Sep 072013
 
FAMILY, 2000

Julie – my husband was a man of 100% Minnesota Chippewa heritage. He grew up on the Leech Lake Reservation in the 1950’s. He didn’t speak English until he was 5 years old and began kindergarten. His fondest memories were of “ricing season” – the time in the Baptism 1994early fall when the wild rice was ripe on the lake and the community would pitch tents down there and spend a couple weeks “ricing” the traditional way. He said it was like the Christmas Holiday is for us.

We had five children together and raised four of his relatives’ children as well. They were placed with us through ICWA – their parents were addicted to crack. So that was nine kids total. When the four came to stay with us, they were all very young. The youngest was only a year old. I had 8 kids under the age of 8 at the time (and one 12-year-old)

It was, as you can imagine, very difficult. I raised all of the kids to the age of 18. I kept the four even through my husband’s terminal illness. You see, he was very afraid of turning them back to the tribe – even though we were struggling very hard to raise them all. He had seen too many very bad things happen to children in his family. He knew what his extended family was capable of doing to children. We knew of physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect. I was at the funeral of a 2-yr-old who was beaten to death. I chased a drunk off of a 10-yr-old girl. He didn’t know I was on the bed when he pushed her onto my legs, trying to take her pants off. And there is so much more.

As a man of 100% heritage – my husband had made the decision to raise his kids elsewhere, off the reservation, because of the danger and corruption going on at Leech Lake.

The fact is – he isn’t alone. 75% of tribal members, (according to the last two U.S. censuses) do NOT live on the reservation. Many have left for the same reason he did (not all have left for the same reasons – but many)

Roland & GirlsBecause of his fear of his children ever being raised on the reservation, he feared what would happen if we both died. He had also become a Christian and had led me to the Lord. He was determined to raise his children Christian and so wanted me to be a Christian as well. He did not want the tribe to move the kids to the reservation or place them with relatives. If he died, he wanted one of our Christian friends to finish raising our kids.

So – it is for all these reasons that he disliked the Indian Child Welfare Act and began to speak out against it. This was in the 1990’s. We made a website – and as we wrote about the law, people across the country began to contact him.

You see, at the time, when you would google ICWA – all you would get is all the sites that supported ICWA. Ours was the only one that didn’t. So people began to contact us and ask for help. Tribal members and non-members. Birth parents, foster parents, and adoptive parents.

Their stories broke our hearts. Lots of abuse of children – by tribal governments. But we were just two parents, no different than them. Roland continued to speak up though, and had opportunity to give testimony to the Senate Committee, among other opportunities.

In February 2004, we founded the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare – so we could help other families better. It has been a blessing every time we have been able to help someone – because we are small and simply do the best we can. We give all credit to God for whatever we are able to do.

When Melanie Capobianco first contacted us in July of 2011, we did our best to help her as well. I have found her to be a very sweet, kind, thoughtful, woman. She has been able to back up everything she has said with documentation. According to Oklahoma law, there is only 90 days after birth in which a father can show his interest in paternity. If he does not do this, he loses his right to object to an adoption. He is not considered a legal parent.

Mr. Brown exceeded that. He also exceeded the limits under South Carolina law. He admitted in the first family court – documented on the court record for all to see – that he did not, in truth, make any attempt to contact, inquire about, or provide for this baby in any way, shape or form. By the laws of both states, he had lost his right to object to an adoption. In the meantime, Matt Capobianco was there at the birth and cut the cord. THAT is the fact that the states have been ruling on.

Therefore, when MrChristinna Maldonado & Veronica Capobianco. Brown took the Capobianco’s little girl, without the benefit of any transition, breaking Veronica’s heart for the only parents she had ever known in her 27 months – it was seen by many of us as extremely selfish on the part of Mr. Brown, and that is how our judgment of him has stood. He did not care at all about Veronica’s need for the only parents she had known and was bonded to.

It was also seen as extremely selfish of the tribal government – which cares nothing about Veronica’s majority heritage. No one stops for a moment to consider whether Veronica, as a teen, might prefer to identify with the Hispanic heritage of her birth mother. If she chooses to identify as Hispanic – will she be allowed to? If she would like to meet her birth mother, who she was allowed to see while she was with the Capobiancos, will she be allowed to?

~ Do those who are demanding that she identify as a Native American truly care who she is as an individual with her own mind and heart? Or are they trying to stuff her into a box and make her into who THEY want her to be?

I just wanted you to know all this – as one Christian mother to another – both of us being mother’s in multi-heritage families.

Bless your heart; I am confused as to why you would send unkind emails to other Christian women. In the name of Jesus – please understand that these other women are not evil. They are simply seeing other aspects to this case then you have been seeing.

Father & Daughter: Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW)http://dyinginindiancountry.com

Dr. Phil Show Spurs Controversy–Sheds Light on the Negative Effects of ICWA

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Dec 312012
 

by Elizabeth Sharon Morris

“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.”

An adoptive mother contacted CAICW on Facebook with this message at 1 am on Saturday, November 20, 2010, just hours after losing her little girl.  CAICW cried with her.  Why was this little girl, who screamed for her adoptive father to help her, taken – while he collapsed on the lawn, sobbing in grief?

Because she had tribal heritage.

While many argue that it is right and good that children of Native heritage be removed from non-Indian homes and turned over to tribal governments, many others question the policy. In this case, just five months after the little girl was taken, social services called the adoptive parents and asked if they would come and get her—immediately.  Apparently the home she had been taken to “didn’t work out,” so now it was OK for her to return to the home they had torn her from just a few months prior. Of course, her parents immediately dropped everything to drive the two hours to get their little girl. When she saw them, the little girl threw herself into their arms and asked if she could finally “go home.”

On Friday, October 19, 2012, Indian Country Today (ICT) reported on the “Veronica” episode of a Dr. Phil Show that had aired the day before. ICT claimed that the show “attacked the ICWA, and undermined the significance of Native children remaining in their tribe and being immersed in their culture.”  It also announced a grassroots Facebook campaign to boycott the “Anti-Native American” Dr. Phil Show. The mission of the campaign ICT says, “is to hold Dr. Phil McGraw accountable by boycotting until he agrees to have a show where QUALIFIED experts discuss ICWA’s importance.”

This is an interesting demand, considering the fact that there were two qualified “experts” on the set that day: Cherokee Nation Attorney Chrissi Nimmo and Judge Les Marston. Furthermore, Terry Cross of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) had been invited too, but declined to appear.

As a birth mother to children who are 50 percent tribal, I flatly refute claims by the tribal establishment that every single child of heritage “needs them.”  No “tribal expert” knows our family or can speak for us. It is a myth that all tribal members want or need to be a part of Indian Country. Tribal members are individuals with their own minds and hearts.

The U.S. census shows that 75 percent of tribal members live off reservation.  Some remain connected to Indian Country, but many extended families mainstreamed a long time ago. Many reject reservation life for the same reason our family does: it isn’t a safe place. Even though we love our extended family that live on the reservation, we choose not to live under a corrupt tribal government in a tract house surrounded by drugs, alcohol and violence. Not every Native person wants to live in or have their children exposed to these conditions.

Furthermore, most “enrollable” children have more than one heritage. This means that they have more than one family, more than one traditional culture, multiple people who love them, and no heritage is more or less important than another.

Tribal governments are now using the ICWA as a weapon to steal the rights and best interests of children, women and families across this country. Make no mistake—the Cherokee Nation alone has more than 100 attorneys targeting 1500 children across the United States who are in the process of being adopted. Many of these children, like Veronica, have less than 5 percent Cherokee heritage. Even that small heritage in many cases comes from families who at some point made deliberate CHOICES to leave Indian Country.

Has God used CAICW to impact you or a loved one in 2012?

Consider impacting someone else by giving a gift

Dec 212010
 

At 7 am, Wednesday Dec. 15th, my 18-year-old son, Timothy, and I

Senator-elect John Hoeven

Senator-elect John Hoeven

 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: https://www.caicw.org/familystories.html


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


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


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


TWITTER: http://twitter.com/CAICW


EMAIL: administrator@caicw.org

.

UPDATE TO: “They just took my baby after 3 years…her sobbing is forever etched in my soul”;

 Comments Off on UPDATE TO: “They just took my baby after 3 years…her sobbing is forever etched in my soul”;
Dec 092010
 

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

UPDATE!  November 18, 2011

Friday One Year Ago: – A 3-year-old girl was taken from the only home she knew and loved and placed with strangers – extended family who had never bothered to visit her or get to know her.  Her adoptive parents fought for her in court and experts said she would be traumatized by the forced move, but the court decided that was okay and moved her anyway.

Almost five months later, on APRIL 13TH, the adoptive parents got a call to come and get their little girl right away.  There was a problem, and she had to be moved from the home she had been placed in.  They left immediately, driving a couple hours to get her.  When she saw them, she ran into their arms and said she was ready to go “home” – “Can I go home?” she asked –  Adoptive mom wept – but daughter held her tears until after they had left the building, then wept freely.  The people she had been with had told her that her adoptive parents were wolves, and would eat her –

Fortunately, she wasn’t physically hurt during the five months. But she was, indeed, emotionally traumatized.  She was NOT okay.  She had been told there were monsters in the closet who would come eat her if she cried, and she reported that she had been locked in a storage shed.  She was only three so it’s still hard to say what actually happened, but it is known that things were not well – as evidenced by the emergency request by social services for the adoptive parents to go after her.

TODAY – A YEAR TO THE DAY she was taken from them  – the Adoption was finalized and no one can take her away again!

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION  – Kids of tribal heritage need protection EQUAL to any other child in the U.S. – PLEASE sign this White House Petition.  If we can get 25,000 signatures by mid-December, the White House will review the petition and give a response!

Children such as the child in this story have no voice – there are many organizations advocating for ICWA, but no other national organization advocates for Children and families who, although U.S. citizens, do NOT have the right to say “No” to tribal government.  Please help by bringing their needs to the attention of those who can change the law.

It is a little complicated to sign this petition – it is on a White House Website and Lord knows they can’t make anything uncomplicated.  But we need your help to do this – Please click the below link, register, and SIGN this petition and ask others to as well!  – Thank you!

http://wh.gov/bvZ

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Event Took Place Friday, November 19, 2010

Dec. 9, 2010

CAICW Friends;

An adoptive mother made her first contact with CAICW on Facebook about 1am Saturday morning, November 20, 2010, 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, 2010, 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.

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

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

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


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

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

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

EMAIL: administrator@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.”

“They just took my baby after 3 years…her sobbing is forever etched in my soul..”

 Comments Off on “They just took my baby after 3 years…her sobbing is forever etched in my soul..”
Nov 202010
 

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Friends of a family that lost their 3-yr-old to the ICWA law Friday night are  signing and sharing CAICW’s online petition to rescind the Indian Child Welfare Act. CAICW has gotten dozens of new signatures in the last 24 hours.

The adoptive mother had made her first contact with CAICW on Facebook about 1am Saturday morning, 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.

I pray for God’s miraculous intervention right now, even though things seem impossible. Please pray with me. Thanks –

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

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

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


DonateNow

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

EMAIL: administrator@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.”

Fighting ICWA? We are, too. Families Helping Each Other

 Comments Off on Fighting ICWA? We are, too. Families Helping Each Other
Nov 132010
 

The Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW) is an advocate for  

Ebay's 'Mission Fish' - "Sell your Stuff and Support our Cause."

~ Support CAICW on Ebay ~

 children and families hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act, an example    of misguided federal Indian policy.

There are Four things you can do today to help:


First, if you haven’t already, sign the petition on CAICW’s Cause page. 

CAICW will be taking it with to DC in January, and it will help show Congressmen that this is an important issue to many!


Second, donate through MissionFish whenever you use Ebay.  The Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare is Registered with MissionFish – a service through Ebay that helps nonprofits fundraise while buying and selling on ~ eBay.  Sellers can give part of their proceeds to a favorite nonprofit, and nonprofits can raise funds by selling on eBay too. Direct donations from eBay users can also be given through a ‘Donate Now’ feature, which lets anyone with a PayPal account donate right away without buying or selling anything.
http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=39005


Third, CAICW is sending out a snail mail newsletter this week. It includes anonymous excerpts from four letters families have written, information about the DC trip, a paper copy of the petition for you to share with non-internet friends, and potential draft legislation to share with your newly elected state legislators. If you would like a copy, please contact CAICW with your snail address. administrator@caicw.org

Fourth, Look for Draft legislation that you can bring to your State Legislator for the next session on the CAICW website: caicw.org ~ and bring it to them!  Hurry; they are putting together their plans for legislation right now!

Finally – for more information and to connect with other families who are struggling against ICWA, visit the CAICW FaceBook ‘Page:  http://facebook.com/fbCAICW.org  


Thank you so much for your support! God Bless you!
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Families: Hurt by ICWA?

 Comments Off on Families: Hurt by ICWA?
Oct 262010
 
Families: Hurt by ICWA? Connect with other families through CAICW   on Facebook and discuss, encourage, share insights, case law, names of possible attorney’s, and pray for each other. Join Facebook to start connecting with Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare.

The Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare is committed to seek God’s guidance in defending the rights of the poor and needy, as instructed in Proverbs 31:8-9.”

CAICW, Christian Ministry as well as Family Advocacy, is interested in the total well-being of the individual and Family. CAICW is the only national organization advocating for families who have lost or are at risk of losing children due to misapplied and sometimes illegal application of Indian Law.

– CAICW has been advocating for families affected by the Indian law since 2004.
– Children have been removed from safe, loving homes and been placed into dangerous situations.
Indian and non-Indian families have felt threatened by tribal government. Some have had to mortgage homes and endure lengthy legal processes to protect their children.
Equal opportunities for adoption, safety and stability are not available to children of all heritages.
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 many cases been denied.

Please share these links with others:


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


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


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


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


TWITTER: http://twitter.com/CAICW


EMAIL: administrator@caicw.org.

Hurting from ICWA? Help now on Facebook – CAICW

 Comments Off on Hurting from ICWA? Help now on Facebook – CAICW
Oct 252010
 
Follow CAICW on Twitter  
 

Though proponents of the ICWA argue that the act has safeguards to prevent misuse, scores of multi-racial children have been hurt by misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. These children and their families need encouragement, prayer, and legal help. The biggest way for all of us to help these families is to spread the letters posted on caicw.org (https://www.caicw.org/familystories.html) and let the rest of America know what is going on.

Please help us by sharing the cause!


CAICW is the only National organization advocating for families faced with loss of their children do to what amounts to a racial law. Our advocacy is both Judicial and Legislative as well as being a prayer resource for the families and a shoulder to cry on.

I’d like to encourage families to come to CAICW’s facebook page, where they can connect with other families and discuss, encourage, share insights, share case law, share names of possible attorney’s, and pray for each other.

If you know families hurt by ICWA, please share this.


We are also currently organizing a trip to DC for January, 2011 where we will meet with Gary Bauer of the American Values org, Dr. William Allen, the former Chair of the US Commission on Civil Rights, Senator Tom Coburn’s staff, and many more, to let them know of the problem, advocate for the families, and discuss initiatives that will protect these children. Join US!


Thanks so much for your support!

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


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


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


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


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


TWITTER: http://twitter.com/CAICW


EMAIL: administrator@caicw.org
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FaceBook Cause – Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare

 Comments Off on FaceBook Cause – Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare
Oct 232010
 

Please join the CAICW Cause as we work to support, encourage and protect   children. Educating others about how the Indian Child Wefare Act is hurting families is vital.

Simply passing the links on to others helps – because the more people that know – the more help we will eventually be able to get. And most people don’t know. When they read the stories, they are shocked to learn this type of thing is happening to children in the US.

And that’s the biggest need for us to begin with  – that other’s learn what is happening.

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