ‘CONCENTRATION CAMP’, to make sure we ‘performed’ at trial as ‘instructed’ by government officials!!! It has been 18 years and we have been crying to death ears that NO crime was ever committed against us other then the civil rights violations against us, our families and our innocent uncles. Where are the people with COURAGE who want to stand up for what is right, for the constitution and the truth? FIVE young women, victims of the government and foster care system ask you for help- but who will have the courage to help us? Why is everybody looking the other way? We would like to meet you and talk to you, we will meet and talk and tell the truth, the truth needs to be known of what has happened to us, our families. We have disgusting and sick stories to tell of how the system that should protect children used and abused us.
WE WANT JUSTICE FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA!

Visit http://igg.me/p/530329
 

Viral Video #BABYVERONICA

A YouTube video is protesting the "illegal and unethical adoption of Veronica Brown," a member of the Cherokee Nation. In the background, father-daughter team Jorge and Alexa Narvaez sing a cover of 4 Non Blondes' "What's Going On." The pair, who became a YouTube sensation starting in 2010 with their cover of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zero's "Home," when Alexa was 6, gave permission for their video to be used with the photo compilation of Veronica hugging and laughing with her dad.
Hearing the musical collaboration between a loving father and his vibrant daughter amplifies the hard reality that Veronica Brown will miss out on this kind of incredible bond with her biological father, who lives in Oklahoma near the Cherokee reservation, while being raised by an adoptive couple in South Carolina.
The video description asks viewers to learn more about the case at www.keepveronicahome.com or on Facebook at Standing our Ground for Veronica Brown.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/09/heartwarming-youtube-video-protests-adoption-veronica-brown-151677

Good Tips: Emotional Vampires

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought you’d all appreciate some vampire talk. In her new book, “Emotional Freedom,” UCLA psychiatrist Judith Orloff identifies five kinds of vampires that are lurking around and can zap our energy if we’re not careful. Here is an excerpt adapted from her book.

5 Emotional Vampires and How to Combat Them

By Therese J. Borchard
Associate Editor

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/10/27/5-emotional-vampires-and-how-to-combat-them/ 

Emotional vampires are lurking everywhere and wear many different disguises–from needy relatives to workplace bullies. Whether they do so intentionally or not, these people can make us feel overwhelmed, depressed, defensive, angry, and wiped out.
Without the self-defense strategies to fend them off, victims of emotional vampires sometimes develop unhealthy behaviors and symptoms, such as overeating, isolating, mood swings, or feeling fatigued.
Here are five types of emotional vampires you’re likely to encounter, and some “silver bullet” tips for fending them off.

Vampire 1: The Narcissist.
This vampire is grandiose, self-important, attention hogging, and hungry for admiration. She is often charming and intelligent–until her guru status is threatened.
Self-defense tips: Enjoy her good qualities, but keep your expectations realistic. Because her motto is “me-first,” getting angry or stating your needs won’t phase her. To get her cooperation, show how your request satisfies her self-interest.

Vampire 2: The Victim. 
This vampire thinks the world is against him, and demands that others rescue him.
Self-defense tips: Don’t be his therapist, and don’t tell him to buck up. Limit your interactions, and don’t get involved in his self-pity.

Vampire 3: The Controller.
This vampire has an opinion about everything, thinks he knows what’s best for you, has a rigid sense of right and wrong, and needs to dominate.
Self-defense tips: Speak up and be confident. Don’t get caught up in bickering over the small stuff. Assert your needs, and then agree to disagree.

Vampire 4: The Criticizer.
This vampire feels qualified to judge you, belittle you, and bolster her own ego by making you feel small and ashamed.
Self-defense tips: Don’t take what she says personally. Address a misplaced criticism directly. Don’t get defensive. Express appreciation for what’s useful. Bounce back with a massive dose of loving-kindness.

Vampire 5: The Splitter.
This vampire may treat you like his BFF one day, and then mercilessly attack you the next day when he feels wronged. He is often a threatening rageaholic who revels in keeping others on an emotional rollercoaster.
Self-defense tips: Establish boundaries and be solution-oriented. Avoid skirmishes, refuse to take sides, and avoid eye contact when he’s raging at you. Visualize a protective shield around you when you’re being emotionally attacked.

Judith Orloff, MD, is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA. Her new book, upon which these tips are based, is “Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life.”

I recommend you read this too: Grown Weary

The Daily Bastardette: Bloody but Unbowed: Dusten Brown Shows His Stuff

The Daily Bastardette: Bloody but Unbowed: Dusten Brown Shows His Stuff

I wanted to share this blog post - Marley shares my views.

Many of us see it this way: Adoption is trafficking in children. Billions of dollars are made internationally selling babies each year. Their sealing our adoption files and changing and falsifying our birth certificates makes adoptees disappear on paper, concealing our identity.  Finding our way back to our families of origin and tribal nations is not easy with these archaic laws. Veronica Brown's case shined a light on adoption in a very big way - so now we can ALL see it....now we cannot NOT see it... adoption needs to change and be abolished...Trace

Tribal leaders share their views Here 

Dusten Brown to stop custody fight #BABYVERONICA

Baby Veronica case: Dusten Brown to stop custody fight for Veronica

The girl’s biological father spoke for the first time since he gave up custody Sept. 23.

 
  

From left, Robin Brown, Chrissi Nimmo the assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation and Dusten Brown announcing no more litigation in the Baby Veronica case Thursday in Tulsa. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World

Related Stories

• Related: The Post and Courier: Capobiancos ask for privacy as they return home

Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2013 

 

By MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer 

Ending a custody battle that stretched across two states and dragged on for nearly four years, Dusten Brown will drop all litigation in the "Baby Veronica" case, he announced Thursday.
"I cannot bear to continue it any longer," Brown said, holding back tears. "I love her too much to continue to have her in the spotlight."

With no realistic chance of getting the 4-year-old girl back from her adoptive parents in South Carolina, Brown and the Cherokee Nation called a press conference to explain why they would dismiss their appeals with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Brown faced difficult decisions that "no father should ever have to make," he said.

"The most difficult decision of all was to let Veronica go with Matt and Melanie Capobianco last month," Brown said.

"It was no longer fair for Veronica to be in the middle of a battle. It was the love for my daughter that finally gave me the strength to let go of things I can no longer control."

The decision came 17 days after Brown handed the girl over to the Capobiancos, who took Veronica back to the suburbs of Charleston, where they had raised her for the first two years of her life.

The handover came after several weeks of court hearings in more than half a dozen counties across Oklahoma as Brown and his tribe tried to fight court orders from South Carolina to change custody.

The state Supreme Court initially agreed to keep Veronica in Oklahoma while the appeals went forward. But the justices reversed the ruling Sept. 23, and Brown handed over the girl within hours.

Brown broke down several times while reading his statement, part of which was addressed to his daughter.

"One day you will read about this time in your life. Never, ever for one second," he said, pausing as he choked back tears. "Never, ever for one second doubt how much I love you, how hard I fought for you or how much you mean to me."

Brown still faces a felony complaint in South Carolina for not handing over Veronica sooner. And both Brown and the Cherokee Nation are facing contempt of court proceedings, in which the Capobiancos have asked to be compensated for legal fees and other expenses.

A tribal attorney called on the Capobiancos to drop the contempt of court proceedings and to use their influence to have the criminal charges dropped, too.

"We're asking you to listen to your heart," Chrissi Nimmo said, "and do the right thing."

While it was Brown's decision to end the legal battle, the tribe supported it, she said.

"We lost that legal battle," Nimmo said. "And now the best thing for Veronica is for the litigation to end and the healing to begin."

Brown won custody of Veronica in 2011 after courts in South Carolina ruled that he hadn't given "voluntary consent" to the adoption, as required under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which was intended to keep Native American children with their tribes.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled this summer that ICWA didn't apply in this case, because Brown hadn't had custody of Veronica at birth.

Courts in South Carolina then demanded that Brown give Veronica back to the Capobiancos, which he refused to do for several weeks while appealing the decision in Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, a coalition of Indian rights groups has dropped a federal lawsuit on Veronica's behalf.

The Native American Rights Fund and other groups were accusing South Carolina of violating Veronica's civil rights by taking her away from her tribe and biological family without a "best interest" hearing.

Officials wouldn't comment on why they dropped the lawsuit.

A Glimmer of Hope #ICWA #BABYVERONICA

In recent days, because of the Baby V case and all the publicity and drama that ensued and the unjust decisions to hand Ronnie over to the SC adopters, she is still a Cherokee child and a sovereign citizen of her nation.  Judges everywhere should preside and rule by the Indian Child Welfare Act, and case by case recognize that Indian children are everywhere, not only on reservations.  American Indian children need to be protected and raised by their tribal kin.  ICWA is still a valid standing federal law. Read this case (below).  Last night I was a guest on John Kane's Let's Talk Native. One of the things he asked, is there anything for Dusten to do to get Ronnie back? I answered that if there are improprieties or collusion or another court finds that Nightlight Adoption Agency and those in the law profession acted improperly or illegally, then there is still a glimmer of hope. Because of Ronnie Brown, this hope exists and discussion continues around the world!... Trace

Podcast: LISTEN

 

A Positive ICWA Case Out of California

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Kate Fort

We almost never see a positive case out of California. Here is one (In re C.S.), and the words of the juvenile referee Sobel from state court:

The court granted the section 388 petitions filed by mother and father, concluding, “We have an American Indian child. That’s different. We have siblings who are with relatives. That’s different. We have a new baby who has been safely in the mother’s care since the [non-detain] petition was filed. That’s different. So, when you say that the children who are placed with foster parents at birth, that is their parent, the parent that is there night and day, you are correct, in every case, that’s correct. But the point of this is what happens to parents in the part that we call reunification? Where at some point do the parents earn the right to become those people? Where is that transference into being able to be a parent? Now, with the two other children . . . , they are with relatives. Those relatives are glad to step back and be relatives. If they need to adopt, they will. But the fact is they are grandparents. They prefer to be grandparents. I have two parents in complete compliance with their original case plan and American Indian. As to [C.’s older sibling and half-sibling], there’s no question there are changed circumstances here. The issue is best interest and I find it’s in the best interest of [the older sibling and half-sibling] to grant the 388 and place the children home of parents: mom for [the half-sibling and sibling], dad and mom for [the sibling]. We’ve already taken [the baby] off the track [by dismissing the non-detain petition as to her]. . . . [C.] is American Indian. She has three siblings. Those siblings are going home. . . . I am telling you, from my heart, an American Indian child belongs in an American Indian home, especially when that home has siblings in it and parents who are appropriate. There is no question that ICWA requires that I do what is right under ICWA; that I do what’s right for this family, understanding and knowing that C. loves [her de facto parents] both as a primary attachment. . . .    I’m granting mother[’s] and father’s 388 as to C., finding there are changed circumstances and that it is in the child’s best interest to be returned to her parents.”

Troy the Locator on #BABYVERONICA

A post from THE LIFE OF VON

Troy the Boy

This entry was posted on October 7, 2013, in Troy The Locator. 

I just had to bring you this little comment from ‘Troy the Locator (Official)’ in response to a comment of mine on Facebook, he wrote: “Von Coates, thats correct. She should not have been taken from her adoptive parents and her biological mother, who were enjoying an open adoption. her bio-father, AS EVERYBODY NOW KNOWS, abandon his unborn child. You may believe that parents who abandon their children should be able to get them back after they have been settled into a new home, but we do not support that here. By the way, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed as did the S.C. Supreme Court. So I guess its just you and a hand full of Cherokee Nation lawyers who think abandonment is good parenting.”
Interesting. Of course you all know who the ‘she’ is here and the case being referred to. I think Troy has since found that it wasn’t just your Blogger and the lawyers who have a view on appropriate parenting and I hear that he is back peddling as fast as he can go. I hope it has been a learning experience for him and that he hasn’t wasted the opportunity. It might be too much to expect that he could change his mind and support parenting by biological parents and the rights of children!
Learning experiences!

Read her post here: troy-the-boy

So this is their PR campaign saying Dusten abandoned his pregnant girlfriend - which is total crap - Christy broke up with him and signed a cash deal with the adoption agency... Twisting the truth is so convenient and the courts bought it. Let this be a lesson for those young men and women who are expecting a baby and get trapped by the $13 billion dollar adoption cartel - they will sell your kid to the highest bidder and get away with it... Trace

 

 And last Tuesday night I did a two hour interview with Gia Scott on adoption, being adopted and history: 
Listen now: http://media.podcastingmanager.com/64024-83474/Media/Dawn-of-Shades-Gia-Scott-10-01-13.mp3
 

Petition to put fathers names back on original birth registrations for Ontario adoptees

For those who are not aware, please read Cat Hen's following description posted on the new Ontario Government’s Idea Board: 

“From 1960 to 1980, unwed father's names were illegally removed/omitted by the Ontario government. Many parents were illegally denied the right to name the father despite the law at the time allowing them to. Father's gave their consent. Many of these people are Aboriginal adoptees who were wrongly taken from their families. The UN has now asked the Ontario government TWICE to restore these names of adoptees as it affects Aboriginal rights. The UN Special Rapporteur Professor Anaya is disgusted that the Ontario government still refuses to do so, hurting Aboriginal families. Many parents still want the names put back for adoptees and many fathers are still giving their consent to do so.”
“Please restore these names as the UN has requested. Otherwise, how can this be fair and just to those who are being punished simply for being adopted? They are being denied human rights that the UN has said numerous times that they are entitled to and that all other Canadians enjoy.”

Please vote YES on this issue and share widely. The more votes we can get the better. She is trying to get the government to restore the illegally removed/omitted unwed father's names back onto the original birth registrations of adoptees. To get the Ontario government to notice, we have to give this post as many YES votes as possible.
To find the post, register then just type in "adoptee" or "birth registrations" and vote on the post when you locate it.
Here is the link for that. Many thanks for your support. ~ Cat Hen

http://commonground.ontarioliberal.ca/

• For more information on that, here is the UN report submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The report can be found in the 4th column from the left. It is called "Canada Looking in Ontario".
  http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/crcs61.htm
  
  The UN Human Rights Council also told both the Provincial and Federal government to put these names back. Both levels of government still continue to completely disregard the UN recommendation. Both governments are in violation of Article 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This also violates the Canadian Charter of Rights (on discrimination based on birth status), the Ontario Human Rights Code (being denied a government service), the UN Declaration on Human Rights, Articles 2, 7 and 25 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, Article 8.

  

  Committee on the Rights of the Child - 61st session

  www2.ohchr.org

  Convention- Status of ratification, Reservations and declarationsOP on Sale of Children - Status of ratification, Reservations & declarationsOP on Children in Armed Conflict - Status of ratification Reservations & declarationsOP on a communications procedure - Status of ratification

  
  

  The UN Conclusion report on that is also on the same link. It can be found in the far right-hand column. Click on "E" for English version or "F" for French version.
  http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/crcs61.htm

  

  Committee on the Rights of the Child - 61st session

  www2.ohchr.org

  Convention- Status of ratification, Reservations and declarationsOP on Sale of Children - Status of ratification, Reservations & declarationsOP on Children in Armed Conflict - Status of ratification Reservations & declarationsOP on a communications procedure - Status of ratification
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Haley drops effort to extradite Dusten Brown from Oklahoma in Veronica case

Trace will be a guest discussing this case on Sunday night

By Trace A. DeMeyer

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is dropping her request to extradite Dusten Brown, the biological father of Ronnie Brown, the little Cherokee girl placed in a private adoption which is a clear violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Despite this, Dusten could still face a charge of custodial interference.
Dusten Brown had been scheduled to appear Thursday in an Oklahoma county court to face extradition to South Carolina. Brown was charged in August with custodial interference for failing to hand over 4-year-old Veronica to adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island, S.C.
Last Monday Brown handed over his daughter to the Capobiancos after the Oklahoma Supreme Court lifted an emergency stay that had kept Veronica in Oklahoma. There have been no sightings of the Capobiancos and Veronica on James Island and no word on when they might return.
Brown of Nowata, Okla., could still face the charge if he ever goes to South Carolina. This could prevent him from visiting his daughter if the Capobiancos would even allow it.

The Cherokee Nation released this statement:
“We are pleased that Governor Haley has withdrawn her request for extradition and see this as a step in the right direction for all involved.”  -Todd Hembree, Cherokee Nation Attorney General

Read more here: news update

THE AP contributed to this story.

Native Adoptee Susan Fedorko: Veronica’s 'Lost Bird Wings' Will Fly Her Back

Susan Fedorko's first book, Cricket: Secret Child of a Sixties Supermodel

ICTMN Staff

10/1/13

Susan Fedorko was 40 years old when she found her birth family—or rather, when a long-lost sister found her. Her first book, Cricket: Secret Child of a Sixties Supermodel (Outskirts Press, 2012) chronicles Fedorko’s journey from Native American adoptee-turned “white” mother and wife, to a person reunited with her extended family. That family hails from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation people on her mother’s side and the White Earth Nation on her father’s, both Chippewa/Ojibwe. In an unexpected twist, Fedorko discovered that just a few years after her birth, her birth mother—Cathee Dahmen—had become an immensely popular supermodel, probably the first Native American woman to attain that status.

RELATED: Reclaiming her Identity: A Conversation With Native Adoptee and Author Susan Fedorko

Fedorko sent Indian Country Today Media Network the below gripping open letter to Veronica Brown's adoptive parents Matt and Melanie Capobianco.


By Susan Fedorko:
My heart is heavy for Dusten Brown and the entire Cherokee Nation/Native American people.
He has done everything right he could do to keep his biological daughter Veronica.
I am a Native American adoptee who was adopted prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. I spent my entire life trying to return to my Native people. I finally returned at the age of 40.
These things we do know about what Veronica will likely endure as an adoptee:
1. She will most likely constantly be challenged with her identity. She knows who her biological father is. On paper, her father may be Matt Capobianco. But in heart and soul it is Dusten Brown.
2. She will most likely never trust again. You have ripped her away from her father and step mother and sibling.
3. She will most likely yearn to be accepted. Relocating her from her biological family will leave her “unsure” where she belongs.
4. She will most likely be reminded that she is an adoptee all her childhood years. School age children will serve as a reminder that she is different from the other kids.

My heart aches that Veronica will not be exposed to her Indian language and customs. These traditions and customs should be a part of her life as a Cherokee child. She should be able to dance and pray—it is her birth-given right that you have stolen from her. This child should have never been rendered as “adoptable”; she has a loving father and family.
The Native American community has been run over once again, cast aside without regard. Veronica Brown is of Native American decent, and her civil rights as Native have been violated. The rest of America just stands by and watches a non-Native couple steal her away from her father who was determined fit to raise her.
She will one day become a teenager, and then adult Veronica. Her Lost Bird Wings will find her way back to Oklahoma.
Undoubtedly you will have 14 years with her—14 years of pretending to be her parents. It was obvious that Veronica was a member of a perfectly loving family. I just do not understand this degree of selfishness—to take one man’s biological daughter away from him, when clearly they were meant to be together.  What are we missing when a non-Native couple can waltz in and claim our Indian children?
I am a Native American adoptee who wishes that I had someone fighting for me as diligently as Dusten Brown has fought for his daughter.
Adoption is not for the weak. I have survived it, and if there is one thing that I have learned it is that Native blood does not wash away, regardless of how much other blood runs through our veins. We are proud Indian people.  I am sure that Veronica will return home to stay after learning of the circumstances that led her away from her biological father.
I hope in the future our Indian Child Welfare laws will be enforced to protect our Indian children. To protect them from being planted into another non-Native family.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/01/native-adoptee-susan-fedorko-veronicas-lost-bird-wings-will-fly-her-back-151513

 

 

Suzie also wrote a narrative in the anthology TWO WORLDS: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects. Both her memoir and the anthology are available on Amazon.com.

UPDATE: What happened to RONNIE BROWN and ICWA? (edited)

By Trace A. DeMeyer


Last night at Western New England University Law School, the panel (Dr. Atwood, Dr. Briggs and I) were asked if the INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT of 1978 (ICWA) is failing to protect Indian children. 

HECK! This federal law (and courts who administer it) failed RONNIE BROWN, right? She's been adopted by non-Indians!

This case, step-by-step, proves ICWA was not adhered with Veronica, a Cherokee child, now illegally adopted in South Carolina. Veronica would never have LEFT the state of Oklahoma at birth and been whisked to South Carolina by the Capobiancos if ICWA had been followed. This may have been a private adoption but Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency and lawyers cleverly skirted federal law all the way to the Supreme Court and made it happen. They did it with deceit, on paper.

New allegations unconfirmed about Baby Veronica.  (SOURCE:  http://jlhardee.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/judge-daniel-e-martin-jr-of-charleston-sc-under-investigation-for-baby-veronica-case/)

Back to last night:

ICWA has strong language, clear language and has been federal law since 1978. These COURTS took a child who is Cherokee and placed her with non-Indians, which is a clear violation of ICWA.  (It appears a few justices on the Supreme Court and the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare and Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency do not like ICWA as the law either.) 

These clever lawyers violated a federal law and an innocent child was forced into a stranger adoption. The public relations campaign by Jessica Munday to SAVE VERONICA was intended to thwart ICWA, too, and it wildly succeeded by their accounts.

ICWA is no joke. It's part of righting a wrong on Indian families. ICWA is making amends for a century of government-sanctioned child-snatching by people who hoped to dis-empower Indians by destroying future generations - ultimately to destroy tribal sovereignty. Thousands of children were placed in closed adoptions. Some tribes lost all their children. It's easy to dismiss this if you never read about the history or met an adoptee who is American Indian or First Nations.

I realized last night that these law students don't know the reason or the history of ICWA - NONE of it. Maybe the Supreme Court missed it in their law school too. Maybe they didn't read about what led to the passage of ICWA, this necessary and needed federal law. 

(Go to NARF.ORG for the ICWA testimony) (I included some in One Small Sacrifice and Two Worlds.)

Is ICWA working in South Dakota today? No. 

Talk to Janice Howe, a Lakota grandmother, who will tell you of the outright racism and blatant violations of the Indian Child Welfare Act that rip apart Native families in South Dakota. Native grandmothers, who have a natural and federal right to their grandchildren by ICWA, are denied custody and ignored every day. Instead, their grandchildren enter a network of state and state-contracted institutions, at taxpayers expense.

Read this follow-up report and comments on NPR's investigation in South Dakota:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2013/08/13/211654459/s-dakota-indian-foster-care-listening-to-your-responses