Monday, March 5, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Blog Week: Biological Curiousity
BLOG WEEK: What bothers you about the Adoption Establishment?
Excerpt from ONE SMALL SACRIFICE: A Memoir (2nd Edition)
Never before had I experienced such difficulty with one story. I repeat: never. I took to writing like a duck takes to water. Most days, writing and doing research is like breathing. This time was different. I struggled. I knew I’d hit something so I had to slow down, to process, to dig. This history, my history, similar stories, had to be somewhere.
How many countries do not allow adoption? Several. Iraq is one. No children from Western Europe, Australia, or Canada are eligible for adoption by Americans right now.
Nonetheless, America’s adoption reach has been global, widely publicized, some insist saintly, God-like of those who adopt orphans, even if money is exchanged for babies.
International adoption really began after the Korean War, when American GI’s left numerous orphans with their poverty-stricken mothers; then Korean and American-Asian orphans were brought here to be adopted in the United States. After that, Americans adopted thousands of children from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. There is no bigger adopter. In 2002 alone, U.S. families adopted over 20,000 children from various Third World nations.
The overall topic of adoption begged one question for me. “Wait, how do adoptees feel?” No one had asked me when I was young or old. I wanted this answered so I dug in.
An adoptee movement makes headlines these days. Adoptive parents are usually shocked to hear their adopted child say they need to know who they are and what happened.
My Alaskan Native-Celtic friend Anecia says, “The power of identity is stronger than fear.” That’s a powerful statement about adoption, yes. Anecia went full circle as an adoptee and met her birth mom and dad. Her adoptive dad helped her.
The reality is adoptees do have a strong biological curiosity. It’s awful scary not to know who you are. My first goal was discovery —how I lived a mystery and solved it, and I survived spiritually intact and remarkably well. Other Split Feathers need to know how this is possible, even after our pain.
This memoir is not about my recovery from depression or addiction or self-mutilation or suicide attempts, not at all. Apparently adoptees do suffer from these more than the rest of humanity.
Facing my own situation head-on, what choice did I have? I was an abandoned baby—it was my initiation into being human.
My new paperback is now available at http://www.amazon.com/One-Small-Sacrifice-Children-Adoption/dp/061558215X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330473755&sr=1-3
Friday, March 2, 2012
Blog Week: Propaganda aimed at teens
Continuing with Blog Week: What bothers you about the Adoption Establishment?
I found a website (http://starcasm.net/archives/145898) that featured teens who used Bethany Christian Services. Teens are not educated about Birth Psychology or the life-long health effects of trauma on the infant who is given up for adoption. What bothers me? How the adoption industry plants propaganda to influence teens and we can see their profits are their priority, not keeping young families intact.
Excerpt:
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Appear in Adoption Agency Commercial (VIDEO)
I found a website (http://starcasm.net/archives/145898) that featured teens who used Bethany Christian Services. Teens are not educated about Birth Psychology or the life-long health effects of trauma on the infant who is given up for adoption. What bothers me? How the adoption industry plants propaganda to influence teens and we can see their profits are their priority, not keeping young families intact.
Excerpt:
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Appear in Adoption Agency Commercial (VIDEO)
Catelynn Lowell and now-fiance Tyler Baltierra made the tough decision to give their baby daughter up for adoption. But in this commercial unearthed by Starcasm, they say the time was made easier by adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services.
At first, we were both really nervous," Catelynn says. But, "Bethany cares a lot about the birth parents ... they'll help the birth parents through anything."
"When you walk into that office and talk to one of the counselors, the feeling you get is warmth and care," Tyler adds.
To see the commercial go to : http://starcasm.net/archives/145898
In Indian Country, young children are raised by aunties and grandmas if mothers cannot - that practice has been going on for centuries - Everyone is your relative in your tribe so kinship adoption was not destructive or disruptive to the child.
America's Adoption Industry cannot grasp the importance of keeping families intact....Trace
At first, we were both really nervous," Catelynn says. But, "Bethany cares a lot about the birth parents ... they'll help the birth parents through anything."
"When you walk into that office and talk to one of the counselors, the feeling you get is warmth and care," Tyler adds.
To see the commercial go to : http://starcasm.net/archives/145898
In Indian Country, young children are raised by aunties and grandmas if mothers cannot - that practice has been going on for centuries - Everyone is your relative in your tribe so kinship adoption was not destructive or disruptive to the child.
America's Adoption Industry cannot grasp the importance of keeping families intact....Trace
Thursday, March 1, 2012
BLOG WEEK: My beautiful sister Teresa
 |
| Teresa (1961-2012) |
I always wanted a sister and she was the very best for the past 18 years. I will be attending her funeral and conclude BLOG WEEK "Adoption Establishment" with this.
- Getting to meet siblings is life-changing.
- Knowing my first family and siblings helped me go full circle on my adoption journey to healing.
- Finding family who looked like me and loved me unconditionally was priceless.
Adoptees, please start your search if you haven't. FIND YOUR FAMILY! Write your legislators and tell them to open your adoption records. Contact Soaring Angels on Yahoo Groups and get your non-id paperwork. Don't wait, start today.
Trace/Laura Thrall-Bland
(I have a few more BLOG WEEK posts scheduled in the next few days)
Blog Week: Toxic Stress & Adoptee Health
 |
| patient rights |
TOXIC STRESS is an integral part of adoption in my mind. The Adoption Establishment doesn't mention effects on the baby who is orphaned and put up for adoption. That annoys me!
Being adopted affected my health as a child and as an adult. I call myself Super-Sensitive....the trauma of being abandoned is one of the greatest pains you will ever feel and impossible to heal...
ADOPTEE HEALTH
Adoptees are truly a unique and diverse group. Some adoptees know they were traumatized as babies and now are plagued with emotional and physical problems...A few adoptees I know were adopted as children so they spent time with the natural mother, and many were breastfed. I did not spend any time with my natural mother and went directly to an orphanage. By the time I was adopted, I was a wreck. How do I know this? My parent’s memories and home movies. My immune system struggled continuously, and I struggle with adult allergies. You name it: weeds, grass, molds, dust, trees, and many foods.
I admit I was running on high speed as a kid and taxed my adrenals to the max. When you’re in a heightened state of fear, in my case, this is called the fight or flight response. Doctors call it adrenal overload.
In an earlier blog I posted information about the ACE STUDY and how childhood stress becomes an adult health problem.
Now this: "Could your flight-or-fight response be giving you cancer?"
That question is answered by Alice Wessendorf on the Healthier Talk website.
Alice: "When you find yourself in a difficult situation, hormones are released that up your heart rate, quicken your breathing, narrow your vision and, in general, prepare your body to clash or dash.
"This process, known as the fight-or-flight response, is supposed to save your life. But it turns out that it may also be giving you cancer.
"We already knew that this stress response could increase the risk for illnesses like heart disease. But now, new research out of theUniversity of Texas support ing tumor growth and spread.
"They do this by flipping the switch on the stress- activated protein known as focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK protects the detached cancer cells from dying. Allowing them to spread through your blood system finding places to re-attach and grow new tumors.
"And, as you may have already guessed, the higher your stress hormones are the higher your FAK levels become and the quicker tumors can grow and spread.
"So what can be done to stop the spread? Reducing the stress hormones circulating in your system is critical. You can't rid yourself of your natural fight-or-flight response. But what you can do is manage your stress levels."
That question is answered by Alice Wessendorf on the Healthier Talk website.
Alice: "When you find yourself in a difficult situation, hormones are released that up your heart rate, quicken your breathing, narrow your vision and, in general, prepare your body to clash or dash.
"This process, known as the fight-or-flight response, is supposed to save your life. But it turns out that it may also be giving you cancer.
"We already knew that this stress response could increase the risk for illnesses like heart disease. But now, new research out of the
"They do this by flipping the switch on the stress- activated protein known as focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK protects the detached cancer cells from dying. Allowing them to spread through your blood system finding places to re-attach and grow new tumors.
"And, as you may have already guessed, the higher your stress hormones are the higher your FAK levels become and the quicker tumors can grow and spread.
"So what can be done to stop the spread? Reducing the stress hormones circulating in your system is critical. You can't rid yourself of your natural fight-or-flight response. But what you can do is manage your stress levels."
The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health hosted an event to discuss the long term toxic stress consequences on children.
From the Summary: Evidence suggests that for the youngest children, prolonged or severe exposure to abuse, neglect and economic hardship – exacerbated by a dearth of stable, supportive relationships with adults – can provoke a “toxic stress response” with lifelong consequences. Such stress may influence brain development and increase the risk for illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. While efforts have been made for decades to intervene early in children’s lives, the results have not always been resounding.
Quotes: “What the science is telling us is that what happens early on affects lifelong health… So this is a game-changer for how the policy deals with toxic stress. This is for the health committees as much as it’s for the education committees. It’s as much for the Secretary of Public Health as it is for the Secretary of Education because what happens early on affects both, lifelong.” - Jack Shonkoff, Director, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, and Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health
“Rather than saying to the parents, ‘You are a problem,’ what we have to say to the parents is, ‘There are some things going on in your life that are having a tremendous effect on you and your child. Let’s see if we can figure out a way to help and make that situation better.’" - Robert Block, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
“There is no silver bullet solution here. I think it really requires us having a more systemic look at the well-being of our kids and putting that front and center. So our Administration is going to remain committed to that goal. “ - Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy, The White Houses
Link to videos: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/toxic-stress-of-early-childhood-adversity.cfm
mp3 file: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/files/audio/20120207_toxic_stress.mp3
Blog Week: Toxic Stress & Adoptee Health
|
| patient rights |
TOXIC STRESS is an integral part of adoption in my mind. The Adoption Establishment doesn't mention effects on the baby who is orphaned and put up for adoption. That annoys me!
Being adopted affected my health as a child and as an adult. I call myself Super-Sensitive....the trauma of being abandoned is one of the greatest pains you will ever feel and impossible to heal...
ADOPTEE HEALTH
Adoptees are truly a unique and diverse group. Some adoptees know they were traumatized as babies and now are plagued with emotional and physical problems...A few adoptees I know were adopted as children so they spent time with the natural mother, and many were breastfed. I did not spend any time with my natural mother and went directly to an orphanage. By the time I was adopted, I was a wreck. How do I know this? My parent’s memories and home movies. My immune system struggled continuously, and I struggle with adult allergies. You name it: weeds, grass, molds, dust, trees, and many foods.
I admit I was running on high speed as a kid and taxed my adrenals to the max. When you’re in a heightened state of fear, in my case, this is called the fight or flight response. Doctors call it adrenal overload.
In an earlier blog I posted information about the ACE STUDY and how childhood stress becomes an adult health problem.
Now this: "Could your flight-or-fight response be giving you cancer?"
That question is answered by Alice Wessendorf on the Healthier Talk website.
Alice: "When you find yourself in a difficult situation, hormones are released that up your heart rate, quicken your breathing, narrow your vision and, in general, prepare your body to clash or dash.
"This process, known as the fight-or-flight response, is supposed to save your life. But it turns out that it may also be giving you cancer.
"We already knew that this stress response could increase the risk for illnesses like heart disease. But now, new research out of theUniversity of Texas support ing tumor growth and spread.
"They do this by flipping the switch on the stress- activated protein known as focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK protects the detached cancer cells from dying. Allowing them to spread through your blood system finding places to re-attach and grow new tumors.
"And, as you may have already guessed, the higher your stress hormones are the higher your FAK levels become and the quicker tumors can grow and spread.
"So what can be done to stop the spread? Reducing the stress hormones circulating in your system is critical. You can't rid yourself of your natural fight-or-flight response. But what you can do is manage your stress levels."
That question is answered by Alice Wessendorf on the Healthier Talk website.
Alice: "When you find yourself in a difficult situation, hormones are released that up your heart rate, quicken your breathing, narrow your vision and, in general, prepare your body to clash or dash.
"This process, known as the fight-or-flight response, is supposed to save your life. But it turns out that it may also be giving you cancer.
"We already knew that this stress response could increase the risk for illnesses like heart disease. But now, new research out of the
"They do this by flipping the switch on the stress- activated protein known as focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK protects the detached cancer cells from dying. Allowing them to spread through your blood system finding places to re-attach and grow new tumors.
"And, as you may have already guessed, the higher your stress hormones are the higher your FAK levels become and the quicker tumors can grow and spread.
"So what can be done to stop the spread? Reducing the stress hormones circulating in your system is critical. You can't rid yourself of your natural fight-or-flight response. But what you can do is manage your stress levels."
The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health hosted an event to discuss the long term toxic stress consequences on children.
From the Summary: Evidence suggests that for the youngest children, prolonged or severe exposure to abuse, neglect and economic hardship – exacerbated by a dearth of stable, supportive relationships with adults – can provoke a “toxic stress response” with lifelong consequences. Such stress may influence brain development and increase the risk for illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. While efforts have been made for decades to intervene early in children’s lives, the results have not always been resounding.
Quotes: “What the science is telling us is that what happens early on affects lifelong health… So this is a game-changer for how the policy deals with toxic stress. This is for the health committees as much as it’s for the education committees. It’s as much for the Secretary of Public Health as it is for the Secretary of Education because what happens early on affects both, lifelong.” - Jack Shonkoff, Director, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, and Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health
“Rather than saying to the parents, ‘You are a problem,’ what we have to say to the parents is, ‘There are some things going on in your life that are having a tremendous effect on you and your child. Let’s see if we can figure out a way to help and make that situation better.’" - Robert Block, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
“There is no silver bullet solution here. I think it really requires us having a more systemic look at the well-being of our kids and putting that front and center. So our Administration is going to remain committed to that goal. “ - Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy, The White Houses
Link to videos: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/toxic-stress-of-early-childhood-adversity.cfm
mp3 file: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/files/audio/20120207_toxic_stress.mp3
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to
relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or
persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness
of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading
people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades
in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This
belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and
often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning
assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling
group of two older girls from India.
Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling group of two older girls from India.Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling group of two older girls from India.Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling group of two older girls from India.Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling group of two older girls from India.Blog Week: Returning Stolen Children
Continuing with Blog Week and "What Annoys You about the Adoption Establishment: this story tore me up about India's Adoption corruption and their Stolen Children.
Read this post:
http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/2012/02/finding-truth-returning-stolen-children.html
Quote: Note that almost all adoption corruption -- whether coercion of first parents to relinquish, persuading non-infertile folks to become adoptive parents, or persuading the general public or anyone in particular of the absolute goodness of international adoption in spite of facts to the contrary -- involves persuading people of a strong belief system (whose foundations have been laid for decades in our popular culture) and then reinforcing that strong belief system. This belief system is often at odds with other knowledge, emotions, and values and often requires the suspension of the usual protections of questioning assumptions, and using research and critical thinking to evaluate truth claims.
About their blog: Why These Fleas Bite
Desiree: In 1998 my husband David and I adopted a sibling group of two older girls from India.Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Blog Week: Who you need to read!
adoptionechoes.com/2012/02/27/why-the-adoption-establishment-annoys-me/
http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2012/02/guest-blogger-barbara-mcartney-on-why.html
http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-does-adoption-lobby-annoy-me-they.html
New addition: http://karenmoline.com/lurchingintodecrepitude/?tag=adult-adoptees
One more: http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-annoys-me-about-adoption.html
http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-does-adoption-lobby-annoy-me-they.html
New addition: http://karenmoline.com/lurchingintodecrepitude/?tag=adult-adoptees
One more: http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-annoys-me-about-adoption.html
Now is the time to share these posts with your friends AND sign up and subscribe to these blogs (via email) - and the greatest thing you can do is retweet, share on Facebook and comment - every blogger LOVES that!
I love my readers very much - and you adoptees teach me every day and I appreciate you all! ...Trace
" QUOTE"
“My problem is secrecy. I believe that perpetually secret adoptions assure un-accountability and lack of transparency. And secret adoptions are only the tip of the iceberg. The secrecy permeates the process: secret identities, secret parents, secret records, secret foster care providers, secret social workers, secret judges and lawyers (all their identities are sealed, typically), secret physicians, secret statistics and, in the case of some adoption-oriented organizations, secret budgets and secret boards of directors. In any social practice, when people in positions of power hide behind masks, one can be pretty sure that they have something to hide.”
-Albert S. Wei, Special Advisor to the Bastard Nation Executive Committee
Monday, February 27, 2012
Blog Week: What bugs me about the Adoption Establishment
SHOTGUN ADOPTION
http://www.thenation.com/article/shotgun-adoption?page=0,0
This article is from 2009 but offers an interesting insider view of the Adoption Agencies agenda and their role in coercion of young women to relinquish their babies, instead of supporting them so they can keep their child.
Excerpt:
Carol Jordan, a 32-year-old pharmacy technician, was living in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1999 when she became pregnant. She'd already decided against abortion, but she was struggling financially and her boyfriend was unsupportive. Looking through the Yellow Pages for help, she spotted an ad under "crisis pregnancies" for Bethany Christian Services.
Within hours of calling, Jordan (who asked to be identified with a pseudonym) was invited to Bethany's local office to discuss free housing and medical care. Bethany, it turned out, did not simply specialize in counseling pregnant women. It is the nation's largest adoption agency, with more than eighty-five offices in fifteen countries.
...instances of coercion in adoption stretch back nearly seventy years.
...CPCs (Crisis Pregnancy Centers) might persuade reluctant women by casting adoption as redemption for unwed mothers' "past failures" and a triumph over "selfishness, an 'evil' within themselves."
...CPCs were wary of looking like "baby sellers"...
Care Net runs 1,160 CPCs nationwide and partners with Heartbeat International to host a national CPC hot line.
... National Council for Adoption (NCFA), the most prominent adoption lobby group in the country, in the company of other benefactors like Bethany; Texas maternity home giant Gladney; the Good Shepherd Sisters, a Catholic order serving "young women of dissolute habits"; and the Mormon adoption agency LDS Family Services.
The federally funded NCFA has a large role in spreading teachings like these through its Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program, a Department of Health and Human Services initiative it helped pass in 2000 that has promoted adoption to nearly 18,000 CPC, school, state, health and correctional workers since 2002.
(Blog Week: http://landofgazillionadoptees.com/2012/02/22/secret-message-for-other-bloggers-about-the-week-of-february-26th-aka-why-the-adoption-establishment-annoys-the-heck-out-of-us-blog-week/#comment-1867)
I added the bold in the excerpt so you can notice the main players in the industry. Stay tuned to this blog - more of my rants coming this week...Trace
Sunday, February 26, 2012
BLOG WEEK: MY TOP 5
Kevin Ost-Vollmers and Shelise Gieseke at Land of Gazillion Adoptees Blog said Feb. 26th begins BLOG WEEK to answer this question: “Why does the adoption establishment annoy the heck out of us (adoptees)?” http://landofgazillionadoptees.com/2012/02/22/secret-message-for-other-bloggers-about-the-week-of-february-26th-aka-why-the-adoption-establishment-annoys-the-heck-out-of-us-blog-week/
MY MISSION today is to answer that question! Ok, so why does the adoption establishment bug the heck out of me?
Here is my Top 5.
1- (Lack of) Disclosure- Old archaic laws are on the books in many states and it seems every state is having some kind of major meltdown or fiscal crisis. Adoptees who are fighting to gain access to our birth records can’t seem to grab their attention or warrant the lawmaker’s time or serious consideration - unless maybe the lawmaker is an adoptee.
I can hear the lobbyist pounding on their tables, “adoptees should be grateful they were adopted.” The adoption industry is a billion dollar business and they don’t want to lose a single dollar in profits. It’s about money. Even now, the adoption industry does not appreciate adoptees or ask how we feel or acknowledge what we endured. We are not invited to sit at their table or join in discussions. That really bugs me!
2- Secrecy - Over and over and over “they” claim our natural mothers demanded secrecy yet many mothers who lost children after closed adoptions are saying, “damn the secrecy, damn the laws, where are my children?”
Uniting all these mothers with all the adoptees on the same stage, fighting the discrimination, shame, secrecy and old laws would be powerful!
Sadly it seems both are on their own warpath to be heard. Uniting our voices on this issue - especially natural mothers and adoptees who have been silenced for too long - is what is urgently needed. Big crowds marching on Washington DC would get "their" attention.
3- Identity - Adoptees are denied our basic human rights to the truth of our ancestry, our tribe(s), our birth name, our family names, our background (which is our identity), our medical history, our original birth certificate (OBC) and information about both our natural parents.
I noticed writing my memoir how adoptees will say they are looking for their mothers -- but we do have a dad somewhere and possibly siblings - and we do need to know who they are and where they are! Adoptees need to add “dad and siblings” to their list of needs when facing adoption industry discrimination and current adoption laws.
The bias in the adoption industry is to protect the adoptive parents and seal our identity so no one will ever find out the truth. That deeply annoys me.
If you are Native American, you cannot be enrolled without documentation and proof. If you are a Split Feather/adoptee, you not only lose your identity but your treaty rights and all that goes along with being an enrolled tribal member. Just remember your identity is Native American with or without tribal enrollment. We must unite and form a national organization to teach about the government’s use of closed adoption to hurt and destroy American Indian families and cripple future generations.
4- New Identification Cards? Yup, as of 2005 more states will implement this new country-wide identification card. And guess what? Adoptees who cannot produce a real birth certificate (OBC) may (let me stress “MAY”) not be able to renew a driver’s license, vote, or apply for or renew a passport. That scares me and bugs me equally! Those ignorant lawmakers who wrote the Real ID Act of 2005 (and passed it) didn’t consider adoptees or how this would affect us? We pay them big salaries because they represent us. What were they thinking? They were not thinking of adoptees, perhaps 10 million of us in the USA.
5 - Gratitude- Over and over I hear adoptees say - almost by script - how grateful they were to be adopted by their parents. I call this our gratitude attitude. We get stuck there mentally and it’s hard to move on to empowering ourselves to regain our birth rights and identity. I know my gratitude silenced me. Gratitude meant I could not talk to my adoptive parents about anything - how I felt, what I planned to do, or even ask them questions about my adoption file. Laws prevented me from knowing anything about myself and my first family.
AND I found out my new parents were not really informed when they adopted me in 1957. They had basic information like I was illegitimate, how my mom was unmarried.
AND my adoption file didn’t include medical history. Really. Apparently the adoption industry didn’t think about the child at all when compiling information for the adoption hearing. It was about convenience and expedience for adoptive parents. Really.
Looking back the adoption industry should be so embarrassed and horrified they didn’t get our medical history when they “sold” us to our new parents.
So, what about the Adoption Establishment annoys you? Please leave a comment.
MY MISSION today is to answer that question! Ok, so why does the adoption establishment bug the heck out of me?
Here is my Top 5.
1- (Lack of) Disclosure- Old archaic laws are on the books in many states and it seems every state is having some kind of major meltdown or fiscal crisis. Adoptees who are fighting to gain access to our birth records can’t seem to grab their attention or warrant the lawmaker’s time or serious consideration - unless maybe the lawmaker is an adoptee.
Yup, we know adoptees are low on the totem pole and status meter and that annoys me.
What are “they” thinking? Oh, it’s obvious - the status quo - let’s not rock the boat, just leave the law as is and let's not disclose information every adoptee needs and deserves, and definitely let’s not disturb the Adoption Industry who lobbies Wash. DC with fancy dinners and big campaign contributions. (Lack of medical history is a huge problem for many adoptees, including me)
I can hear the lobbyist pounding on their tables, “adoptees should be grateful they were adopted.” The adoption industry is a billion dollar business and they don’t want to lose a single dollar in profits. It’s about money. Even now, the adoption industry does not appreciate adoptees or ask how we feel or acknowledge what we endured. We are not invited to sit at their table or join in discussions. That really bugs me!
2- Secrecy - Over and over and over “they” claim our natural mothers demanded secrecy yet many mothers who lost children after closed adoptions are saying, “damn the secrecy, damn the laws, where are my children?”
Uniting all these mothers with all the adoptees on the same stage, fighting the discrimination, shame, secrecy and old laws would be powerful!
Sadly it seems both are on their own warpath to be heard. Uniting our voices on this issue - especially natural mothers and adoptees who have been silenced for too long - is what is urgently needed. Big crowds marching on Washington DC would get "their" attention.
Blogs (my favorites are listed in the right column) are enlightening the world to our plight. Using our voices, activism and blogging for change is good.
3- Identity - Adoptees are denied our basic human rights to the truth of our ancestry, our tribe(s), our birth name, our family names, our background (which is our identity), our medical history, our original birth certificate (OBC) and information about both our natural parents.
I noticed writing my memoir how adoptees will say they are looking for their mothers -- but we do have a dad somewhere and possibly siblings - and we do need to know who they are and where they are! Adoptees need to add “dad and siblings” to their list of needs when facing adoption industry discrimination and current adoption laws.
The bias in the adoption industry is to protect the adoptive parents and seal our identity so no one will ever find out the truth. That deeply annoys me.
If you are Native American, you cannot be enrolled without documentation and proof. If you are a Split Feather/adoptee, you not only lose your identity but your treaty rights and all that goes along with being an enrolled tribal member. Just remember your identity is Native American with or without tribal enrollment. We must unite and form a national organization to teach about the government’s use of closed adoption to hurt and destroy American Indian families and cripple future generations.
4- New Identification Cards? Yup, as of 2005 more states will implement this new country-wide identification card. And guess what? Adoptees who cannot produce a real birth certificate (OBC) may (let me stress “MAY”) not be able to renew a driver’s license, vote, or apply for or renew a passport. That scares me and bugs me equally! Those ignorant lawmakers who wrote the Real ID Act of 2005 (and passed it) didn’t consider adoptees or how this would affect us? We pay them big salaries because they represent us. What were they thinking? They were not thinking of adoptees, perhaps 10 million of us in the USA.
5 - Gratitude- Over and over I hear adoptees say - almost by script - how grateful they were to be adopted by their parents. I call this our gratitude attitude. We get stuck there mentally and it’s hard to move on to empowering ourselves to regain our birth rights and identity. I know my gratitude silenced me. Gratitude meant I could not talk to my adoptive parents about anything - how I felt, what I planned to do, or even ask them questions about my adoption file. Laws prevented me from knowing anything about myself and my first family.
AND I found out my new parents were not really informed when they adopted me in 1957. They had basic information like I was illegitimate, how my mom was unmarried.
AND my adoption file didn’t include medical history. Really. Apparently the adoption industry didn’t think about the child at all when compiling information for the adoption hearing. It was about convenience and expedience for adoptive parents. Really.
Looking back the adoption industry should be so embarrassed and horrified they didn’t get our medical history when they “sold” us to our new parents.
So, what about the Adoption Establishment annoys you? Please leave a comment.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
NONFICTION: Rez Life #NDN
NONFICTION: "Rez Life," by David Treuer StarTribune.com
At the book's heart is the reservation, "the paradoxically least and most American place in the 21st century," the land and communities that endure as places of Indian control and identity. "Most often rez life is associated with tragedy," he writes, yet "what one finds on reservations is more than scars, tears, blood, and noble sentiment. There is beauty in Indian life. ... We love our reservations."
Treuer embeds these ideas within stories about modern Indians. Among those he portrays: Dan and Dennis Jones -- forced to go to a Canadian boarding school where they were raped by an Indian man hired as a "role model" -- now strong, healed men who are helping others rise above trauma. Helen Bryan Johnson, whose refusal to pay $147 in taxes on her reservation trailer home led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed casinos to flourish. Brooke Mosay Amman, an Ojibwe educator cut out of tribal membership by "blood quantum" rules that Treuer sees as the worst way to define an Indian. And, most personally and painfully, his 83-year-old grandfather, Eugene Seelye, a D-day veteran who killed himself in 2007.
"Rez Life" is not just about Indians, but about America. "You can tell a lot about America, about its sins and ideals, by looking at ... a kind of American who was supposed to have died out a long time ago," Treuer writes.In the end, he concludes: "We might just make it." This impassioned, important book may well help make it so.
Pamela Miller is a Star Tribune night metro editor.
At the book's heart is the reservation, "the paradoxically least and most American place in the 21st century," the land and communities that endure as places of Indian control and identity. "Most often rez life is associated with tragedy," he writes, yet "what one finds on reservations is more than scars, tears, blood, and noble sentiment. There is beauty in Indian life. ... We love our reservations."
Treuer embeds these ideas within stories about modern Indians. Among those he portrays: Dan and Dennis Jones -- forced to go to a Canadian boarding school where they were raped by an Indian man hired as a "role model" -- now strong, healed men who are helping others rise above trauma. Helen Bryan Johnson, whose refusal to pay $147 in taxes on her reservation trailer home led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed casinos to flourish. Brooke Mosay Amman, an Ojibwe educator cut out of tribal membership by "blood quantum" rules that Treuer sees as the worst way to define an Indian. And, most personally and painfully, his 83-year-old grandfather, Eugene Seelye, a D-day veteran who killed himself in 2007.
"Rez Life" is not just about Indians, but about America. "You can tell a lot about America, about its sins and ideals, by looking at ... a kind of American who was supposed to have died out a long time ago," Treuer writes.In the end, he concludes: "We might just make it." This impassioned, important book may well help make it so.
Pamela Miller is a Star Tribune night metro editor.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Cherokee Nation maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Read here: CN maintaining Sequoyah orphan cemetery
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Video
By TESINA JACKSON, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Across from Sequoyah High School along Highway 62 in the Southgate Business Park is a small, bordered area where the Cherokee Nation has placed 32 stones to represent a cemetery that went forgotten for decades.
The cemetery, commonly called the Sequoyah orphan cemetery, began for children who attended Sequoyah during its days as an orphanage.
After the Civil War, Cherokee children were orphaned because of fighting between Cherokees. In 1871, the Cherokee National Council authorized the orphanage’s construction about four miles southwest of Tahlequah.
“All of the stones that are over at the cemetery are actually stones that were salvaged from the third floor of the Cherokee Nation jail facility,” CN Natural Resources Group Leader Pat Gwin said. The jail no longer stands, and its material is stored at the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We used that to make the rock walkways and the rock headstones.”
The orphanage also housed as an institution for the handicapped, and Sequoyah teacher Don Franklin believes that patients who died at the institution are buried in the cemetery.
tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Case argues systematic discrimination against First Nations children
Case argues systematic discrimination against First Nations children
OTTAWA — (Feb 13, 2012) Sweet-smelling smoke from a smudging ceremony filled an Ottawa courtroom Monday as a controversial case began that could open the door for First Nations residents to argue they are being discriminated against en masse by the federal government. An elder named Flying Eagle Woman lit a sprig of sweetgrass at the Federal Court hearing. She urged the court to stand with the creator when it makes its decision and prayed that everyone present would "come together with one mind and one body.
"With the ceremony aside, the legal wrangling began. Facts that could prove the federal government is discriminating against aboriginal children by underfunding child-welfare services on reserves need to be heard in court, said lawyers for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The commission is one of several groups appealing a 2011 ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal — which the commission oversees. In that ruling, the tribunal dismissed a discrimination case brought by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. The complaint argued the consistent underfunding of child-welfare services on reserves leads to poverty, poor housing, substance abuse and a vast over-representation of aboriginal children in state care.
However, the federal government is arguing that because it merely sends funds to band managers — who themselves administer the services — the government cannot be held responsible for the services delivered. The government also says the question itself is invalid because it funds services on reserves, while provincial governments are responsible for services to the rest of Canadians, and that comparing two governments is both "unreasonable" and nonsensical.
The "comparator" argument was used in the Human Rights Tribunal's initial decision to dismiss the case in 2011 before any of the main evidence had been heard.But First Nations Child and Family Caring Society lawyer Nicholas McHaffie told the court that comparing services to another group is only one "evidentiary tool."
"It is not the only way to show discrimination," he said. "There may be different pieces of the evidentiary puzzle needed to prove discrimination — they all need to be heard."
Human Rights Commission lawyer Philippe Dufresne told the hearing Monday that "the court must look at the facts, examine the services and determine if there is suffering."Currently, five per cent of aboriginal children living on reserve reside in care, away from their families. That's eight times more than other Canadian children, according to testimony by former auditor general Sheila Fraser at a parliamentary committee hearing in 2010.
In 1990, the federal government adopted a policy requiring child welfare services provided to First Nations children on reserves to meet provincial standards, be reasonably comparable with services for children off reserves and be culturally appropriate. But Fraser's audits consistently found the federal government "had not sufficiently taken into account provincial standards and other policy requirements when it established levels of funding for First Nations agencies to operate child welfare services on reserve."
"You must keep in mind the individual families who are affected by the dismissal of this complaint," McHaffie said.
Jonathan Thompson, the director of health and social development at the Assembly of First Nations, said he wasn't surprised when the government "decided to argue this on a technicality.""We've done report after report — both with the government and on our own — and they have all come out with overwhelming evidence of inequity, and yet nothing gets done," he said during an intermission in proceedings. Thompson said the government is trying to prevent the facts from being placed on the record because it knows the evidence against it will show that discrimination exists.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, who has been a driving force behind this case, has said if the government is allowed to use the comparator argument, "that would basically immunize the government from any discrimination or human rights claim relating to its funding policies and procedures on reserve." Blackstock has been gathering support for this cause since 2007. More than 9,000 people worldwide are participating in the I am a Witness campaign, pledging to watch the proceedings — in person if they can, or on the Aboriginal People's Television Network, which will be televising the review.
One of over 100 witnesses who attended the hearing Monday is Madeleine Keshen, a 12-year-old student at Featherston Drive Public School in Ottawa. She's part of a grades 5 to 6 class that came to the court to "stand up against injustices."
"It's not fair that they get less than we do," said the blond, blue-eyed little girl. "It's just because of who they are, and it's not right."
"People are watching," said Blackstock. "We've never been this organized before."
The case will continue Tuesday and Wednesday when the court will hear from lawyers for the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario and the Attorney General, on behalf of the federal government.
tesmith(at)postmedia.com
Twitter.com/teresasmithpn
Read more: http://www.canada.com/life/Case+argues+systematic+discrimination+against+First+Nations+children/6145359/story.html#ixzz1mTXCAeJd
OTTAWA — (Feb 13, 2012) Sweet-smelling smoke from a smudging ceremony filled an Ottawa courtroom Monday as a controversial case began that could open the door for First Nations residents to argue they are being discriminated against en masse by the federal government. An elder named Flying Eagle Woman lit a sprig of sweetgrass at the Federal Court hearing. She urged the court to stand with the creator when it makes its decision and prayed that everyone present would "come together with one mind and one body.
"With the ceremony aside, the legal wrangling began. Facts that could prove the federal government is discriminating against aboriginal children by underfunding child-welfare services on reserves need to be heard in court, said lawyers for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The commission is one of several groups appealing a 2011 ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal — which the commission oversees. In that ruling, the tribunal dismissed a discrimination case brought by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. The complaint argued the consistent underfunding of child-welfare services on reserves leads to poverty, poor housing, substance abuse and a vast over-representation of aboriginal children in state care.
However, the federal government is arguing that because it merely sends funds to band managers — who themselves administer the services — the government cannot be held responsible for the services delivered. The government also says the question itself is invalid because it funds services on reserves, while provincial governments are responsible for services to the rest of Canadians, and that comparing two governments is both "unreasonable" and nonsensical.
The "comparator" argument was used in the Human Rights Tribunal's initial decision to dismiss the case in 2011 before any of the main evidence had been heard.But First Nations Child and Family Caring Society lawyer Nicholas McHaffie told the court that comparing services to another group is only one "evidentiary tool."
"It is not the only way to show discrimination," he said. "There may be different pieces of the evidentiary puzzle needed to prove discrimination — they all need to be heard."
Human Rights Commission lawyer Philippe Dufresne told the hearing Monday that "the court must look at the facts, examine the services and determine if there is suffering."Currently, five per cent of aboriginal children living on reserve reside in care, away from their families. That's eight times more than other Canadian children, according to testimony by former auditor general Sheila Fraser at a parliamentary committee hearing in 2010.
In 1990, the federal government adopted a policy requiring child welfare services provided to First Nations children on reserves to meet provincial standards, be reasonably comparable with services for children off reserves and be culturally appropriate. But Fraser's audits consistently found the federal government "had not sufficiently taken into account provincial standards and other policy requirements when it established levels of funding for First Nations agencies to operate child welfare services on reserve."
"You must keep in mind the individual families who are affected by the dismissal of this complaint," McHaffie said.
Jonathan Thompson, the director of health and social development at the Assembly of First Nations, said he wasn't surprised when the government "decided to argue this on a technicality.""We've done report after report — both with the government and on our own — and they have all come out with overwhelming evidence of inequity, and yet nothing gets done," he said during an intermission in proceedings. Thompson said the government is trying to prevent the facts from being placed on the record because it knows the evidence against it will show that discrimination exists.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, who has been a driving force behind this case, has said if the government is allowed to use the comparator argument, "that would basically immunize the government from any discrimination or human rights claim relating to its funding policies and procedures on reserve." Blackstock has been gathering support for this cause since 2007. More than 9,000 people worldwide are participating in the I am a Witness campaign, pledging to watch the proceedings — in person if they can, or on the Aboriginal People's Television Network, which will be televising the review.
One of over 100 witnesses who attended the hearing Monday is Madeleine Keshen, a 12-year-old student at Featherston Drive Public School in Ottawa. She's part of a grades 5 to 6 class that came to the court to "stand up against injustices."
"It's not fair that they get less than we do," said the blond, blue-eyed little girl. "It's just because of who they are, and it's not right."
"People are watching," said Blackstock. "We've never been this organized before."
The case will continue Tuesday and Wednesday when the court will hear from lawyers for the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario and the Attorney General, on behalf of the federal government.
tesmith(at)postmedia.com
Twitter.com/teresasmithpn
Read more: http://www.canada.com/life/Case+argues+systematic+discrimination+against+First+Nations+children/6145359/story.html#ixzz1mTXCAeJd
First Nations' Child Welfare broken
First nations' child welfare broken
Excerpt: According to former auditor-general Sheila Fraser, first nations children are being placed in care at six to eight times the rate of other Canadian children. Most of us are probably familiar with that uncomfortable feeling of staying in a stranger's home, perhaps being billeted for a sports event or while on vacation. We don't know the rules, the expectations, or the way things work there.
Now imagine how that feeling must be magnified for children who have just been ripped away from their family. Worse still for first nations children placed in non-aboriginal homes, adding culture shock to the mix.
"We know that children in care are more likely [than those who stay with their families] to have substance misuse issues, more likely to have involvement with the criminal justice system, more likely to have mental and physical health concerns and are less likely to succeed at school," said Blackstock, who worked for 13 years on the front lines of child welfare and is now executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
There are situations where removing a child from their home is absolutely necessary, such as cases of sexual abuse where the child cannot be protected by a non-offending adult. Blackstock argues in many more cases, however, children are taken because of neglect resulting from poor housing and nutrition, substance abuse or the inability of impoverished families to meet the needs of a child with special needs.
Many of these problems could be solved in the home, allowing children to stay with their families, if the resources were made available. But for first nations families on reserves, the resources aren't there.
According to a study cited by first nations groups, children on reserves receive 22 per cent less funding per child for child welfare than other Canadian children, particularly for services that would help them stay with their families.
Blackstock says social workers dealing with first nations children are under-trained on the factors driving them into foster care, under-resourced, over-worked and overwhelmed.
Children on reserves are caught between governments.
Excerpt: According to former auditor-general Sheila Fraser, first nations children are being placed in care at six to eight times the rate of other Canadian children. Most of us are probably familiar with that uncomfortable feeling of staying in a stranger's home, perhaps being billeted for a sports event or while on vacation. We don't know the rules, the expectations, or the way things work there.
Now imagine how that feeling must be magnified for children who have just been ripped away from their family. Worse still for first nations children placed in non-aboriginal homes, adding culture shock to the mix.
"We know that children in care are more likely [than those who stay with their families] to have substance misuse issues, more likely to have involvement with the criminal justice system, more likely to have mental and physical health concerns and are less likely to succeed at school," said Blackstock, who worked for 13 years on the front lines of child welfare and is now executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
There are situations where removing a child from their home is absolutely necessary, such as cases of sexual abuse where the child cannot be protected by a non-offending adult. Blackstock argues in many more cases, however, children are taken because of neglect resulting from poor housing and nutrition, substance abuse or the inability of impoverished families to meet the needs of a child with special needs.
Many of these problems could be solved in the home, allowing children to stay with their families, if the resources were made available. But for first nations families on reserves, the resources aren't there.
According to a study cited by first nations groups, children on reserves receive 22 per cent less funding per child for child welfare than other Canadian children, particularly for services that would help them stay with their families.
Blackstock says social workers dealing with first nations children are under-trained on the factors driving them into foster care, under-resourced, over-worked and overwhelmed.
Children on reserves are caught between governments.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Thick Dark Fog
"The Thick Dark Fog" Official Trailer from randy vasquez on Vimeo.
Read more here: http://www.thickdarkfog.com/?page_id=120
Thick Dark Fog" Official Trailer
http://vimeo.com/user9741689/trailer
Award winning documentary - The Thick Dark Fog.
Walter Littlemoon attended a federal Indian boarding school in South Dakota sixty years ago. The mission of many of these schools in 1950, was still to “kill the Indian and save the man.” The children were not allowed to be Indians – to speak their language or express their culture or native identity in any way at the risk of being severely beaten, humiliated or abused. What effects did these actions cause?
Many Indians, like Walter, lived with this unresolved trauma into adulthood, acting it out through alcoholism and domestic violence. At age 58, Walter decided to write and publish his memoirs as a way to explain his past abusive behaviors to his estranged children. But dealing with the memories of his boarding school days nearly put an end to it.
“The Thick Dark Fog” tells the story of how Walter confronted the “thick dark fog” of his past so that he could renew himself and his community.
For more information visit: thickdarkfog.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
CLICK OLDER POSTS (above) to see more news
Popular Posts
-
2023 Editor NOTE: This is one of our most popular posts so we are reblogging it. (SEE COMMENTS) If you do know where Michael Schwartz is, pl... -
White Earth Nation welcomes adoptees home by Dan Gunderson , Minnesota Public Radio October 5, 2007 Listen to feature audio This weekend th...
-
You know everything happens for a reason. I just received the book “Sudden Fury” about an adoptee who killed his adoptive parents in Marylan...
-
I could on for an hour about this but I won't. Fathers have rights and this time, a father got his daughter back after a...
-
Boston Globe June 2, 1996 REUNION DAY AT 43: NAVAJO NATIVE FINALLY HOME Author: Royal Ford, G... -
Editor NOTE: This is one of our most popular posts so we are reblogging it. If you do know where Michael Schwartz is, please leave a comment...
-
T he Métis National Council and the Government of Canada will be working collaboratively, Nation-to-Nation, to develop a process to engag...
OUR HISTORY
BOOK 5: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects