VERONICA’S STORY BRINGS NATIONAL ATTENTION TO THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACTAn injustice that has occurred to a two-year-old South Carolina child named Veronica Rose has brought national attention to our fight against the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Two years ago
Veronica’s Latina birth mother chose Matt and Melanie to love, nurture and raise her child. To this day, Veronica’s birth mother remains committed to her decision and Veronica has been a thriving child residing in a stable, nurturing environment.
On or around Jan. 4, 2010, the birth father signed papers agreeing to give up his daughter. However, he changed his mind and because he had a small amount of Cherokee heritage, the Cherokee Nation intervened in the adoption proceedings and argued that this happy, healthy two-year-old be transferred to her birth father. Because of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a family court judge ruled in his favor.
View News Segment Children need protection and should not be removed from a loving, nurturing environment. It is said that this law is meant to protect children; however, in Veronica’s case and many others, it has been used to hurt.
Former U.S. senator Jim Abourezk (SD), who authored ICWA, after reviewing Veronica's story, called the interpretation in this case "something totally different than what we intended at the time."
"That's a tragedy," he said. "They obviously were attached to the child and, I would assume, the child was attached to them."
The Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare, a national 501(c)3 organization, has been fighting to bring awareness of the Indian Child Welfare Act since 2004. Now, due to Veronica’s tragic story, the public has begun to pay attention and this organization’s years of fighting is gaining traction at a national level. Veronica’s case has caught the eyes of the media and lawmakers. Because of this, we are hopeful travesties such as what has happened to the this family will stop.
On January 6,
“Save Veronica” became officially an advocacy and awareness campaign by the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare so that the efforts to save Veronica could fall under the auspice of a nonprofit organization. This allows Veronica’s supporters to be protected under a legal entity and allows supporters to donate to the family’s legal defense fund and receive a tax deduction.
100 percent of funds collected for the Save Veronica Fund go directly to the family’s legal defense fund (Ray Godwin, Esq., Capobianco Trust account).
According to the 2000 census, approximately 75% of people claiming to have American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry live outside the reservation. Further, interracial marriages are a fact of life. It is must be recognized that most children of heritage live off the reservation and have extended family that are non-tribal. Though supporters of ICWA say it has safeguards to prevent misuse, Veronica and numerous other multi-racial children across the U.S have been hurt by it. Children who have never been near a reservation nor involved in tribal customs are affected.
The Cherokee Nation alone is currently tied up in about 1,100 active Indian Child Welfare cases involving some 1,500 children.Please Contact your Congressmen and ask them to Change the ICWA Law.
Tragically, under the Indian Child Welfare Act:
1) Some children have been removed from safe, loving homes and placed in danger
2) Equal opportunities for adoption, safety and stability are not always available to children of all heritages
3) The Constitutional right of parents to make life choices for their children, for children of Indian heritage to associate freely, and for children of Indian heritage to enjoy Equal Protection has in some cases been infringed upon.
While we want more than anything for Veronica to be allowed to come home, Congressmen are unable to interfere in court proceedings. Please ask them as an elected representative to:
1) Do whatever possible to protect Veronica’s rights.
2) Speak out on this issue and let your constituents know clearly where you stand
3) Sponsor legislative changes that will prevent this from happening to any more children.
4) Encourage fellow Congressmen to support the amending of the Indian Child Welfare Act:
A. Guarantee protection for children of Native American heritage equal to that of any other child in the United States.
B. Guarantee that fit parents, no matter their heritage, have the right to choose healthy guardians or adoptive parents for their children without concern for heritage.
C. Recognize the "Existing Indian Family Doctrine” as a viable analysis for consideration and application in child custody proceedings. (See In re Santos Y, In Bridget R., and In re Alexandria Y.)
D. Guarantee that United States citizens, no matter their heritage, have a right to fair trials.
E. Include well defined protections for Adoptive Parents.
F. Mandate that a "Qualified expert witness" be someone who has professional knowledge of the child and family and is able to advocate for the well being of the child, first and foremost.
G. Mandate that only parents and/or legal custodians have the right to enroll a child into an Indian Tribe. Because it is claimed that tribal membership is a political rather than racial designation, we are asking that parents, as U.S. citizens, be given the sole, constitutional right to choose political affiliation for their families and not have it forced upon them.
- Remove the words “or are eligible for membership in” 1901 (3)
- Remove the words "eligible for membership in" from 1903 (4) (b), the definition of an ‘Indian child’ and replace with the words "an enrolled member of”
This list is available online as a PDF at
http://www.saveveronica.org/what-can-you-do/http://www.saveveronica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Senator-Letter-for-Veronica-and-ICWA-FINAL2.pdf
