Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 7, 2006 15:04:16 GMT -5
Legacy of mistrust ... And reason to hope
By Nicole Paseka Journal staff writer
www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/10/29/news/top/08046d0f7c6\
8b15e86257216000dcd6e.txt
<http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/10/29/news/top/08046d0f7c\
68b15e86257216000dcd6e.txt>
The toddler's flash cards begin to tell her story: wee, nah bah, tha
blee. One, two, three.
Susette* is a 1-year-old member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. She
lives in a foster home in Sioux City because her biological parents are
unable to care for her right now. Unlike many American Indian children
in foster care, Susette's foster parents are American Indian, not white.
"We have tried really hard to keep this little girl's heritage alive,"
said Susette's foster mother, Renae.
Renae plans to make Susette a cradle board for her baby doll. Sage hangs
over Susette's crib to ward off evil. Photographs on the living room
wall show Susette and other Omaha children enjoying a powwow.
Susette's foster father, Michael, 36, is Navajo and Apache. Renae, 36,
is Apache. Although they are not members of the Omaha Nation, they have
learned everything they can about Omaha culture to pass on to Susette.
That's where the homemade flash cards come in. Michael and Renae want
Susette to learn her native tongue. The family has frequent visits with
Susette's biological parents and grandparents. When Susette grows up,
Michael said he would like her to marry an Omaha man.
Michael and Renae moved to Sioux City from Colorado about two years ago.
They said it is important for American Indians to consider becoming
foster parents.
"What has happened in the past with our tribal ancestors is terrible,"
Renae said. "We can never forget, but we have to move forward to create
a better future for generations to come."
Disproportionate numbers
Mention the words "Indian" and "foster care" in the tri-state region,
and you are certain to hear passionate replies.
The firestorm erupted with the Sept. 24 death of 20-month-old Nathaniel
Saunsoci-Mitchell, who lived in a South Sioux City foster home when he
received the injuries that ended his life. Although he was placed in
that home while he was a ward of the Omaha Tribe, both the Iowa
Department of Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Health and
Human Services were eyed suspiciously after his death.
Members of local tribes have not forgotten the past: Children yanked
from happy homes, their hair cropped, their clothes changed, their
cultural heritage snuffed out by forced attendance at boarding schools
miles away from their parents and tribes.
Local child welfare workers are trying to help American Indian families
thrive while working under a legacy of mistrust.
It is not an easy task. But according to state statistics, it is a
necessary one.
There are 27,751 children living in Woodbury County of all races and
backgrounds, according to Iowa DHS data. Of those children, 975 -- or
3.51 percent -- are American Indian.
There are 956 children in Woodbury County in foster care. Of those
children, 149 -- or 15.6 percent -- are American Indian.
So while American Indian children represent 3.51 percent of the child
population in Woodbury County, they represent 15.6 percent of children
in foster care.
No one can say for certain why this disproportion exists.
Ask an American Indian, then ask a social services worker, and you are
certain to hear different theories.
Margery Coffey, administrative assistant of the Omaha Tribal Historical
Research Project of Rosalie, Neb., is quick to point out the obvious.
"Particularly with the Native American, where you have so many families
that are living under the poverty level and in inadequate housing, it is
extremely difficult to get a family that would qualify for foster care,"
Coffey said. "This is not a problem that is created by the tribe. This
is a problem that has been created by government policy."
Due to the shortage of foster homes, most American Indian foster
children do not end up in American Indian homes like little Susette.
There are four sets of American Indian foster parents under Iowa DHS
administration in Woodbury County, according to B-G Tall Bear, Native
Tribal Liaison for DHS.
The rest of the children are placed or eventually adopted into
non-Native homes -- unless the tribe is able to intervene through the
federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
Even if the foster or adoptive parents make robust efforts to educate
the child about his or her heritage, many American Indians say that is
not good enough.
Dennis Hastings, director of the Omaha Tribal Historical Research
Project and a member of the Omaha Nation, said white homes are "not a
good answer to the problem."
"You end up with a white Indian that can't relate to either culture,"
Hastings said. "How do you teach a culture you don't know? Would you
place a white child in an Indian home and teach them culture by cooking
chocolate cake, attending square dances and learning to knit? At this
point, it would make more sense to actively work with the tribes to
return the culture and let them handle the problems themselves."
Local American Indians will participate in the Annual Memorial March on
Nov. 22 to honor the memory of "those children who have been and are
being removed from their families and tribal roots."
In 2005, the group crossed the bridge from South Sioux City into Sioux
City shortly after noon and marched to the Woodbury County Courthouse
where a cedar ceremony was held. The group then proceeded to the
Trosper-Hoyt County Services Building, where Iowa DHS offices are
located.
The Native Unit
In 2004, the Iowa Legislature recognized the disproportionate number of
Native Americans in foster care in Woodbury County and the
disproportionate number of African-Americans in foster care in Des
Moines. They decided to increase DHS funding in these areas to start
pilot programs targeting minority families and youth.
In the first year, the Legislature allocated $75,000 to each project.
Now in its third year, each project receives $150,000 per year from the
state.
Iowa DHS in Woodbury County works closely with a group called Community
Initiative for Native Families and Children.
"I think we've been working more closely in the last several years
because we've become more focused on specifically trying to get more
Native foster parents, focusing on trying to build up more Native
service resources in the area, focusing on researching families, looking
for more relative placement, those kinds of things," said Pat Penning,
service area manager for the Iowa Department of Human Services, 822
Douglas St.
The Specialized Native American Project (SNAP), known simply as the
"Native Unit" to those around Woodbury County, was launched in January
2005.
The unit works mainly with four local tribes: Winnebago, Omaha, Ponca
and Santee Sioux.
"We decided we needed to focus our attention on having a smaller
caseload for social workers, so they could have more time to work with
Native Americans, and we needed some expertise in the culture and tribal
ways," Penning said. "So from that we looked at folks we had here -- who
would be best suited to that? We selected four workers based on the
number of cases we had at the time. We were fortunate enough to hire two
liaisons."
B-G Tall Bear, the first liaison, is an expert in health systems. The
second liaison, Lisa Lacroix-Weddell, is a graduate of the University of
Kansas School of Law and is an expert on the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The 'Indian problem'
The Indian Child Welfare Act was created in 1978 by the federal
government to keep American Indian children with American Indian
families. During the 1970s and previously, many American Indian children
were adopted by whites, destroying family bonds and cultural roots.
Major changes for American Indian children started as early as 1819,
when the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Civilization Fund Act,
specifically addressing American Indian education, mainly in
agriculture, said Richard Chilton, project facilitator for the Omaha
Tribal Historical Research Project.
"It wasn't until after the Civil War that the government dealt with the
'Indian problem' in a systemic way through the institution of boarding
schools, beginning in the 1880s," Chilton said.
The boarding schools have not ended, they have simply evolved, Hastings
said.
"They are better today than they used to be," said Hastings, who was
forced to attend government schools for 12 years as a youth.
Hastings said the real purpose of these boarding schools was
assimilation.
"Take away the culture and turn you into whites," Hastings said.
Activists in the 1970s argued that between the boarding schools and
white adoptions of American Indian children, cultural genocide was
imminent.
Under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, an Indian child removed from
his or her home should be placed with extended family, a member of the
tribe or an American Indian foster home -- in that respective order.
That does not always occur.
"The money that the Indian Child Welfare Act, both under the federal and
state level, has never been appropriated enough in order to make these
programs work," Chilton said. "That's the real criminality here is that
the monies are siphoned off by the state into non-tribal programs and
monies are siphoned off by the federal, both in terms of Democratic and
Republican policies, on the national level. So this is not a
Democratic-Republican issue. It's a policy issue. But historically, the
Indian Child Welfare Act has never been given the amount of money that
Congress is required to by law."
Penning, of Iowa DHS, said funding is not the only issue at hand.
"I think we maybe don't have the right services or right
treatment-people for some services for Native Americans," Penning said.
"For drug abuse treatment, if we want a Native-focused drug treatment,
we have to send people a long ways away. Those types of things aren't
really here in Sioux City."
"So I don't know if funding is the biggest issue because even if we had
the funding, we'd have to have the capacity," Penning added. "We'd have
to have those people who would be able to do that. It's kind of twofold.
I guess if we had the funding, we could go out and try to find those
folks."
'You love them the same way'
Sometimes a tribe does not have the money or resources necessary to care
for foster children -- especially those with special needs and
disabilities.
Lenette Hockett, 59, is a foster mother in Sioux City who cares for five
foster children. Two of the children, Ariana, 13, and Cedar, 11, are
American Indian.
Cedar suffers from several medical problems and requires additional
care.
Hockett has cared for the girls since they were 11 and 9.
"I've seen them blossom -- just really blossom," she said.
Hockett said the children attend church every Sunday.
"They didn't know much about God before," Hockett said. "Now Cedar is
always talking about God."
Hockett knows how to cook Indian fry bread, venison and rabbit stew.
"We are teaching them to cook now," she said.
One of Hockett's biological daughters married an American Indian man, so
Hockett has biological American Indian grandchildren. Another daughter
and son-in-law have 21 children -- four biological and 17 adopted. One
of Hockett's granddaughters is a jingle-dancer in powwows.
In her home on Thursday, Hockett was surrounded by cloth photographs of
her smiling grandchildren that she plans to make into a quilt.
She knows her own culture and American Indian culture. She is teaching
both to Ariana and Cedar. Hockett said even at 59, she would adopt the
girls if that was ever an option.
"I'm not Native," she said. "But you love them the same way."
*The names of the children and some of the foster parents have been
changed to protect the children.
By Nicole Paseka Journal staff writer
www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/10/29/news/top/08046d0f7c6\
8b15e86257216000dcd6e.txt
<http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/10/29/news/top/08046d0f7c\
68b15e86257216000dcd6e.txt>
The toddler's flash cards begin to tell her story: wee, nah bah, tha
blee. One, two, three.
Susette* is a 1-year-old member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. She
lives in a foster home in Sioux City because her biological parents are
unable to care for her right now. Unlike many American Indian children
in foster care, Susette's foster parents are American Indian, not white.
"We have tried really hard to keep this little girl's heritage alive,"
said Susette's foster mother, Renae.
Renae plans to make Susette a cradle board for her baby doll. Sage hangs
over Susette's crib to ward off evil. Photographs on the living room
wall show Susette and other Omaha children enjoying a powwow.
Susette's foster father, Michael, 36, is Navajo and Apache. Renae, 36,
is Apache. Although they are not members of the Omaha Nation, they have
learned everything they can about Omaha culture to pass on to Susette.
That's where the homemade flash cards come in. Michael and Renae want
Susette to learn her native tongue. The family has frequent visits with
Susette's biological parents and grandparents. When Susette grows up,
Michael said he would like her to marry an Omaha man.
Michael and Renae moved to Sioux City from Colorado about two years ago.
They said it is important for American Indians to consider becoming
foster parents.
"What has happened in the past with our tribal ancestors is terrible,"
Renae said. "We can never forget, but we have to move forward to create
a better future for generations to come."
Disproportionate numbers
Mention the words "Indian" and "foster care" in the tri-state region,
and you are certain to hear passionate replies.
The firestorm erupted with the Sept. 24 death of 20-month-old Nathaniel
Saunsoci-Mitchell, who lived in a South Sioux City foster home when he
received the injuries that ended his life. Although he was placed in
that home while he was a ward of the Omaha Tribe, both the Iowa
Department of Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Health and
Human Services were eyed suspiciously after his death.
Members of local tribes have not forgotten the past: Children yanked
from happy homes, their hair cropped, their clothes changed, their
cultural heritage snuffed out by forced attendance at boarding schools
miles away from their parents and tribes.
Local child welfare workers are trying to help American Indian families
thrive while working under a legacy of mistrust.
It is not an easy task. But according to state statistics, it is a
necessary one.
There are 27,751 children living in Woodbury County of all races and
backgrounds, according to Iowa DHS data. Of those children, 975 -- or
3.51 percent -- are American Indian.
There are 956 children in Woodbury County in foster care. Of those
children, 149 -- or 15.6 percent -- are American Indian.
So while American Indian children represent 3.51 percent of the child
population in Woodbury County, they represent 15.6 percent of children
in foster care.
No one can say for certain why this disproportion exists.
Ask an American Indian, then ask a social services worker, and you are
certain to hear different theories.
Margery Coffey, administrative assistant of the Omaha Tribal Historical
Research Project of Rosalie, Neb., is quick to point out the obvious.
"Particularly with the Native American, where you have so many families
that are living under the poverty level and in inadequate housing, it is
extremely difficult to get a family that would qualify for foster care,"
Coffey said. "This is not a problem that is created by the tribe. This
is a problem that has been created by government policy."
Due to the shortage of foster homes, most American Indian foster
children do not end up in American Indian homes like little Susette.
There are four sets of American Indian foster parents under Iowa DHS
administration in Woodbury County, according to B-G Tall Bear, Native
Tribal Liaison for DHS.
The rest of the children are placed or eventually adopted into
non-Native homes -- unless the tribe is able to intervene through the
federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
Even if the foster or adoptive parents make robust efforts to educate
the child about his or her heritage, many American Indians say that is
not good enough.
Dennis Hastings, director of the Omaha Tribal Historical Research
Project and a member of the Omaha Nation, said white homes are "not a
good answer to the problem."
"You end up with a white Indian that can't relate to either culture,"
Hastings said. "How do you teach a culture you don't know? Would you
place a white child in an Indian home and teach them culture by cooking
chocolate cake, attending square dances and learning to knit? At this
point, it would make more sense to actively work with the tribes to
return the culture and let them handle the problems themselves."
Local American Indians will participate in the Annual Memorial March on
Nov. 22 to honor the memory of "those children who have been and are
being removed from their families and tribal roots."
In 2005, the group crossed the bridge from South Sioux City into Sioux
City shortly after noon and marched to the Woodbury County Courthouse
where a cedar ceremony was held. The group then proceeded to the
Trosper-Hoyt County Services Building, where Iowa DHS offices are
located.
The Native Unit
In 2004, the Iowa Legislature recognized the disproportionate number of
Native Americans in foster care in Woodbury County and the
disproportionate number of African-Americans in foster care in Des
Moines. They decided to increase DHS funding in these areas to start
pilot programs targeting minority families and youth.
In the first year, the Legislature allocated $75,000 to each project.
Now in its third year, each project receives $150,000 per year from the
state.
Iowa DHS in Woodbury County works closely with a group called Community
Initiative for Native Families and Children.
"I think we've been working more closely in the last several years
because we've become more focused on specifically trying to get more
Native foster parents, focusing on trying to build up more Native
service resources in the area, focusing on researching families, looking
for more relative placement, those kinds of things," said Pat Penning,
service area manager for the Iowa Department of Human Services, 822
Douglas St.
The Specialized Native American Project (SNAP), known simply as the
"Native Unit" to those around Woodbury County, was launched in January
2005.
The unit works mainly with four local tribes: Winnebago, Omaha, Ponca
and Santee Sioux.
"We decided we needed to focus our attention on having a smaller
caseload for social workers, so they could have more time to work with
Native Americans, and we needed some expertise in the culture and tribal
ways," Penning said. "So from that we looked at folks we had here -- who
would be best suited to that? We selected four workers based on the
number of cases we had at the time. We were fortunate enough to hire two
liaisons."
B-G Tall Bear, the first liaison, is an expert in health systems. The
second liaison, Lisa Lacroix-Weddell, is a graduate of the University of
Kansas School of Law and is an expert on the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The 'Indian problem'
The Indian Child Welfare Act was created in 1978 by the federal
government to keep American Indian children with American Indian
families. During the 1970s and previously, many American Indian children
were adopted by whites, destroying family bonds and cultural roots.
Major changes for American Indian children started as early as 1819,
when the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Civilization Fund Act,
specifically addressing American Indian education, mainly in
agriculture, said Richard Chilton, project facilitator for the Omaha
Tribal Historical Research Project.
"It wasn't until after the Civil War that the government dealt with the
'Indian problem' in a systemic way through the institution of boarding
schools, beginning in the 1880s," Chilton said.
The boarding schools have not ended, they have simply evolved, Hastings
said.
"They are better today than they used to be," said Hastings, who was
forced to attend government schools for 12 years as a youth.
Hastings said the real purpose of these boarding schools was
assimilation.
"Take away the culture and turn you into whites," Hastings said.
Activists in the 1970s argued that between the boarding schools and
white adoptions of American Indian children, cultural genocide was
imminent.
Under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, an Indian child removed from
his or her home should be placed with extended family, a member of the
tribe or an American Indian foster home -- in that respective order.
That does not always occur.
"The money that the Indian Child Welfare Act, both under the federal and
state level, has never been appropriated enough in order to make these
programs work," Chilton said. "That's the real criminality here is that
the monies are siphoned off by the state into non-tribal programs and
monies are siphoned off by the federal, both in terms of Democratic and
Republican policies, on the national level. So this is not a
Democratic-Republican issue. It's a policy issue. But historically, the
Indian Child Welfare Act has never been given the amount of money that
Congress is required to by law."
Penning, of Iowa DHS, said funding is not the only issue at hand.
"I think we maybe don't have the right services or right
treatment-people for some services for Native Americans," Penning said.
"For drug abuse treatment, if we want a Native-focused drug treatment,
we have to send people a long ways away. Those types of things aren't
really here in Sioux City."
"So I don't know if funding is the biggest issue because even if we had
the funding, we'd have to have the capacity," Penning added. "We'd have
to have those people who would be able to do that. It's kind of twofold.
I guess if we had the funding, we could go out and try to find those
folks."
'You love them the same way'
Sometimes a tribe does not have the money or resources necessary to care
for foster children -- especially those with special needs and
disabilities.
Lenette Hockett, 59, is a foster mother in Sioux City who cares for five
foster children. Two of the children, Ariana, 13, and Cedar, 11, are
American Indian.
Cedar suffers from several medical problems and requires additional
care.
Hockett has cared for the girls since they were 11 and 9.
"I've seen them blossom -- just really blossom," she said.
Hockett said the children attend church every Sunday.
"They didn't know much about God before," Hockett said. "Now Cedar is
always talking about God."
Hockett knows how to cook Indian fry bread, venison and rabbit stew.
"We are teaching them to cook now," she said.
One of Hockett's biological daughters married an American Indian man, so
Hockett has biological American Indian grandchildren. Another daughter
and son-in-law have 21 children -- four biological and 17 adopted. One
of Hockett's granddaughters is a jingle-dancer in powwows.
In her home on Thursday, Hockett was surrounded by cloth photographs of
her smiling grandchildren that she plans to make into a quilt.
She knows her own culture and American Indian culture. She is teaching
both to Ariana and Cedar. Hockett said even at 59, she would adopt the
girls if that was ever an option.
"I'm not Native," she said. "But you love them the same way."
*The names of the children and some of the foster parents have been
changed to protect the children.