"Adoption is utterly life-changing for a child. It also upends the ordinary lives of the parents involved. The adoption process is complicated, but when it reaches across cultures, especially the cultures of Indian tribes, it can be a worst-case scenario.
The 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act was instrumental in helping tribes hold their children within their communities. Keeping children with their Native families - no matter how humble the home - is keeping who we are alive.
Since the law was enacted in 1978, 250 state and federal court decisions have been rendered, Jones said. Before 1978 in Minnesota, "an average of one of every four Indian children younger than age 1 was removed from his or her Indian home and adopted by a non-Indian couple - a number of them just because the system didn't understand Indian culture," he said.
It seems simple to me. A culture and nation cannot flourish if the youngest - the children - are removed from the community."
Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: At stake -- the survival of a culture
(The Grand Forks Herald 2/1)
More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: New center gives birth to new ideas
(1/31)
Yellow Bird:
Education system has seen many changes (1/25)
Yellow Bird: North Dakota shouldn't step on
tribes (01/17)
Yellow Bird: Gaming only
a temporary fix for tribes (1/10)
Yellow
Bird: New Year brings out unusual traditions (1/7)
Yellow Bird: Bridges tell history of North Dakota
tribe (12/07)
Yellow Bird: Watch out for
dirt in your sausage (11/30)
Yellow
Bird: Elders still maintain influence (11/29)
Yellow Bird: Worst fry bread served during NMAI
(11/23)
Yellow Bird: Boarding schools
forced assimilation (11/22)
Yellow Bird:
The most terrifying snowstorm ever (11/16)
Yellow Bird: Feeling guilty about your new car
(11/15)
Yellow Bird: Remembering my
brother, a Vietnam vet (11/9)
Yellow
Bird: Native voters make a difference (11/8)
Yellow Bird: Are the Pequots really a tribe?
(11/2)
Yellow Bird: A story for Halloween
night (11/1)
Yellow Bird: Cell phones
now a part of rez life (10/25)
Yellow
Bird: Tribal college leaders overlooked (10/19)
Yellow Bird: Let's settle dispute over Sakakawea
(10/12)
Yellow Bird: Discovering the
ancestral spirits (10/11)
Yellow Bird:
Riding the rails across the country (10/4)
Yellow Bird: First visit to NMAI proves exciting
(9/28)
Yellow Bird: Support the troops,
but not the war (09/14)
Yellow Bird:
Singing to myself about a new highway (9/13)
Yellow Bird: A Sasquatch story from the Nez Perce
(9/7)
Yellow Bird: A worthwhile visit to
Nez Perce relatives (9/6)
Yellow Bird:
Students breathe life into community (8/30)
Yellow Bird: Family-run restaurants real jewels
(8/25)
Yellow Bird: Indian athletes
should strive for gold (8/23)
Yellow
Bird: Not all Native people are conservative (8/23)
Yellow Bird: John Kerry's hands tell different
story (8/16)
Yellow Bird: Indians
becoming a force at the polls (08/03)
Yellow Bird: Ceremony provided needed respite
(8/2)
Yellow Bird: A newbies guide to
North Dakota Indians (07/12)
Yellow
Bird: Are mourning doves on the Atkins diet? (7/6)
Yellow Bird: Off-reservation casino deserves chance
(6/29)
Yellow Bird: Tribes should be
models of government (6/28)
Yellow Bird:
Rosalynn Carter a down-to-earth woman (6/22)
Yellow Bird: Program brings students to nature
(6/21)
Yellow Bird: How low should those
jeans go??? (6/15)
Yellow Bird: A world
away at tribal pow-wow (6/14)
Yellow
Bird: Reflecting on Civil Rights Act of 1964 (6/8)
Yellow Bird: Diversity, women welcome in government
(6/7)
Yellow Bird: Bush made 'poor
decisions' on Iraq war (06/02)
Yellow
Bird: No outlet for North Dakota holy water (5/24)
Yellow Bird: First Lakota finishes UND nursing
(5/18)
Yellow Bird: A goodbye to
Friends and Frasier! (5/17)
Yellow
Bird: Prisoner abuse recalls Indian massacre (5/11)
Yellow Bird: Mothers' distant memories still
strong (5/10)
Yellow Bird: Foreigners
more interested in Indians (5/4)
Yellow Bird: Tribes and media must work together
(5/3)
Yellow Bird: Native people lost
advocate in Elbers (4/27)
Yellow
Bird: Think about Earth Day every day (4/26)
Yellow Bird: Strong flower like spirit of Native
people (04/13)
Yellow Bird: Drum
policy excluded local tribes (04/12)
Yellow Bird: The phenomenon of the 'hobby
Indians' (04/06)
Yellow Bird: A
tribute to the warrior women (4/5)
Yellow Bird: Indians the most misunderstood
(3/31)
Yellow Bird: Keeping our
ceremonies sacred (3/29)
Yellow Bird:
Awakening for Native and Christian (3/23)
Yellow Bird: Saying goodbye, the Native way
(3/16)
Yellow Bird: Human rights in
North Dakota (3/15)
Yellow Bird: Hard
to find Indian like Martha Stewart (3/9)
Yellow Bird: Is Big Foot wandering reservation?
(3/8)
Yellow Bird: Sound of birds
heralds arrival of spring (3/2)
Yellow Bird: Big market for 'isms' in the media
(3/1)
Yellow Bird: Tribal justice
program to bring good (2/24)
Yellow
Bird: Indian perspective on Lewis & Clark (2/23)
Yellow Bird: In large family, sisters are
special (2/18)
Yellow Bird: Atkins
diet worked for Indian friends (2/16)
Yellow Bird: Big-city ballet in a Northern
Plains town (2/10)
Yellow Bird:
'Fighting Sioux' is poor sportsmanship (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Lake outlet a tough sell for many
(2/3)
Yellow Bird: The magic of the
Spirit of the North (2/2)
Yellow
Bird: Providing Indian education to public (1/26)
Yellow Bird: Long hair can be hazardous
sometimes (1/20)
Yellow Bird:
Remembering Grandmother Philomene (1/19)
Yellow Bird: Wild animals have a right to exist
too (01/13)
Yellow Bird: Tribe has
made incredible journey (1/12)
Yellow Bird: 'DreamKeepers' breaks
stereotypes (01/07)
Yellow Bird: A nation cannot flourish without children
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
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1 Tribes rush to respond to new coronavirus emergency created by Trump administration
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
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2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'