S UMMARY AND R EPORT ON
THE 2010 F IRST N ATIONS
R EPATRIATION I NSTITUTE
P OLICY S UMMIT
October 22-23, 2010
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN
The policy summit brought together diverse voices to talk about
the personal, family, and community-level consequences of
adopting American Indian children into white families. This
document summarizes the policy summit.
Prepared by Sandra White Hawk, Carolyn Liebler and
Sara McCracken
Summary and Report on the
2010 First Nations Repatriation Institute
Native American Adoptee Policy Summit
October 22-23, 2010 at Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN
In late October, 2010, over fifty people met for two days to discuss the policy implications of
interracial adoption of American Indians. This document provides detailed information about
who attended and what was said. The discussion included American Indian people who had
been adopted out as children, child welfare leaders, tribal representatives, mental health
practitioners, researchers, and local supporters. The purpose of this discussion was to develop
ideas for future work, and the group intends to reconvene in October 2011.
The first day started with an opening prayer and introductions. In the afternoon the
conversation turned to the adoption experience and how it impacts those involved. An expert
panel of adoptees and fosterees gave testimony of their adoption experience. This was followed
by a question and answer session for tribal and national child welfare leaders.
The second day focused on discussing policy, research, and plans for the future.
The next step in the process of developing policy initiatives is to hold a follow up meeting.
This meeting will be held at the University of Minnesota, in October 2011.
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Sections of this document
This document covers three major topics: the intention of the policy summit, the attendees and
schedule of the summit, and the results of the summit.
Section 1: Intention
1.1: Summit Proposal (pg. 3)
1.2: Summit Flyer (pg. 4)
Section 2: Attendees and Schedule
2.1: Summit Attendees (pg. 5)
2.2: Adoptee Biographies (pg. 6)
Section 3: Results
3.1: General Questions Generated by Summit (pg. 9)
3.2: Mental Health and Wellness Breakout (pg. 10)
3.3: Research on Native Out-Adoption Breakout (pg. 11)
3.4: Policy Breakout (pg. 14)
3.5: Conversation between Adoptees and Judges (pg. 14)
3.6: Listener Biographies (pg. 18)
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Section 1: Intention
1.1: Summit Proposal
The project that we wish to propose is focused on American Indian adult adoptees (and legal
orphans) who are working to find their identity and to secure lost tribal rights. The Institute is
dedicated to working with this population both on securing their rights but also serving their
unique mental health needs. NICWA is the leading policy advocacy organization regarding tribal
child welfare and has the capacity to convene the best legal, practice, and research minds in the
country to address these issues. These findings will give unique insight into understanding the
long term impact on American Indian adoptees/fostered individuals and will serve as a guide
for development of effective social work practices for this population. We are also determined
to inform others about how to do this work as well. All that will be gathered at this summit will
benefit American Indian youth in care, American Indian adoptees, their families and
communities.
NICWA and The Repatriation Institute would like to propose a project which would:
1.
Convene a policy summit of tribal leaders, adoptee rights advocates, American Indian
adult adoptees and legal orphans (those who aged out of the foster care system having parental
rights terminated by the state) to consider the best options for securing information to
determine eligibility for membership in a tribe
2.
Convene a “Think Tank” of child welfare and adoption researchers, advocates and adult
adoptees and legal orphans to design a research project that will document the unique
predicaments, mental health needs and concerns of this population
3.
Develop, publish, and disseminate a guide for mental health service providers serving
this population on the unique issues regarding identity development, attachment disorders,
relationship challenges and the helping and healing approaches known to be effective in
treating these problems
4.
Strategize and develop child welfare approaches that reflect the reality of the American
Indian youth adoptees and American Indian youth in foster care; focusing on issues identified
by the adoptee/fostered individuals’ testimony
5.
Describe relevant child welfare interventions that will assist American Indian youth in
foster care, adoptees their families.
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1.2: Summit Flyer
First Nations Repatriation Policy Summit
October 22 -23, 2010
Metropolitan State University
700 East 7th Street
St. Paul, MN 55106-5000
The First Nations Repatriation Policy Summit is a policy summit of tribal leaders, adoptee rights
advocates, child welfare and adoption researchers, American Indian adult adoptees and legal
orphans (those who aged out of the foster care system having parental rights terminated by the
state). Participants will first spend one day listening to first-hand stories from adoptees,
fostered individuals, and birth family members. The second day, participants will work together
to accomplish the following goals:

Design a research project that will document the unique predicaments, mental health
needs and concerns of this population

Consider the best options for securing information to determine eligibility for
membership in a tribe

Develop a plan to write, publish, and disseminate a guide for mental health service
providers serving this population on the unique issues regarding identity development,
attachment disorders, relationship challenges and the helping and healing approaches
known to be effective in treating these problems

Strategize and develop child welfare approaches that reflect the reality of the American
Indian youth adoptees and American Indian
youth in foster care, focusing on issues
identified by the adoptee/fostered individuals’ testimony

Describe relevant child welfare interventions that will assist American Indian youth in
foster care, adoptees and their families
FIRST NATIONS REPATRIATION INSTITUTE
Generation After Generation We Are Coming Home
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Section 2: Attendees and Schedule
2.1: Summit Attendees
First Nations Repatriation Institute:
Sandy White Hawk, Founder/Director, First Nations Repatriation Institute
Rachel Kupcho, B.S.W., Project Coordinator, First Nations Repatriation Institute
George McCauley, QUICWA Systems Administrator, Chair, First Nations Repatriation Institute
Jan Reich, LMFT, Vice Chair, First Nations Repatriation Institute
Paul Minehart, JD, Treasurer, First Nations Repatriation Institute
Carolyn Liebler, PhD, Secretary, First Nations Repatriation Institute
Facilitators Spiritual Advisors
Jerry Dearly, Lakota Spiritual Advisor and Language Consultant
Dorene Day, Ojibwe Spiritual Advisor and Language Consultant
National Child Welfare Leaders:
Terry Cross, Executive Director, National Indian Child Welfare Association
Kristy Alberty, Executive Communications Manager, National Indian Child Welfare Assoc.
Nadja Jones, Senior Community Development Specialist, National Indian Child Welfare Assoc.
Ashley Horne, Government Affairs Associate, National Indian Child Welfare Association
Erik Stegman, National Congress of American Indians
Gina Jackson, M.S.W., Model Court Liaison, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges
Native American Studies and Social Welfare Researchers
Amy Lonetree, PhD, Assistant Professor of American Studies, University of California, Santa
Cruz
Katie Johnston-Goodstar, M.S.W. PhD, University of Minnesota
Tribal Representatives
John Morrin, Tribal Council Member, Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, MN
Mental Health Practitioners
Michael Harris, M.A., LP, Minneapolis Indian Health Board
Local Supporters
Kate Ingalls-Maloney, Program Manager, Adoptees Have Answers
Michele Benson, Advisory Group Member, Adoptees Have Answers
Julia Decker, Program Coordinator, Adoptees Have Answers
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Adoptees and Fostered Individuals
Kirk Crow Shoe, Adoptee, Piegan – Canada
Suzie Fedorko, Adoptee, Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, MN
James Werner, Adoptee, Yupik, AK
Ken LeMieux, Adoptee, Ho Chunk of Wisconsin
Sandra Davidson, Adoptee, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, MN
Jan Rootes, Adoptee, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, MN
Rachel Kupcho, Adoptee, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, MN
Ralph Venji, Adoptee, Cree, Canada
Nelson Fox, Former Fosteree, Wikwemikong, Ontario, Canada
Clint Letch, Adoptee, Cherokee
2.2: Adoptees' Biographies
Clint Letch, Cherokee, age 44
Clint Letch currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children. He works in law
enforcement and is also deeply involved with non-profit work. Letch is the president of NALES
(Native American Law Enforcement Summit) and a consultant for Fox Valley Technical College.
Letch says he always knew that he was adopted and can remember seeing his adoption
paperwork at a young age. He describes his adoptive parents as very loving. Letch started
searching for his biological family five years ago but has not been successful.
Daniel Nelson Fox, Ojibwe, age 54
Daniel Nelson Fox was born in 1957 and put in a foster home soon after. He grew up in
Minneapolis where he currently resides.
He describes early childhood as a confusing time
because he only vaguely understood what it meant to be adopted; his foster parents were not
loving or supportive. As a young adult he grappled with racism from his peers, was frequently
involved in physical violence, and eventually dropped out of school when he "got sick of
fighting" and being somewhere he "didn't belong."
Fox has struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues and credits both traditional
Native methods and Western approaches to his recovery. He searched for his biological family
for eight years and learned that his father passed away. He never found his mother.
James Werner, Yupik, age 51
James Werner currently lives in St. Paul and works at the St. Paul Elders Lodge as an onsite responder. He has three adult children.
Werner was adopted at age two. He grew up in Chaska, Minnesota and currently lives in
St. Paul. He describes early childhood as confusing and says he could "feel the prejudice" even
when he was too young to understand it. His adoptive parents were not supportive and could
not understand what he was going through or what he dealt with at school. Today he is not
close with his adoptive mother and his adoptive father has passed away.
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Werner has recovered from addiction and sought Native spirituality to "heal from the
hurt and pain" of abandonment. He has met his biological brothers by phone and sister while in
Anchorage, AK. Both his biological parents are deceased.
Janet Marie Rootes, White Earth Ojibwe, age 62
Janet Marie Rootes grew up in Ham Lake, MN and currently lives there. She has two adult
children and two grandchildren.
Rootes describes her adoptive parents as being unemotional and overly strict. Her
relationship with her adoptive parents was non-communicative and she was subjected to sexual
abuse from her adoptive father. Rootes says her adoptive mother eventually "mellowed" and
they had a good relationship. Both adoptive parents are now deceased.
Rootes tried to find her biological family in the eighties but was unsuccessful. She
attributes her relationship struggles and difficulty opening up to others to her painful adoption
experience. She says her bond is strong with her children because of what she experienced as
an adopted child.
Kenneth Lemieux, Ho-Chunk, age 51
Kenneth Lemieux was adopted in 1973, at age 14, from a “children's home” in Chicago.
He spent the rest of his childhood in Grand Rapids, MI and currently lives in Woodbridge, VA.
He has six children.
In some ways LeMieux "always knew" that he was adopted but no one ever explained
what that meant; he knew he "wasn't with is biological family, but did not know any details." He
experienced racism in school and was frequently involved in physical violence. LeMieux never
developed a close relationship with his adoptive parents. His father was emotionally distant and
unavailable. His mother attempted to connect with him, but they were too different and
LeMieux never completely opened up to her. Later LeMieux struggled with addiction. As he
describes it, he used Alcoholics Anonymous and eventually transitioned to Native methods and
"learned to embrace the reality of [his] life."
LeMieux has had contact with his biological family. At 14 he ran away to live with his
grandmother, but authorities brought him back to his adoptive parents. His grandmother
taught him about Native spirituality and his community. As an adult he was reunited with his
brother after 21 years of separation and was welcomed back into the community.
Kirk Crow Shoe, Piegan, age 44
Kirk Crow Shoe currently works as a Program Manager for the Division of Indian Work in
South Minneapolis. He met his wife, a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, while working in social services
in Minneapolis. They have two children: one has recently graduated from college and the other
is a middle school student.
Kirk Crow Shoe was adopted just after birth along with his twin sister. He describes their
adoption experience as an enduring loss. Their family brought them home to the Piegan reserve
in Southern Alberta when Canadian records were opened.
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Rachel Kupcho, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, age 33
Rachel Kupcho has always known that she was adopted and understood what that meant.
Her parents were, and are, supportive and loving. She says that they have been "by [her] side
every step of the way" as she seeks her cultural and tribal connections.
Kupcho has not searched for her biological parents but knows that they were both
young when she was born and that her biological mother was also an adoptee. Kupcho cannot
point to problems in her life caused specifically by her being adopted, but is learning that she
has subconsciously been affected by not truly understanding her identity. Kupcho's relationship
with her adoptive parents has gotten stronger since beginning her “journey home” and she is
surrounding herself with supportive people.
Ralph Vengi, Cree - Rocky Cree Clan, age 42
Ralf Vengi is a public speaker who regularly gives talks on the importance of sobriety.
He is on the Board of Directors of Four Directions, Inc. and also works at Best Buy in asset
protection. Vengi says there is a “lack of true understanding of Native culture and beliefs” and
his public speaking is working to address and fix that.
Vengi was adopted into a non-native family in British Columbia when he was six months
old. His adoptive parents were loving and supportive and he never felt that he did not belong
with them. His adoptive mother encouraged him from a young age to learn about and reconnect
with his cultural heritage.
At school and in his small town Vengi was subjected to racism that eventually drove him
to drug and alcohol abuse. His parents could not understand fully what he was experiencing,
but Vengi says they did the best they could. After going through rehab and having a "spiritual
experience with the Creator" he searched for his biological family, reconnected with his culture
and "learned the value and relevance of being Cree Indian."
Sandra Davidson, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, age 60
Sandra Davidson lived in several foster homes as a child until she was adopted in 1960
at age 10. She describes her experiences in foster homes as "brutal" and her adoptive home as
an extension of that brutality. Davidson experienced physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. Her
adoptive family told her they "saved" her from her biological family and that she could not
contact them because they were dead. She later learned that was not true.
Davidson says she drank heavily as a result of her abusive upbringing and no longer
drinks because she has seen it destroy lives of "so many people [she] loves." Davidson also
believes that she and her siblings have trouble connecting with each other because of their
painful adoption experiences. She believes they have all developed "coping skills" that make it
difficult to get close to anyone. Davidson has a daughter and has raised three other children
who she kept in contact with their biological families. Davidson says she is "over" her earlier
problems and is now trying to "make a difference."
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Suzie Fedorko Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, age 48
Suzie Fedorko was adopted in 1964 and grew up in Minnesota. Around age six or seven
her adoptive parents told her that she was adopted. She says they acted as though this made
her different and special; as if they picked her "off the store shelf." She attended a Catholic
school where the nuns treated her differently from the other students. Her parents did not
understand what she was going through and sided with authority when problems arose.
Fedorko attributes her low self-esteem and tendencies to always put others before
herself to her adoption experience. She has always considered herself "alone in the world" and
she was painfully aware that she did not know anyone related to her "by blood." Fedorko was
able to find her half-sister online, but her parents had already passed away. She is now working
on learning more about Native culture and her roots. Fedorko lives in Minnesota with her
husband of 28 years and has two children.
Section 3: Results
3.1: General Questions and Comments Generated by Summit


What kind of screening process did/do they go through to
“Why don't adoptive
adopt?
parents and agencies
What do adoption agencies tell pre-adoptive parents about the
normal for a child to
impact and potential pain of closed adoption?
want to find their
realize that it's
family and that the

Adoption and social service agencies need to be trained so they
child will attempt
can properly prepare pre-adoptive and foster parents. What
[this] at some point
in their life?”
would training look like?

Why do some reservations ignore or choose not to take on cases? Are there not enough
Native families to foster or adopt? Are they overwhelmed? Are there drugs, alcohol and
poverty issues?

Include Native Americans in cultural competency requirements for licensure for those in the
mental health and social services field.

Bring in Native American elders to talk to students as part of the cultural diversity classes.
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
Need changes at the federal, state and county level.

There needs to be 100% ICWA compliance with county and state agencies.
“The parent/child relationship is the
foundation of identity and self-worth. How is
a child supposed to develop self-worth when
they are told (or it is implied) by adults that
their parents don’t want them?”
Section 3.2: Mental Health and Wellness Break out – Facilitator - Jan Reich
There are several pressing issues that are at the forefront of mental health discussions that
need to be acknowledged:
1. There is a lack of trust that Native American people and adoptees/fostered individuals have
in Western mental health services.
2. There is a lack of widespread cultural competence in mental health services.
3. Safety is a concern. We have a history of systems not protecting and even harming Native
American people and adoptees/fostered individuals.
Cultural knowledge is important, but there is also a need to learn the historical impact on
Indian families today. “The thing that gets in the way of most therapy is the therapist himself” -
Michael Harris
Training is only a small piece of the pie. Values, policy, and organizational culture all need to
change. Many service providers have a willingness to learn, but mechanisms to get the
knowledge are not widespread.
Racial healing is needed, as is beginning a dialogue to build truth, healing, reconciliation and
restorative justice.
Initial Steps:
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1. An assessment of Cultural Competence requirements for service providers needs to be done
to see what is being required of current mental health professionals today. To begin an
assessment we brainstormed a list of professional licensing agencies to approach to learn
about their requirements. Some of the groups which were included are:

American Psychological Association (APA)

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)

Drug and Alcohol Counselors, or Drug Alcohol (CADC)

Marriage and Family Therapists Licensing Boards (AAMFT)

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
2. An assessment of our higher education systems which not only teach cultural competence
but teach the historical realities of what Native American adoptees/fostered individuals have
faced.

Look for educational models which include closer networks between Indian Studies &
American Studies.

Find support from Native American academics such as: Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart,
Pricilla Day, Charlotte Goodluck and others who are interested in adoptees/fostered
individuals
3. Bring forward the voice of adoptees/fostered individuals

We need to educate people.

We need funding for forums.
4. Begin discussion to outline the process to develop a Mental Health Guide.
Section 3.3: Research Break out – Facilitator – Carolyn Liebler
Why are we doing research?

Repatriation of people

Redress of historical wrongs and trauma

Restorative justice

Help kids in foster care or crisis today

Court evidence

Healing of entire communities

Relate to boarding schools and other colonization issues
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Research Topics

Divorce as a measure of family troubles

Divorce of adoptees, pre- and post-reunion

Divorce in birth families

Domestic violence rates

Adoptees/birth parents high school and college dropout rates/incarceration rates

Diseases related to grief and loss

Addiction rates in the entire family

Effects of homecoming ceremony

Improvement in life after reunification?

Children of adoptees

How do some people end up making it, even with so little to draw upon?

Psychiatric issues/hospitalization
History Project

History of American Indian adoption policies and practices

Book (Yale press, UC press)

Aim: educate public, restorative justice, hold society responsible for cultural genocide

Use oral history and archival data

Document that social service agencies had policies which were an outgrowth of the
boarding school era/assimilation/colonization process

Oral histories of adoptees featured as chapters or framed thematically

Qualitative project
Archive

Bibliography and abstracts of research

Oral histories collected by us and by others

Archival evidence about policy and practices
Book Project: Yale Press, University of California Press

History of adoption policies to hold our society responsible for cultural genocide

How systematic was this?

Name eras: Boarding school era, Adoption era, Casino era

Interdisciplinary

Highlight voices of adoptees

Draw upon interviews

Frame thematically

Road of destruction

Refer to masters thesis set on effects of adoption
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
Oklahoma, oil rights, land, farm help, indentured servant, post-Dawes Act adoptees

Interview Fenchel
Survey

Social workers

Adoptees/fostered

Policy evaluation of forums
Dream

Large project on adoptees
Good Methods

Include those who don’t make it

Include those who return to birth family

Ask questions from the perspective of the adoptee

Develop research questions in collaboration with adoptees

FNRI: get research questions from adoptees

Include effects on tribe/community left behind

Include effects on Aunties and Grammas

IRB approval (be very careful about ethics)

Think about sample selection

Integrating diverse methodologies

Issues now and how they came from the past

Qualitative interviews

Survey/quantitative

Research needs to ask the right kinds of questions; don’t take the wrong perspective

More than 20 people in a study

Clearinghouse (FNRI)

List of articles/books that have been published about American Indian adoption,
fostering, ICWA

Include abstracts

Digital dissertations

Maybe connect researchers with adult adoptees who say they’re willing to be contacted

Invite as collaborators, not just subjects

What do we require of the researchers? Apply (example: Makah IRB)

Teaching materials can be collected from NICWA or social work programs

Archive of information

Connect adoptees to each other

E-mail listserv

Mini-conference

Get their writings

Information about tribal membership policies for adoptees and to help tribe develop
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good policies

Restoring citizenship

Rich historical documentation of fact that these were policies
Section 3.4: Policy Breakout – Facilitator – Paul Minehart

Establish a policy that requires case files be sent to those who age out of foster care,
rather than destroying files

Address lack of sanctions in ICWA regarding placement preferences

Service providers need to receive cross-cultural skills and ICWA training to increase
knowledge of ICWA policies and best practices

Recruit Native foster homes; there is a shortage

Recommend judge training on technical aspect and intent of ICWA

Measurements/forms substantiate A&N need to be culturally appropriate

Sanction for emergency removal of AI/NA child beyond 90 days (BIA guidelines)

Funding should be contingent upon ICWA compliance

Need research linking abuses and experiences in foster care to unhealthy and
destructive behaviors

Change forms at child welfare agencies (intake, casework, etc.)

Open adoption records, even after sealed

Recommended look at Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute

Looking to Americans with Disabilities as a model

Policy guiding (for providers) vetting of adoptee homes

Aging out of the system: currently no follow through with youth. Transitional services
need to be provided

How to ensure the well-being of foster care children in placement

What checks and balances are currently in place?
Section 3.5: What do you want state court judges to know?
Gina Jackson, Model Court Liaison for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
asked this question to the adoptees:
“If you could tell state court judges one thing, what would you tell them?
Kirk Crow Shoe: I would convey two things to State Court Judges about children who have been
adopted out of or removed from their communities for whatever reason. For one, that it be
imperative that ICWA services be established from the very onset of the proceedings. While I
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understand that many of the smaller counties throughout MN may not address near as many,
there are legal protocols protecting Indian Children today that must be adhered to. For
example, Hennepin County has long worked with our children and through compliance with
ICWA has over the years established more and more credibility resulting in significant trust with
us. Two, I personally know Judges who have sought out opportunities to educate themselves
about our history and involved themselves in our community to better rule. This must happen,
not just in Hennepin County.
Susie Fedorko: My sealed records are a VITAL TOOL that will help me manage my health. For
medical reasons we should be afforded the same rights as a non-adoptee to manage our
health. My sealed records will be able to offer me a road map to hereditary health concerns
that may run in my family. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was in my late 30's. I had no
idea that COPD and poor lungs ran in my family. My mother died at the age of 52. If it had not
been for my biological family finding me at the age of 40, I would still be sitting here wondering
why I struggle to breath. I am entitled to know what health concerns run through my
bloodline. THEY ARE MY RECORDS! Not the courts!
Sandy White Hawk: We need and deserve access to our birth information. We need it because, in
order for us to enroll in our tribe, we need our original birth certificate to meet the tribal
enrollment requirements. In order to gain access to original birth certificates, unless we’re in
open adoption states, we must go before a judge. You are then left to the mercy of a (hopefully)
a compassionate judge. I know judges who have made decisions in closed adoption states,
South Dakota being one of them, because a judge decided to give me my records. I know
hundreds of adoptees who cannot gain access to their records.
We deserve to have access to our birth information. To know who you are is a basic human
right. I know some judges will look at the adoption statutes in their state and stick to the letter
of the law.
Some argue that birth mother’s rights need to be protected as most (especially in sealed
records states) signed a confidential or no contact agreement at the time of the adoption. What
we have learned from birth mothers is that most did not fully understand what they were
signing and many felt they were led to believe that the adoption could not take place if the
documents were not signed.
Birth mothers were instructed never to try to contact their adopted out children. Even if they
did at the time agree, and felt safe with the legal distance that document provided, we know
that after one matures things change. Age sheds new light and normal curiosity compels many
birth mothers to search for their adopted out children.
Judges need to trust that adoptees and birth relatives will be able to work out the reunification
process. Judges also need to be educated about what it means to be reunited and about how it
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is a good thing even in hard circumstances.
Sandra Davidson: There are many things that impact a child – short term and long term. When
assessing risk and the best ‘interest of the child’ all parties involved have to be diligent and
creative when making placement determinations, particularly as it relates to the ICWA. Judges
could enforce active efforts. Removal from family and culture is detrimental and has long-term
effects. I would like to see judges making decisions about adoption, placement decisions or
termination of parental rights after a thorough analysis of who is doing what to whom and
what’s really happening in the home and possibly make recommendations for case plans that
better reflect the individual situation. Children continue to be removed because of a one-sizefits-all intervention. These standard case plans are ineffective but CPS continues to use the
same “template” – parenting classes, treatment, psych evals, etc. For the most part, these are
ineffective. With enforced timelines, sobering up and/or changing one’s lifestyle in the time
allotted is next to impossible. So children continue to be removed, even when we know children
are removed from family, culture and all that’s familiar. We’re talking about a child’s life –
his/her future and their sense of belonging and well-being. Removal is detrimental and has
long term effects. We have to think about doing things differently so we can break the cycles of
within tribal communities.
Judges are getting recommendations from Child Protection and I would really like to see some
closer look at the tools that child protection is using to determine whether a child should be
terminated or parental rights should be terminated. Because those things are institutionalized,
racism is institutionalized…discrimination is institutionalized – just by the forms they’re using.
Like when they have their little checkmarks and they say, you know, more than two children in
the family, hello I have seventeen children or I have five children. But the more children you
have the more points and the greater the “risk factor”. There’s added risk if demeanor isn’t a
certain way - the aspect or the mannerisms, you know, we all know that trust in the social
services is not something that we do well, so we are going to clam up as Native People. We’re
not going to have the type of affect they’re looking for, Bam, more points against you. If there
are more than two adults in the home – more points for risk factors…and we know many Native
families live under the same roof sometimes because of extended family.
I want judges to be very aware of that and I want change, now.
Ralph Vinge: If I’m 18 years old and I pay taxes and I can own a Credit Card and I can do the
things and vote for the President then I can see where I come from, there should be no
questions asked. You know its amazing to me that I see all the governments handles things
where they take Natives, put on reservations and then take adoptees and remove them even
more. So its not just, it feels like you’re twice removed, you know, and its so frustrating to see
that when I’m an adult and everyone here is an adult and you want to see where you come from,
cause it’s such an important, vital part of your heart and your wellbeing. I want judges to look
beyond the paperwork and look beyond the money and look beyond those things and see what
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is really important when it comes to these situations.
Dorene Day: I’m not an adoptee, but I have a big family (17 children), that adopted out two
children. I feel that my Mother was forced to adopt them out, because they had health
problems, and they had no money for medical care that they needed. Back then (1967),
discrimination was commonplace. She was a great parent, and did not drink (alcoholism), and
they still threatened removal of her children
Ken LeMieux: I and my siblings were adopted out when I was 5 years old in Chicago, Illinois.
My adoptive parent’s mom was Caucasian and dad was Ojibwe. My biological parent’s mom
was Nebraska Winnebago and dad was Ojibwe. I had two biological brothers and one biological
sister adopted at the same time to the same family set. Our adoption was finalized in Grand
Rapids, MI with a Catholic Social Services agency.
When my mother passed on, my sister attended the funeral and when the probate was
processed, our relatives & the tribal enrollment agency did not declare us children as heirs and
we were not included in the final decree.
When my father passed on, I contacted BIA/Ashland WI and declared myself and my siblings as
heirs. I arranged for the BIA/Ashland WI agency to receive all documentation needed to be
included in the listing of his heirs; provided by the adoption agency in Grand Rapids, MI. In the
tentative final decree from the BIA, I was informed that as adoptees we were disallowed rights
to my father’s inheritance.
I contacted an attorney and his research revealed that the Sokoagon Chippewa tribe of which
my father was enrolled had no regulation, law or policy in place regarding inheritance and land
titles for adoptees. The BIA applied the WI state law and it disallows inheritance to adoptees.
He said I could hire an attorney to try and change tribal & state laws or regulations.
Rachel Kupcho: In addition to being an adoptee, I have worked in the court system for three
years and monitor compliance with ICWA. One of the things I saw quite a bit was the incredible
need for judges to comply with ASFA, the Adoption Safe Families Act and ignore the roles and
responsibilities under ICWA. When the money is tied to one thing and not the other, its going to
be easier to comply with that but what I really felt was that if the spirit and intent of ICWA was
not understood, there really wasn’t much commitment on their parts to comply with the law, to
do what was in the best interest of the child and that is, you know, we know, to be with family
first and foremost.
So my hope would be that they take the time to educate themselves in the social and cultural
history that precipitated ICWA and, as all of us have seen as adoptees sitting here today, the
impacts are so far-reaching and you know, what may seem like a decision that doesn’t feel like
that big of a deal could be a very big deal to that child and to the family members too. It’s not
just one person that gets impacted, it has a ripple effect. So, working with Indian Child welfare
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for about ten years I just think that if the knowledge isn’t there, the intent, there’s not just the
commitment so my hope would be that that commitment would come.
3.6: Listeners' Biographies
Kristy Alberty (Oklahoma Cherokee)
Kristy Alberty is a University of Oklahoma Journalism graduate with extensive experience with minority
publications. In the recent past, she expanded her role as a fundraiser and community organizer for
various nonprofit organizations. Her background has been varied and included issues such as economic
justice, breast/cervical cancer prevention and education, micro enterprise advocacy, and nonpartisan voter
participation among Indian people and other minority groups. She was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma;
she now lives in Portland, Oregon where she is the Executive Communications Manager for the National
Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA).
Michele Benson, Adoptees Have Answers, Advisory Group Member
Michele is a semi-retired science teacher and support group facilitator for adoptees in Duluth, Minnesota.
Benson received her B.S. from the University of Minnesota and completed graduate work at the University
of Minnesota, Hamline and St. Thomas University.
Terry L. Cross, MSW, ACSW, LCSW (Seneca Nation of Indians)
Terry Cross is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians and is the developer, founder and
Executive Director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. He is the author of the Heritage and
Helping, an eleven manual curriculum for tribal child welfare staff. He is also author of the “Positive Indian
Parenting” curricula, as well as “Cross-Cultural Skills in Indian Child Welfare.” He co-authored "Toward a
Culturally Competent System of Care" and “Reclaiming Customary Adoption.” He has 37 years of
experience in child welfare, including 10 years working directly with children and families. He served on
the faculty of Portland State University School of Social Work and continues to give lectures at many
colleges and universities upon request.
Dorene Day ~Waubanewquay
(Net Lake Band of Ojibwe), Native Life Ways Singer/Practitioner
Dorene has dedicated over 30 years of her life to singing in the native spiritual life ways ceremonies. She
carries the responsibility of song keeper for her lodge, and is first and foremost a singer of spiritual song.
Dorene is an artist by profession, but has also worked a colorful wheel of trades: A Mother, Grandmother,
Midwife, Bead and Textile Artist, Activist, Teacher, Writer, Counselor, and Trainer. Dorene has spent much
time working in a spiritual capacity for her people. Waubanewquay is Waubizayshee O’dodaym (Marten
Clan), a 3rd Degree Midewiwin, and Lead Woman singer for Center Fire in the Three Fires Midewiwin
(Heartway) Lodge. She is a Midewanniquay – Water Line Woman. She is a practicing midwife. Much of her
work is related to spiritual practices and assisting in the connection and reconnection to spirit, and our
spirit journey in life.
Jerry M. Dearly (Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation)
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Jerry is the creator of the Wablenica Honor Song (Orphan Song). He is a fluent Lakota speaker and is a
teacher of our Lakota oral traditions. He is a Secondary Cultural Teacher in the St. Paul, MN School District
and was named Minnesota Teacher of the Year by the colleges and Universities of Minnesota in 2003. He
serves on the Board of The American Indian Economic Development Association in St. Paul, MN. Jerry is a
nationally known and highly respected Pow Wow announcer and is sought after for his song making gift.
He brings his skill of being an announcer to the First Nations Orphan Association’s Community Forums
and uses his gift to make us laugh, keep us focused and share his knowledge and observations. Most
importantly of all he sings and explains the meaning of the Wablenica Song and how it can relate to
everyone.
Julia Decker, Adoptees Have Answers, Coordinator
Julia Decker is a Korean adoptee and coordinator of the Adoptees Have Answers program at Minnesota
Adoption Resource Network. She has lived and worked abroad in China, Taiwan and Spain and has
volunteered extensively with local non-profit organizations, including Children’s Home Society and Family
Services and Catholic Charities.
Katie Johnston - Goodstar, M.S.W., PhD.
Katie is an Assistant Professor in the Youth Studies Department at the University of Minnesota's School of
Social Work. Her research and practice interests are Indigenous and urban youth work, youth engagement
and youth media. Using a participatory action research approach, she strives to create spaces with Native
and urban youth to understand and engage issues of injustice and create positive change in their worlds.
Her current research collaborations include a filmmaking project with teen mothers of color in North
Minneapolis, Migizi's Summer Media Institute for Native youth, and the development and evaluation of
Indigenous curriculum for the School of Social Work.
Michael Harris, M.A., LP
A Licensed Psychologist since 1997 working with high-risk children and families since 1993, Michael
Harris is currently Director of Mental and Chemical Health services at the Indian Health Board of
Minneapolis (IHB), a non-profit community healthcare center that serves the urban American Indian
community in the Twin Cities. Over the years, Harris has developed expertise in foster care and adoption
issues, childhood attachment problems, trauma, stress and abuse, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
(FASD), and childhood dysregulation problems at home and school. He is midway through a three-year
training sequence in Somatic Experiencing®, a physiology-based treatment approach for trauma. Harris
holds the office of Secretary in the MN American Indian Mental Health Advisory Council, a DHS-sponsored
committee with tribal and urban American Indian representation devoted to improving mental health
services for Native peoples within the state. He is a frequent speaker on FASD, trauma, and American
Indian mental health issues and provides consultation to emerging and established professionals
regarding treatment of clients with trauma and FASD.
Ashley Horne
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Ashley Horne has been in the field of Indian child welfare for 6 years. As Government Affairs Associate of
the National Indian Child Welfare Association, she works with tribes, tribal policy making organizations,
and state and federal governments on policy development and federal funding issues. An avid advocate
for tribal sovereignty, Ashley is driven by a deep understanding that tribes are inherently best equipped to
identify, understand, and effectively respond to the needs of their children.
Gina Jackson, MSW, (Te-Moak Western Shoshone Tribe)
Gina is a Model Court Liaison for the Victims Act Model Court Project with the Permanency Planning for
Children Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and works with many
courts across the nation. She has worked for the University of Nevada, Reno School of Social Work, Nevada
Training Partnership as a curriculum developer, and as a statewide child welfare trainer including ICWA.
She was also a Tribal Social Worker for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony providing comprehensive services.
Gina hopes to help improve the outcomes for abused and neglected children and their families.
Nadja Jones (Comanche/Onondaga) -- Senior Community Development Specialist
Nadja Jones has been in the field of Indian child welfare as a direct service provider and a supervisor of an
urban Indian family services program throughout her professional career. She advocates for culturally
competent services for Indian families, supports tribal sovereignty, and is the parent of a special needs
child. She is currently a senior community development specialist for the National Indian Child Welfare
Association. She is a NICWA trainer for the NICWA curricula: “Positive Indian Parenting,” “Cultural
Competency in Human Service Settings,” “Cross-Cultural Skills for the Non-Indian” and “Grassroots
Prevention for Child Abuse and Neglect in Indian Communities.”
Carolyn Liebler, PhD, FNRI Board Secretary
Carolyn Liebler is the adoptive sister of Richard Liebler, who was born Martin Keeper of Little Grand Rapids
(Ojibwe) Reserve in Manitoba, Canada, and was adopted at age 5. Carolyn takes part in the activities of
First Nations Orphan Association to gain insight into her own family life and her brother's life as an
adoptee and a Native person. Carolyn is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of
Minnesota.
Amy Lonetree, PhD (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin)
Amy Lonetree is an assistant professor of American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She
grew up in the Twin Cities and received her undergraduate degree in History from the University of
Minnesota in 1990. She later moved to California where she attended the University of California, Berkeley
and received a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies in 2002. As a historian, she is deeply committed to advancing
Indigenous-based knowledge and producing historical scholarship that privileges the voices and
perspectives of our communities.
Kate Ingalls-Maloney, Adoptees Have Answers, Program Manager
Kate Ingalls-Maloney, an adoptee, comes most recently to the field of adoption as a consultant to the
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network. She has also worked in the Minnesota early intervention and
public school systems building therapeutic teams and identifying resources and support for families with
children with special needs. Ingalls-Maloney attended Wellesley College and Boston University as an
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undergraduate in arts, English and social sciences. She completed her graduate work in Education (MA) at
the University of St. Thomas.
George McCauley (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska) – FNRI Board Chair
George is employed with the Indian Child Welfare program, Minneapolis American Indian Center. In 1999
he was part of the team that developed the first version of an ICWA Case Management System and is
involved with the new enhanced (Quicwa) system. In September of 2010, the Minneapolis American Indian
Center was awarded a five year grant totaling $1.25 Million for implementation of the QUICWA Compliance
Collaborative. Over the next five years, the QUICWA Compliance Collaborative Demonstration Project will
train, empower and support tribal groups and governments across the country to monitor compliance with
the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), utilizing data to advocate for change at the local level, and support
the discussion aimed at improving ICWA policy and practices on a national level. George’s responsibilities
will be to provide technical assistance and support to the Quicwa system users and participate with the
national trainings, forums and partner meetings.
George is married to Sandy White Hawk and together
they have 4 children and 4 grandchildren. In his spare time, George updates the MAIC website and
American Indian Resource and Referral online Resource Directory.
Paul Minehart, JD, FNRI Board Treasurer
Paul Minehart has personal experience with adoptions. His nephew was given up for adoption from the
hospital when he was born. When this nephew was 20 years old, he came back to his birth family. His
brother-in-law and sister-in-law were adopted into his wife’s family as infants. His brother-in-law has
since contacted his birth family. His sister has adopted two children from Korea. His brother has adopted
his two stepchildren. Paul has worked in the Indian Child Welfare Program at the Minneapolis American
Indian Center for 18 years.
John Morrin (Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe)
John currently serves on the Grand Portage Tribal Council.
Jan Reich, LMFT
Jan received her Masters in Psychological Counseling at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a post
masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has 14 years of counseling experience. Jan provides In Home
Therapy, has done contract counseling for Women of Nations, and now has her own private practice. Jan
has great interest in intergenerational trauma in adoption and foster care; she says it is very prevalent
today and seen in many of the clients she serves.
Erik Raymond Stegman, JD., M.A. - (Carry the Kettle First Nation, Assiniboine)
Erik completed his J.D. and M.A. in American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He
began his experience working in Washington, DC as a summer law clerk for the Tribal Supreme Court
Project at the Native American Rights Fund. Currently, Erik manages the Communities of Practice program
at the NCAI Policy Research Center (NCAI PRC), which helps build collective research agendas around key
issues to Indian Country. Before coming to the NCAI PRC, Erik had broad-ranging experience in criminal
justice and public safety. Funded by the National Institute of Justice, he was a researcher for two years on
a national, multi-site study of the administration of criminal justice on Indian lands. At the Hopi Tribe in
Arizona, Erik spent several years clerking for their Appellate Court and currently serves on the Board of
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Directors for the Nakwatsvewat Institute, a nonprofit that supports tribal community-driven dispute
resolution and other court alternative programs. Outside of his work for Indian Country, Erik served for
seven years on the National Board of Directors for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
(GLSEN), headquartered in New York City, and continues to serve on their National Leadership Council.
Sandra White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota)
Sandra is an adoptee from the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. Sandra is the founder and Director of
First Repatriation Institute, formerly First Nations Orphan Association. Sandra organizes Community
Forums that bring together adoptees/fostered individuals and their families and professionals with the
goal to identify post adoption issues and to identify strategies that will prevent removal of children. She
also has initiated an ongoing support group for adoptees and birth relatives. Sandra has become a
spokesperson on the issues of adoption and the foster care system and how they have impacted First
Nations People. Sandra was named one of the INNOVATORS in Color Lines Magazine, 2008 and one of the
50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World, Utne Reader, 2008, and was honored with the Outstanding
Native Women Award from the University of Minnesota 2003 and named in the “50 Most Influential and
Cool People of Madison, WI,” in Madison Magazine, November 2002
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