patti larsen, sacred hoop coalition coordinator...
TRANSCRIPT
Patti Larsen, Sacred Hoop Coalition Coordinator (Interim)
Introduction Background Outcomes of training
It takes a Village Ground Rules
Ask questions, contribute
Overview Historical Trauma
Brief overview Families
Child removal Current Situation
Role of advocacy Institutional barriers Policy Hope for future
Historical Trauma Columbus contact
Estimate at 100 Million Native Americans at time of contact
Diary discussing “good slaves” Thanksgiving Raid at Plymouth Rock
700 of the Pequot tribe of Connecticut men, women and children massacred in 1637 at gathering for annual Green Corn Dance ceremony Mercenaries of the English and Dutch attacked, surrounded
and burned the village Next Day, Gov Of Colony declares “Day of Thanksgiving” in
honor of massacre
Historical continued 1830 - Indian Removal Act - This act authorized the President to
negotiate treaties and remove the remaining Eastern Indians to lands west of the Mississippi.
Under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, federal agents again used threats, bribes and liquor to secure Indian consent to one sided treaties.
The federal government removed thousands of Indians, some in chains, on a trip marked by hunger, disease and death. This became known as the "trail of tears." By the late 1840's almost all native Americans had been moved to lands west of the Mississippi.
1865- late 1900’s Boarding school era
Relocation Legislation -1950sTo relocate Native families in large cities
1978 ICWA Reasons for ICWA Intention of Congress
ICWA 1978 Passage
Intent to keep Native families together Recognized Tribal sovereignty BIA Guidelines of 1979 (but not Regulations)
BIA expectations of implementing ICWA
Active Efforts Required to preserve Native families More than reasonable Aimed at “reason for removal”
Not such things as GED
ICWA “Active efforts” also applies to prevent an out of home
placement of the child. Every effort a social worker can make to prevent the
break-up of American Indian families must be made including using services and resources such as the child’s tribe, extended family, etc. to help the family function successfully as a home for the child
ICWA Qualified Expert Witness (QEW)
Overlooked initially Required to be completed with in 30 days
Typically not done at all Timelines
EPC is critical Social worker needs to provide every effort to keep the
children in the home Day 1-3 should be the time the social worker works to make the
home safe to return the children
ICWA Policy Policy about expectations to preserve Native families Currently:
BIA Guidelines and Regulations Updated: Extensive Re-Write Guidelines published in Feb 2015 Regulations had 2015: Listening sessions – Mystic Lake Expected approval fall 2015
Oglala Sioux v. Van Hunnik Three Indian parents, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the
Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a class-action lawsuit to challenge the continued removal of Indian children in Pennington County, South Dakota from their homes based on insufficient evidence and without proper
hearings in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the
constitutional right to due process
Oglala Sioux v. Van Hunnik Status: On March 30, 2015, in a sweeping victory for
Indian families, a federal court ordered South Dakota officials to stop violating the rights of Indian parents and tribes in state child custody proceedings on several grounds
Historical Trauma United Nations:“Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide” Article 2 In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to
bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Exercise Hand out 3x5 Write on each 3 most important things
Families Native American children continue to be removed
from families at increasing rates despite ICWA Numbers nationally
2% of 402,378 (.9% of population)
State of MN 48% of out-of-home placement is Native children
Policy: IS ICWA WORKING? A federally funded study of Indian Child Welfare released in 1988
the number of Indian children in placement increased by 25 percent during the first half of the decade of the 1980s (after ICWA was passed) Indian children, which account for only 0.9 percent of the total child
population in the United States, account for 3.1 percent of the total substitute care population, and appear to be placed in substitute care at a rate that is 3.6 times greater than the rate for non-Indian children
The study confirmed placement prevention work as having been performed in only 41 percent of a sample of case records reviewed for American Indian children in public agency care, 37 percent of a sample of case records for children under tribal
government agency care, and only 33 percent of case records reviewed for Native children in Bureau of Indian Affairs care
Policy: Is ICWA working Today . . . the widespread separation of Indian
children from their homes continues In spite of the passage of ICWA
20 to 30 percent of Indian children are still being placed outside of their natural tribal and family environments, primarily in non-Indian foster care and out-of-culture adoptions
From the study: "In a child welfare system where the focus is on child
protection and placement, it is likely that the placements of children will increase and attempts to prevent placements will not be emphasized."
Families continued Removal is trauma
Grief and loss Social services are the new removal agency Another generation lost for Native families
Culture Language Traditions
Current Situation Better advocacy
Better professionals Inclusive of Native American professionals
Advocates hold professionals accountable for client representation
Public defenders should be trained in ICWA Separation of defender from county Advocates should not be overseers of ICWA
More advocacy Need more legal advocates to counter “stacked deck” of
County professionals Fill void where professionals are not following ICWA
Current situation Barriers for Native families
Non-Native homes Lack of relative search by County Lack of follow through of ICWA
Not doing Active efforts
Hope for Future Know the law, connect with resources
Suggestions Return of children after clean UA Return of children after emergency has ended
Decreases trauma of children Stops timeline clock
Utilize family and friends Apply ICWA Utilize QEW Others suggestions?
Conclusion It takes a village Native people are more than victims, we are survivors Take steps together to build strong and respectful
working relationships
