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| Lost Children, adopted out |
Bual, Harman (2018) "Native American Rights & Adoption by Non-Indian Families: The Manipulation and Distortion of Public Opinion to Overthrow ICWA," American Indian Law Journal: Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/ailj/vol6/iss2/6
Excerpt:
The public’s general lack of
knowledge regarding the history of ICWA and the standards set up by ICWA allows
for easy manipulation by adoption agencies and ICWA opponents. A lack of understanding
and sensationalized media supports a negative image of Indian tribes that
overshadows the protections offered by ICWA, and the improper behavior of
adoption agencies and attorneys who encourage adoptive parents to go against
the clear standards set out in ICWA.117
This is a difficult situation to
address, given the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Baby Veronica, because
it fails to acknowledge the historical reasoning for ICWA and maintaining a relationship
between an Indian child and its tribe.118
However, the behavior of these adoption
agencies and attorneys who are creating delays in the system, and actively
working the system to get around ICWA statues, should face some sort of
monetary fine. Fines would need to be determined on a case by case basis, but
could be based on whether there were improper delay tactics, the length of time
the litigation took due to improper delay tactics, and whether the adoption
agency knew or had reason to know the child was an Indian. Policies surrounding the
custody of children as a whole are inconsistent and create conflicting goals
and procedural issues when applied.119
To overcome these issues, it is
necessary that both legislators and ICWA supporters find a common ground where
the agencies responsible for determining a child’s membership status are able
to do so in a timely manner and hold foster families and Indian families
accountable if they fail to follow reunification plans set by these state agencies.
Despite the intent of Congress,
state courts have continuously interpreted ICWA in a variety of ways that has
created loopholes around the mandates.121
Large cases in front of the Supreme
Court of the United States has brought attention to ICWA on a national level.122
However, ICWA is often portrayed as a set of rules that ignores the best
interest of the Indian child in favor of satisfying the demands of Indian
tribes who may not be capable of taking care of the Indian child as well as an
already established home with an adoptive family.123
This perception has been
further manipulated within the media by ICWA opposition in an effort to dismantle
ICWA.
The history and purpose of ICWA
has been misinterpreted by courts applying it within custody cases of Indian children.
For ICWA to be successful, it is necessary that states and courts identify
the child’s tribe and give proper
notification to the tribes. ICWA was established to stabilize the growth of
tribes that had diminished after decades of assimilation of tribal members into
mainstream American society. Despite the set guidelines within ICWA, states apply
ICWA differently within each court, which creates disproportionate protection
to Indian children, parents, and tribes.124
To combat improper application of ICWA it is necessary that clarification
of ICWA is provided to state child welfare workers, adoption agencies, judges,
and society.
Media uses the emotional pull within ICWA adoption cases between Indian tribes and non-Indian adoptive families to undermine the protection given to tribes under ICWA and limit tribal rights.
Proper application of ICWA would prevent many of the cases being reported on by news media because many years of litigation would be avoided. And most importantly, the Indian child developing ties to a family the child should not have legally been placed with could be prevented because many years of litigation would be avoided. And most importantly, the Indian child developing ties to a family the child should not have legally been placed with could be prevented.
Use the search bar on this blog to find #ICWA and stories about lost children of the Indian Adoption Projects and Programs and 60s Scoop... Thousands of children were stolen by the govt's of Canada and the US and adopted out - this blog is about survivors.
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