By Jimmy Lee Beason II, Osage Nation
In 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was legislated in order to protect Native children from being routinely adopted out to white families which was happening at a staggering rate during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Native families and in particular Native mothers, were constantly harassed, cajoled, and intimidated into giving up their children for adoption. This was part of the efforts of the Indian Adoption Project (IAP), which worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and state social service agencies.
However, the IAP was simply a continuation of America’s policy of forcibly assimilating Native children into White American value systems such as Christianity and individualism which was accomplished through the creation of so-called boarding schools.
The rationale was if the U.S. could stop Native children from being raised with their traditions among their family members, they would view American society in a favorable light and be less inclined to resist colonization and assimilate. Eventually, there were up to 350 of these institutions across the country with varying policies and rules. Many children experienced sexual, physical, and verbal abuse while they were there. Some children died and their families never seen them again.
Eventually, the boarding school experiment that served as the primary “educational” tool for Native children for years started to fizzle out during the 1940’s and 1950’s. The federal government began closing them down and the welfare of Native children moved from the federal government (via the BIA) to state agencies.
Around this same time, White middle class couples started inquiring with the BIA and state agencies about adopting Native children. White liberal ideas in America at the time viewed Native children in desperate need of “saving.” The BIA and state agencies also rationalized it would be cheaper and save money if they encouraged Native children to be put up for adoption. The idea was the adoptive parents would “fit the bill” in raising the child and the children would be assimilated into American society while enjoying all the “advantages” of upper middle-class life, as Native families were viewed as nothing more than “alcoholics” who lived in squalor.
However, this policy was pointless if Native mothers and families didn’t go along with it. So, the IAP and state agencies routinely tried to persuade and convince Native mothers to give up their children for adoption. Young Native mothers were frequently bullied and intimidated into signing away their parental rights.
Social service agencies also started using a set of criteria to determine when a child should be removed from the home. Poor health, inadequate housing, poverty, and lack of access to nourishing foods were seen as “neglect.” It was also rather common for grandparents, uncles, and aunts to help raise children as this was also a part of many tribal traditions. Instead of trying to assist the families as a whole, racist social workers viewed these circumstances as grounds for removing children.
All in all, during the three years the IAP was active, 395 Native children were placed with White families in New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Missouri. The majority of the children came from Arizona, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Eventually, the cases of Native children being adopted out was becoming a real problem, aside from the IAP. Up to 35% of all Native children were being taken from their homes and of this, 85% were sent to live with White families far away from their tribal communities, even when there were relatives willing to take them in.
In order to rectify this issue, congressional hearings were held where testimony from Native mothers and families were heard. As a result, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 with the intention to “protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families.”
Instead of automatically sending Native children to live with White families, ICWA requires social service agencies to contact the tribe and make every effort to place the child with extended family members, other tribal members, or other Natives.
ICWA is not perfect, but it still remains a necessary component in ensuring Native children are being raised by Native parents to remedy the traumatic legacy of the so-called boarding schools. However, as of this writing, the case, Texas v. Haaland, is set to be heard by the Supreme Court where ICWA could be deemed “unconstitutional” and overturned. If this happens, it will be just another example of how American continues to undermine and harm Indigenous people with little consequence. Hopefully, it will remain intact.
