Do you agree that Native American children?

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Ta-Zu (&Miku)	Not really. Children in general, should be given homes to people who will love and care about them. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Theresu	No my son is African and i am Caucasian, i will not forcing him into anything. if he wants to stay with his culture he can. if not then he doesn't have to Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Anastasia's Mommy	I think that it doesn't matter either way. If you said that, then only caucasian babies should stay with caucasians, and african american babies should stay with african american families... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

♥Charlie loves Lucas♥	what I think is that question is totally racist Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

windowizard	If an adoptive home is available; YES. If NO adoptive home is available but foster care is: ABSOLUTELY NOT! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

meezha	I think their culture and history should be preserved and taught to them, but I don't see why caring parents of any race wouldn't be able to do that. I plan to adopt eventually and plan to involve myself very throughly in the culture from which my child(ren) will come. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Crucio	If possible but if a NA family is not available for foster or adoption. Then I wouldn’t see anything wrong with adopting / fostering with non-Native Americans. Anyone can teach someone about a culture. I had a teacher she was white but taught Native American classes, she also frequently went to pow wows and other Native American events. I don’t blame the Natives for wanting to foster and adopt first priority with in the NA community. The white man treated the Indians extremely poorly, even took their children to Schools to de-Indianize them. (Watch movie The Education of Little Tree), Similar happen to the Native Australians. That said again a non-Native can teach a child about their Native Customs and heritage. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Marie C	Yes; but I also think that if children of ANY culture must be in a foster home or adoptive home, the first choice would be to place them in a home with a family of their own culture. Naturally this is not always possible, but at the very least, I think that an adoptive family who has a child of a different culture or race placed with them should also adopt at least one more sibling of the same race/culture as their child. My children are Asian and I am caucasian, but there are three of them, and only one of me, in our household. They are very comfortable with their race and ethnicity, and I suspect that it's at least partly because their white mom is the minority in our house. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Retail slave	YES they need to retain their own language and culture . Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mom to Foster Children	As an adoptive mother to a Native American child (1/4 Omaha tribe) this is what I have to say.... Yes, but depending on the tribe / situation and the involvment of the parents themselves in the tribe. My son's family (father) was Native American and our son became a part of the tribe in the middle of the TPR. The tribe sort of looked down on this as why now - if the parents thought the tribe was so important to him why not enroll him sooner? The tribe did their "legalities" and faded out of the picture. Since the adoption - we have tried to obtain information about our son's tribal family - but with no luck. Professionals and experts who were in court were giving us names and numbers for us to call and email them to get answers we were looking for as we want to teach him his heritage all through the hearing. Once the hearing was over - they wouldn't return phone calls - nothing...so in our eyes it's the tribe that is not allowing us to teach him his heritage other than what we find in books and pow wow's and such! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Lisa	I think children should be placed with a family that can take care of them best regardless of race. I do believe though that if a child is placed in a family of a different race the foster/adoptive parents should be required to teach the child about their culture. I just have a hard time with the Native American rule since I am white and my daughter is half Lakota. I have sole custody. If custody matters fell into this, basically they're saying that my daughter should be raised by her father since he is Native and i'm not. Considering he used to threaten to kill her I really don't see how that would have been in her best interest. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Giles L	The Iroquois (six Nations) and Huron Indians were constantly at war. The Iroquois would adopt kidnapped children and some acceptable adults (even black and white ones) to replenish their decimated numbers. These people were of completely different customs, culture, language, and colour. Yet, some of these adoptees became great warriors and were highly reguarded by their new parents and tribe. Still, their own cultures were as different as could be. Is white culture ny better? Worse? As you can readily see from the above, "culture" is strictly in the eye of the beholder. What is not interchangeable, cannot be modified, cannot mislead, is one's influencing genetic inheritance. This --and only this-- is the root of the issue.Every child's genetic potential will shine through every single time for it cannot be prevented. To be poor or rich in a white or NA family will change nothing which is not already existent in the child's potential, neither could new genes be added to any child except by cross-breeding. In fact, it would be good to mix genes a little (not totally, to save the races from extermination), being that neither colour is above the other. Adoption is a gift, not a swindle. Whom among you is too special to be adopted? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Flying Monkey #073177	I think my two friends, Robin and Shawn, could answer this better than I can even hope to. They are apples... red on the outside and white on the inside. First Nation's people raised by whites in the white world. Robin is deeply disturbed by drums and Shawn denied his heritage for many years, telling other's he was Spanish. How badly do you have to hate your own culture, or yourself, to try to pass yourself off as something you aren't or to hold a fear as silly as a drum beat? I have a small amount of First Nation blood coursing through my veins and I am deeply affected by it. I see and sense it in how I view the world around me on a daily basis. I know nothing of that heritage or culture though Robin and I have agreed to at least one sweat a year and that we will take our children to cultural observations whenever possible. Her husband is also First Nation raised by a white mother, he has more culture though as his father is a very well respected artist in the native community. We all hope to learn more through his father. Love can conquer many things but is can not substitute a solid cultural foundation. It is sad how many children grow up hating their own heritage because of the foul way native Canadians and Americans are viewed by their white counterparts. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Why are people so blind?	IF possible yes. Any state or private agency responsible for placing foster children tries to put them in homes that share their ethnicity. Whether american indian or not. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

♥♥Rita♥♥	In a sense, yes I do. Whenever possible and if in the best interest of the child/ren. If a child cannot be placed with their own family, Tribe or another Tribal member, then placement should not be held up and permanency for the child should not be delayed so ICWA can be followed. If the child/ren cannot be placed within the guidelines of the ICWA, then every effort should be made to ensure they are enrolled members so that when they are the age of majority they can pursue learning about their heritage and also so they can participate within the Tribe as well as receive services where applicable. These kids are members of two Nations.....that should be preserved whenever possible.....but not at the cost of ripping children away from familiarity or by keeping them in custody so they age out because a Tribal family could not be located. Tribal conflict where children are involved can be really easy going or really nasty. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mom of two	If possible, yes. I recently found out that our boys are native american. They are not full blood, their birth mom has a lot of relatives living on and near reservations, but she is not involved with that aspect of her heritage at all nor has she chosen to get any kind of tribal affiliation. We just found out and are planning on becoming involved in our area so they can learn about part of their heritage. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jennifer L	Whenever possible, yes. But the tribal government also has an obligation to ensure that those homes are safe and stable. I believe that a safe and stable home with a family of a different race and culture is preferable to an unsafe and unstable home within the child's own race and culture. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Arissa J	yes if possible Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Asher has a toddler!!!!	Wow, that's a touchy subject but I think they'd miss out on a lot of their heritage if they weren't. I think we should all know more about where we came from and what shaped our ancestors. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Melissa	If it's possible, yes. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

MamaKate	Dear Lillie, I do- with a caveat. Whenever possible, children should be kept by loving and fit families that can retain the child's ethnic roots - preferably their own biological ones (even if they are extended). I believe this for children of all cultures but especially for ones where their heritage has all but been eradicated. What has been done to the Native Americans is deplorable and it is happening to all sorts of cultures. (Genocide is a nasty, nasty thing.) Culture is an important part of our human histories and should be preserved and incorporated into our educations. Caveat: This being said, I do believe it is possible for people to love across ethnic lines - especially when it comes to children. I do not, in any way, advocate intolerance or segregation but I DO believe heritage is an important part of identity. I think that there are exceptions (as no "rule" ever covers every possible situation) and that it is possible for people to raise children of different ethnic backgrounds but I do not believe it is something that can be done well without tremendous diligence, effort, knowledge and sensitivity on the part of the parents/guardians/caretakers. I commend and admire people who take such great pains for the children they love, but I do think that efforts should be made to keep children as in touch with heritage and culture as possible - as long as it is within a loving and capable situation. JMHO. PS Laurel J. - Great answer! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Freckle Face	Dear Lillie, Yes! In lines with what Maybe said, it is very hard to teach a culture that you know little about. It ends up being false no matter how good your intentions are or how much effort you put into it. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ed C. (SFECU)	Most definitely, as a nation we have robbed Native Americans of their land and have tried to assimilate them.- Every child has the right to their own heritage and their own people. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Anha S	Yes. Wholeheartedly yes. Maybe its because I'm coming at this from the perspective of a First Nations woman who is now an outsider looking in on her own culture, language, customs, and way of life. The loss of my band rights are just icing on the cake to the entire loss of the adoption experience. Its not just me missing out. My daughters are missing out on their birthright too. Just because I was taken out of my culture. I dont deny that people are able to love and raise a child not of their ethnic group. However, I don't think a lot of people truly understand what it is like to try to return to what is rightfully yours and find it's been stripped away along with everything else, upon being adopted by a white family, you became white too. I could complain about my band's dynamics, laws, and reasons too. But that doesn't lessen the blow any. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Kanien:kaha'ka	YES! there is a law requiring it as well. its called the indian child welfare act (ICWA) here is the reason why... for over a hundred years up until the 1980s, it was government policy to forcefully remove native infants from loving homes and place them with white families. this was an attempt to "kill the indian, save the child" and decimate our culture. our children were also taken away and forced to go to government funded, church run boarding schools where thousands died from abuse, neglect and medical experiments. the result is many of our nations have lost generations...those stolen from us. many people today are just now finding their way back to us..to be reunited with families who never wanted to give them up. after a long struggle, we managed to get a law passed to protect our children from this ever happening again. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Not Adopted	Absolutely. They have been injured enough by social engineering, we have a duty to keep these families together. ETA: Everyone assumes that if you adopt a child of another race/ethnicity, it will be a snap to "embrace that child's culture." To those folks, I say you're in dream land. Since you were not raised in the child's culture you will know next to nothing about it, other than what you read or see on the tube. You will only be able to provide the most superficial aspects of the culture. The child will then be caught trying to straddle two worlds and may end up uncomfortable with both. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

opedial	Yes, First Nations families should be kept together or in their culture wherever possible. The difference, especially in Canada, is that their were two major assimilation attempts on American Indians/First Nations. The first was the residential school system, where most First Nations children were sent to live and be assimilated into white society. Their were many abuses that occured, and an entire system of intergenerational effects were causes as a result. The Canadian Prime Minister has even publically apologized for these atrocities. The second attempt at assimilation was the sixties scoop, where there was a government mandate to give social workers full control to take Aboriginal children away from their families if they found the home to be unfit. Given the cultural differences, and the already beginnings of the effects of residential systems, children were taken away enmasse and sent to non ABoriginal homes for foster care and adoption. Some were even shipped overseas! So given this history, the more ABoriginal children that move to non-Aboriginal homes, the more of a cultural break between them and their culture, and worse, the further assimilation of Aboriginal people into non-Aboriginal culture. If continued, 100 years of assimilation attempts (not to mention land stealing, rape and other atrocities that occured before this time) will be successful. As well, in Aboriginal culture, there are specific healing paths and raising of children that will differ from mainstream culture, and cannot be duplicated. So yes, I agree they should be kept within their own culture, in order for that culture to not be eliminated. ETA: RAndy, I am shocked by your answer, given you are from Canada. Please look into the history of our people, and then answer again! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

MTC_005	Yes...absolutely because it is important for a group to remember their heritage. America is a melting pot and I think that is wrong to assimilate all cultures into our own obese, McDonald-eating, t.v. obsessed culture. I can really see why other countries dislike us so much. We have little tolerance for people unlike our own...sad. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

furfur	I really think that every effort needs to be made to keep a child within their own culture, be it Native American, Asian or whatever. Just as I run into people that are ignorant of Native American culture, I am every bit as ignorant when it comes to truly understanding another continent's culture. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Laurel J	YES, a thousand times. Every child should retain his/her culture when possible, but especially children of aboriginal cultures. There are not many Native American full bloods left thanks to our blood quanta standards. These are people who have, in many cases, lost their lifeways, language, land, culture--everything. In return, we gave them smallpox, reservations, shame, hard liquor--and in some cases, unconsented-to sterilizations. Now we expect to raise their children? This country is already full of Native Americans and mixed-bloods desperate to reconnect with the heritage their upbringing in white homes denied them. Enough is enough. Taking Native Americans out of their cultures when it isn't absolutely necessary is a facet of the genocide we've been practicing on them for hundreds of years now. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Gaia Raain II	Yes. I am Native American, but I have absolutely no connection in my real life to my heritage. I assumed that we had some kind of record of our Native American roots. I found out last year HOW we are related. When white settlers decided they wanted my tribe's land, they killed all the adults in the village and took the children to raise as their own. That took awhile to sink in. My Native American roots are something I have always been intensely proud of. It was always a topic of conversation in my family. But THIS connection...this is not something to be proud of. It is horrifying. And because of it, I have no documentation, and I am not accepted by the Native American community. I have no "real life" connection to my roots. All I have is the facts listed above. Oh and some books I bought. This is the only part of my heritage that I strongly identify with, but it is the part of my heritage I know and understand the least about. Having that taken from my family, from my ancestors, and most especially from the children in that village on THAT day is horrible. I will never truly know who I am because I have been cut off from my heritage, my culture, LOOONG before I had any say. I would not do that to another child. Even if that one child didn't care, maybe someone 15 generations later would. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No