Letters from Families Hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act -

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I am giving you the link to letters families have written us so that you can see what the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW) sees, read what CAICW reads, and understand what is happening to children and families right here in the US.

People tend to ignore the Indian Child Welfare Act, believing that it doesn't affect them and that the children really do belong... to the tribes.

But..that includes my children and grandchildren as well as the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of all the people that have written to CAICW, begging for help.

The fact is that in some cases, a child needs only a small amount of heritage for tribal gov'ts, who get more funding per head, to reach out and insert themselves into a child's life. Many families have told us that they never expected to ever have to deal with something like this.

And remember, CAICW is a very smal org with very little public presence. If all thse people have found them - how many more are out there that haven't? ~

http://www.caicw.org/familystories.html
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Encouraging letter from Adoptive Mom:

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This letter below came on Friday. All identyfiying information has been removed -

It is great encouragement, especially since I keep kicking myself about the website (www.caicw.org) not being good enough!

Praise God for the Work He is doing! - and thanks to all our friends for helping us keep going -


Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:56:10 -0500 (EST)

To: administrator@caicw.org

Dearest Lisa,

I wanted to drop you a note the let you know we won our court case against the tribe .... We went to court in Aug. 2009 and in Sept. the judge ruled that the kids should stay with us. But, of course the tribe appealed his decision the day before the deadline... The State Court of Appeals heard the case... this year and ..they affirmed the judges decision. ... It cost us $10,000.00 and a lot of worry but we are finally proceeding with the adoption. Our family would like to thank you so very much for your organization and all the help it provides families like ours, without the information on your web site I don't know if our lawyer could have made such a good case using other state case law. You provide an invaluable service to children hurt by ICWA and God will lead you to do even better things. I received your newsletter yesterday and vow to get as many signatures as I can to sent back to you. I wish I could do more but I will pray for you everyday. If you want to know more or if there is anything I can do from here... please contact me. Our family is forever in your debt. Again, thank you for all you do, and have a Happy Holiday, WE WILL.
Sincerely,
- a very happy MOM

Meeting with Sen. Elect John Hoeven's Chief of Staff

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At 7 am, Wednesday Dec. 15th, my 18-year-old son, Timothy, and I headed out to Bismarck to meet with Sen. Elect Hoeven’s Chief of Staff, Don Larson at 11 am. Although the sky was cloudy, the roads were clear. About half way into the trip, I became a little concerned as light flurries began. But the weather report indicated things should get better, so we kept going. From there, the roads varied between light snow-pack and wet. About an hour later, as I topped a slight hill, the bright red brake lights of a semi truck confronted me. Stepping on my brakes, our car began to slide on slick black ice. Pumping and counter turning, it began to fishtail. Not wanting to go into a spin, I avoided the semi and let us skid into the ditch.

Timothy says he’s just glad he wasn’t the one that was driving.

About a half mile ahead of us, a mini-van had spun out of control and flipped. To avoid hitting it, a semi jack-knifed and blocked the road. A second semi managed to stop, and that’s the one we came up behind.

I got out of our tiny Saturn, which was deep in snow and now pointing back east, and went to the road to wave the cars coming up the hill to slow down. Several drivers, seeing the wreck ahead of them, thought traffic would be stuck there for a couple hours. I have to admire North Dakota response. The police and a sanding dump truck took only minutes to arrive. The dump truck immediately assisted in moving the semi and managed to get it off the road. A path was cleared for traffic to move in less than fifteen minutes. It was amazing.

Unfortunately, we, the only car in the ditch, weren’t among the vehicles leaving.

By the time we were pulled out, it was too late to make the meeting. But I had called by quarter to and made arrangements for a conference call the next day.

So what of all the prayers people were praying for us concerning the meeting that day? Timothy and I are fine. The car is fine. Considering we could have ended up a fixture on the rear of a semi, that’s answer to prayer.

And – prior to the call the next day, I had a chance to relax and go over in my mind what I wanted to say… what I wanted Senator Hoeven to gain from this meeting.

I began by introducing myself and giving him my background as the wife and mother of enrolled members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

I stated the issue concerning us, and then said, “While the Indian Child Welfare Act is embraced by tribal government, it has hurt many multi-racial children and families across the United States.”

I then quoted from a parent letter, told him a couple stories, and went on from there. I had talking points in front of me, and was able to go point by point quickly and easily. No stuttering, no flusters. Mr. Larson was attentive and kind.  The call went very well. I followed up with an email to him, thanking him for the call and attaching additional information for him, including our legislative draft.

Hmmm… Maybe I should do all our meetings by conference call…


Thanks so much for your support!

To help spread the word - Please also share these important links:


Letters from Families: http://www.caicw.org/familystories.html


Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/fbCAICW.org


Home Website: http://www.caicw.org


Cause page: http://www.causes.com/causes/537834


TWITTER: http://twitter.com/CAICW


EMAIL: writeus@caicw.org

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Beautiful Michelle hanged herself in a closet

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“Lisa you can and are free. Free to go on, free to thank God for your life with Roland...free to learn from the craziness and free to take what you can and to leave the rest in God's hands.”

How beautiful, wonderful, comforting those words are.

I respond: “You are right - the memories pain me, but even so, I do thank God for my life with Roland. He actually asked me before he died how I felt about our life together. And I actually had an answer ready—because I'd been thinking about it for awhile.

I told him that we had traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We’ve lived in Canada and helped out at a Children’s home in Mexico. We’ve owned businesses and we’ve been on welfare. At times we had little or no food - and other times we ate at some of the finest restaurants. We have slept on dirty floors with dirty blankets in tribal housing, and we have stayed in upscale hotels on Capitol Hill in Washington DC and in Windsor, BC. I told him our life had been full. He seemed to relax into his pillow upon hearing me say it.

We felt just as comfortable talking to a drunk on Franklin Ave. as we did talking to a US Senator. I've called a US Senator looking for my husband, who was in his office at the time. The Senator made a real joke of it, as he handed Roland the phone, about how I can track him down anywhere. And...I've had an impossible time finding my husband on the reservation just after our son was born. No one would hand the phone to him then, as they were drinking with him.

A law professor and a state legislator both helped carry Roland’s casket. A retired US Navy Submarine officer carried Roland's body back to the reservation in the back of his pickup.

Who would I have been without all those experiences?

It's the truth, isn't it? Who would I have been if I had married an average man and lived with two cars and 2.5 kids in the suburbs? Really - would I even be a Christian right now? Because it was Roland that essentially led me to Christ.

And ...as I correspond with the various families that write to CAICW...how would I even begin to understand them and their fears if I hadn't been there myself? I am able to write two simple words that mean the world to them... "I understand."

And it is with that background: the birth mother to five members, the adoptive mother of one, the legal custodian of three, the step mother to four, and aunt to innumerable members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe - and as a former licensed Day care provider, foster care provider, as well as registered nurse - I am able to ‘withstand the barbs of the enemy’ and stand tall whenever anyone tries to call me a racist for speaking up on this issue.

I can unashamedly stand up and say what many others can't bring themselves to say - because I don't care what names they call me. And I can speak loudly. And I can help that no more children be treated as chattel for the benefit of a corrupt tribal government.

The idea some have that children "belong" on the reservation is racism at its core. It ignores who the child might factually be, who the child is connected to, what the child really wants and, importantly, what the child’s best interests are. It’s well known to everyone that the high school drop out rate, drug abuse, crime, fetal alcohol rate, child abuse, corruption, child neglect, sexual abuse, violence and suicide, etc. is so high on many reservations that no Congressman would ever willingly send their own child to live there...yet everyone is supposed to just go along with the lie that children of heritage must live with it because tribal and federal government say so. It’s not only insane but criminal.

I'm not going to diplomatically dance around so as not to step on toes. Kids are dying. Beautiful Michelle hanged herself in a simple closet, where all she had to do was stand up to save herself.

Others have died of overdose, accident, and violence.

So you are right. I have a job to do, and it is because of my life with Roland that I am able to do it.

- to be the loud-mouthed, angry witch that I am.

Bless you My Friends, you’ve been so good to hang in there with us through all these tough years.

Merry Christmas!

Read "Dying in Indian Country"

Letters from Families, asking for Help - Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare

Indian Kids treated like Second Class Citizens

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Mickey came home an hour early from classes one day.

"What are you doing home?" I asked him.

"My advocate let me out."

"What do you mean, 'let you out'?"

"Well, I didn't like my art teacher, so a month or so ago my Indian advocate let me drop the class and go to study hall in his office instead. He'd ask me a couple questions and stuff, but I wasn't really doing anything there so now he just lets me come home instead."

I called the advocate. "In the first place," I told him, "I don't agree with letting him drop art. He has to work out his problems with his teacher. But in the second place, Mickey got two 'F's' last quarter! How come you’re letting him cut out of school?"

"What are you worried about?" the advocate, also a tribal member, responded, "He's got three years of school left. He's got time to catch up."

About ready to blow up and getting nowhere with this man, I called the principal, who agreed Mickey shouldn't be leaving school early. It was too late to get Mickey back into the art class, so placed him into the real study hall. Unfortunately, the principal didn't have the cojones to fire the advocate for being the idiot he was.

Later, Mickey confided that the Indian advocate had told him the following day, "Don't listen to Beth, all white people talk like that."

'What a jerk,' I thought angrily, 'why isn't that so-called advocate helping Mickey apply himself? Don't they think an Indian kid can be expected to work hard? Do they lookl down on Indian kids that much? If anybody dares treat Andrew that way when he gets to school, expecting less of him just because he's Indian, I'll knock em to the moon!

Many places do still treat kids of tribal heritage with lower expectations. Worse, the attitude is encouraged and propagandized by tribal government itself.

One tribal attorney in an Arkansas court just 3 yrs ago - while fighting to take 2 children from a safe, loving home where they were well-cared for and place them in an overcrowded, troubled (documented issues) home that had connection to the tribe - said that Indian children shouldn't be expected to live by "European standards." He said Indian children are used to sleeping on floors - and that was okay.

Who is he kidding? Why is tribal government allowed to make racist statements like that? I can tell you with absolute certainty that given the choice, every single child I raised, as well as every relative child that I know, would choose a good bed over a floor. What a bunch of garbage.

The propaganda that children of heritage are somehow different than other kids is in effort, we believe, to keep jurisdiction (and power) over them. The idea put forward is that kids of heritage have an intrinsic attachment to the reservation and will be spiritually destroyed if detached from it.

An article ten years ago said something about looking into the eyes of an Indian child and seeing 'past generations.' Was that writer able to look into the eyes of children of other heritages and see the same thing? Why not?

It's so easy to put one's own expectations and romanticisms onto a child. People do it all the time. And in doing so - they neglect who the child really is - his/her individuality.

I'm very tired of what boils down to racist rhetoric.

Personally, I looked into the eyes of the nine I raised and saw THEM. I want the 'powers that be' to quit pretending these kids are somehow different than others. It’s an excuse to control them as if they are chattel.

This brings us to the Indian Child Welfare Act. It’s a terrible law. Current laws governing placement of children of other heritages already cover the need to keep families connected if possible. At the same time, they protect children from being subjected to abusive and neglectful family, which is something the ICWA does NOT do well because it gives tribal governments the right to decide placement, and they have a conflict of interest. I have seen children placed in inadequate, if not downright terrible situations for the sake of keeping the kids within the system,

The real purpose of ICWA as far as we can tell has nothing to do with the ‘welfare’ of children. It has everything to do with the ‘welfare’ of tribal government. The last census showed that a majority of enrollable people now live off the reservation. Some are still connected, but many no longer choose to be part of the system. But as people move away and don't enroll their kids in the tribe, tribal governments lose federal money. They also lose people over whom they can rule. That's the bottom line for ICWA.

This is why the ICWA includes language that claims jurisdiction over "enrollable" children, not just "enrolled" children. They are also free to decide their own membership criteria. For the Cherokee tribe, all that is required is a direct line to the Dawes rolls.

Put those two facts together, and federal government has created a terrible situation for children. Example: Six years ago, a firefighter in Texas, with his wife, took in a newborn baby boy to adopt. After a few weeks, during the process of adoption, it was discovered the child had less than 2% heritage in the Cherokee tribe. The tribe then decided it wants the child, who is more than 98% non-tribal. The child is still unadopted as of today, and the family has spent years and tens of thousands of dollars fighting for him. We have many stories like that.

It's a genuine crime against these kids.

For more info:

Read Letters from Families: http://www.caicw.org/familystories.html

ICWA Case Law: http://www.caicw.org/caselaw.html

CAICW Facebook 'Cause' page: (Advocacy, Petition, support for families) http://www.causes.com/causes/537834

The “Fund Attorney Retainers for 10 Families” Drive began on National Adoption Day, November 20, 2010 ~ and ends on December 31, 2010.~ The Fund website can be found through FirstGiving.com at ~ http://www.firstgiving.com/caicw/Event/AdoptionRetainerFund

Follow CAICW on TWITTER:   http://twitter.com/CAICW

EMAIL: writeus@caicw.org

CAICW - Christian Evangelism and Ministry - Gal. 2:10, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."

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A Mom Wrote: "They just took my baby after 3 years...her sobbing is forever etched in my soul."

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From Lisa Morris
Administrator
Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW)


CAICW Friends;

An adoptive mother made her first contact with CAICW on Facebook about 1am Saturday morning, November 20, only hours after she had lost her little girl...

"They just took my baby after 3 years...her sobbing is forever etched in my soul. She wanted us to save her and we couldn't..devastated."

She then wrote to friends:

"Please sign this petition..the despair on her face pushes me to help destroy this law. She didn't want to go and was looking for us to protect her and we couldn't...I can't remember ever feeling so worthless."

Saturday, November 20th, was National Adoption Day. On this day, a small girl, denied the right to be adopted by the only mother she'd ever known, spent the first day in her memory in foster care, frightened and alone amongst strangers. She was denied the right to be adopted solely because of her heritage. In America, having even a small bit of Indian heritage can mean not having the same rights and opportunities for adoption that other children receive.

Saturday, November 20th, was also her adoptive mother's birthday. Her mother wrote on Facebook, thanking her friends for their love and prayers, and said that the best gift was people signing the petition.

We will be taking the petition with us when visiting Congress in DC at the end of January. The purpose of the Petition is to show Congressmen that people are concerned about this law and want it changed to reflect the best interest of children, not government expediency. We want to the rights of parents and children respected. We encourage families that have been affected by ICWA to join us.

If you aren't able to join us in DC, I urge everyone to obtain the legislative drafts we have available and talk to as many of your US Senators and Representatives and you can, as well as you legislators on the State level. We need to be pushing our representatives on both the federal and state levels to pass protective legislation for these children. No more pretending that what they have decided to do with children of heritage is acceptable or even constitutionally legal.

Finally - CAICW needs financial support. Please help us to:

* Stay in Contact with Families,
* Publish the Newsletter,
* Research Case Law,
* Update & maintain the CAICW.org Website,
* Develop a legal Defense Fund,
* Continue to Educate Federal and State Officials,
* Educate the Community through Facebook and Twitter,
* Speak to and Connect with family-oriented Organizations

All Children need to feel safe. Help CAICW to Advocate, Educate, Assist, & Defend.

http://www.caicw.org/pleasedonate.html



- Please see these sites for more information, and please share these important links:


Sign the Petition: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/559?m=1a237008


Read Letters from Families: http://www.caicw.org/familystories.html


How You Can Help: http://www.caicw.org/HowYouHelp.html

CAICW Facebook 'Cause' page: (Advocacy, Petition, support for families) http://www.causes.com/causes/537834


The “Fund Attorney Retainers for 10 Families” Drive began on National Adoption Day, November 20, 2010 ~ and ends on December 31, 2010.~ The Fund website can be found through FirstGiving.com at ~ http://www.firstgiving.com/caicw/Event/AdoptionRetainerFund


Follow CAICW on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/CAICW


Join CAICW on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fbCAICW.org


EMAIL: writeus@caicw.org


Thank you all for your prayers and support -

Lisa Morris
Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW)
PO Box 253
Hillsboro, ND 58045

CAICW - Christian Evangelism and Ministry - Gal. 2:10, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."