A Child of the Indian Race: A Conversation with Sandy White Hawk

Part Two: A song for orphans

On this week’s podcast, we begin a two-part interview between Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears and Sandy White Hawk, author of the recently released memoir A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return. White Hawk’s recounts her own adoption story, which began in 1955, decades before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to protect Indigenous families from being separated. 

This conversation comes just months after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case called Brackeen v. Haaland, in which several non-Indigenous families and the State of Texas have claimed that ICWA is unconstitutional. A decision in the case is expected to be delivered this summer.

Guest Interview Details

Sandy White Hawk is a Sicangu Lakota adoptee from the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. She is the founder and director of First Nations Repatriation Institute

Reading Room

An Indigenous Adoptee Reclaims Her Culture http://bit.ly/3YI0oF9 First-of-its-kind Survey Examines Trauma and Healing Among Indigenous Survivors of Family Separation http://bit.ly/3e3XHfd How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court http://bit.ly/3VLeS6k The Imprint’s Coverage of Brackeen v. Haaland http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy

A Child of the Indian Race: A Conversation with Sandy White Hawk

Part One: “Here’s Your Mother…She’s Been Waiting for You”

On this week’s podcast, we begin a two-part interview between Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears and Sandy White Hawk, author of the recently released memoir A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return. White Hawk recounts her own adoption story, which began in 1955, decades before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to protect Indigenous families from being separated.

This conversation comes just months after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case called Brackeen v. Haaland, in which several non-Indigenous families and the State of Texas have claimed that ICWA is unconstitutional. A decision in the case is expected to be delivered this summer.

Guest Interview Details

Sandy White Hawk is a Sicangu Lakota adoptee from the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. She is the founder and director of First Nations Repatriation Institute

Reading Room

An Indigenous Adoptee Reclaims Her Culture http://bit.ly/3YI0oF9 First-of-its-kind Survey Examines Trauma and Healing Among Indigenous Survivors of Family Separation http://bit.ly/3e3XHfd How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court http://bit.ly/3VLeS6k The Imprint’s Coverage of Brackeen v. Haaland http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy

Election Night for Youth and Families; Five Scenes from Brackeen v. Haaland

Youth-related funding and policy was on the ballot in several states last week, and Olivia Allen of the Children’s Funding Project joins to help us break down what happened with those measures.

Then, we break down five different exchanges that capture the essence of the Supreme Court’s three hour oral arguments over the Indian Child Welfare Act last Wednesday, and share some thoughts on what seemed to be on the mind of the likely “swing votes” in the case.

Guest Interview Details

Olivia Allen is the strategy director of the D.C.-based Children’s Funding Project. She joined us to discuss the details and outcomes for six funding measures on the ballot in various states and counties this year, and talk about the push for more states to enable local children’s funding mechanisms.

Reading Room

What’s On The Ballot for Youth and Families https://bit.ly/3DJpLxi Supreme Court Probes Constitutionality of Indian Child Welfare Act https://bit.ly/3NQ50F3 In Prayer and Protest, People of Indian Country Gather Outside the Supreme Court to Defend the Indian Child Welfare Act https://bit.ly/3hvL0Lz Brackeen v. Haaland: The Imprint’s Coverage from 2018-Present http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy

Understanding ICWA Part 4: What’s At Stake in Brackeen v. Haaland

The number of youth in foster care is below 400,000 for the first time in nearly a decade. On this week’s podcast, we break down the new data released by the Department of Health and Human Services, Florida’s ban on trans medicine for minors, and the worsening news out of Louisiana’s juvenile justice system.

Guest Interview Details

Kate Fort, director of clinics at the Michigan State University College of Law, joins us to break down the constitutional questions and potential outcomes of Brackeen v. Haaland, which could decide the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Reading Room

Number of Youth in Foster Care Dropped Again in 2021 https://bit.ly/3zB8YLL Florida to Ban Transgender Health Care Treatments for Minors https://bit.ly/3E747Vu Dying Inside: Chaos and Cruelty in Louisiana Juvenile Detention Center https://nyti.ms/3TbkYuv Louisiana Governor Calls for Inquiry Into Abuses at Juvenile Detention Center https://nyti.ms/3hgacWw Listen to Oral Arguments in Brackeen v. Haaland https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/oral_arguments.aspx The Fate of Indian Child Welfare Before the Supreme Court: Race, Commerce and Commandeering https://bit.ly/3sQN1Vj The Imprint’s Coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa

Understanding ICWA Part 3: Placement Preferences, with Chrissi Ross Nimmo

On this week’s podcast we discuss a landmark case out of New York over the rights of biological parents, connecting homeless children to early childhood programs, a federal end-around on monitoring unaccompanied minors, an AI Bill of Rights, and the placement preferences required by ICWA.

Guest Interview Details

Chrissi Ross Nimmo, deputy attorney general of Cherokee Nation, joins us to discuss the placement preferences required by the Indian Child Welfare Act when a child is going to be adopted or placed in foster care.

Reading Room

New York High Court Favors Out-of-State Parents Seeking Custody of Foster Children https://bit.ly/3W9JVJu Michigan Children Without Homes Rarely Enrolled in Early Learning Programs https://bit.ly/3UcbxMk Infant and Toddler Homelessness: Report Coming Soon https://schoolhouseconnection.org/infant-and-toddler-homelessness/ Biden Administration Wants to Take Over Monitoring of Unaccompanied Minors in Florida, Texas https://bit.ly/3Dh9HCM White House Issues Plan for Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights https://bit.ly/3TaDp2J The Imprint’s Archive of coverage on the Indian Child Welfare Act https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa Imprint Weekly Podcast, April 2021: Is the Indian Child Welfare Act Headed Back to the Supreme Court? Featuring Chrissi Ross Nimmo https://bit.ly/3d9p1FP

Understanding ICWA Part 2: Qualified Expert Witnesses, with Tara Reynon

On this week’s podcast we discuss Maine’s legislature suing its child welfare agency over fatality records, the Angola transfer begins in Louisiana, and what low-income families used the enhanced child tax credit for.

Guest Interview Details

Tara Reynon, a member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and child welfare director for the National Indian Child Welfare Association, joins to discuss the role of qualified expert witnesses when Native children face family separation or termination of parental rights. 

Reading Room

How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court https://bit.ly/3VLeS6k Maine Lawmakers Vote to Sue DHHS in Bid to See Child Protective Records https://bit.ly/3CZWKgL L.A. County Reaches $32 Million Settlement in Anthony Avalos Case https://bit.ly/3MGk8nT New York Officials, Advocates Debate Youth Justice Reform Amid Crime Fears https://bit.ly/3TK8UkH Louisiana Begins Moving Child Inmates to Notorious Angola Prison’s Former Death Row Unit https://yhoo.it/3CYR1I2 Freedom to Dream: A World Without Family Policing https://upendmovement.org/event/virtual-convening2022/ Evidence from the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit https://bit.ly/3z6opvi

Understanding ICWA Part 1: Active Efforts, with Shannon Smith

On this week’s podcast we discuss a scandal that sparked new mandated reporting laws, the Biden administration’s kinship care ideas, and a new adoption information system in Ireland.

Guest Interview Details

Shannon Smith of Minnesota’s ICWA Law Center joins us to talk about the active efforts provision of the Indian Child Welfare Act something she sees in play everyday in one of America’s only ICWA courts.

Reading Room

Mandatory Reporting Was Supposed to Stop Severe Child Abuse. It Punishes Poor Families Instead. https://nbcnews.to/3yLi08p CPS Workers Search Millions of Homes a Year. A Mom Who Resisted Paid a Price. https://nbcnews.to/3TJcyeD Can ‘Kinship Care’ Help the Child Welfare System? The White House Wants to Try https://nyti.ms/3yKDJNV Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention https://bit.ly/3iL0U26 Prioritizing Kinship Care with Kim Clifton https://bit.ly/3EvWFSb Irish Leader Apologizes for Adoptions That ‘Robbed Children’ of Their Identity https://nyti.ms/3VBAhij Ireland Opens Decades of Secret Records to Adoptees https://nyti.ms/3Vyrtdi A Seattle Agency Digs Deep into Unanswered Questions About Past Adoption Practices, and its Obligations to Families https://bit.ly/30I2KLO Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together https://bit.ly/2QwINme Supreme Court Set to Consider Fate Of Indian Child Welfare Act in November https://bit.ly/3BIVPlC

The Indian Child Welfare Act: What’s At Stake with Brackeen v. Haaland

We discuss the latest developments in the fight in Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to treat medical services for transgender youth as abuse, a major lawsuit over sexual abuse in L.A.’s juvenile justice system, hidden foster care in North Carolina, and more. 

Guest Interview Details

Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of the podcast This Land, joins to help us break down the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case about the Indian Child Welfare Act, and what’s riding on their decision for Native American kids and families.

Reading Room

Free Event! Better Tech, Better Outcomes: How Technology Collaboration Can Improve Foster Care Thursday, March 17 – 11am PST, 2pm EST Register: bit.ly/techchildwelfare The Imprint Tracks Political Actions Against LGBTQ Youth in Texas https://bit.ly/3tNGIBP The Imprint Tracks Political Actions Against LGBTQ Youth in Texas https://bit.ly/3pXHGdU ‘Delete this form and never use again.’ DSS agencies remove kids without judge’s order. https://bit.ly/3q0L9bD Calls to Roll Back Raise the Age Laws Reach NY Statehouse, But Find Little Traction https://bit.ly/3hRklWB Don’t Let Foster Care Contracts Open a Back Door to Discrimination https://bit.ly/35MbKSB The Imprint’s coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa

“Decolonization Is Only The Beginning”: Indigenous Child Welfare in Canada

On this week’s podcast we discuss what was on Senators’ minds during the confirmation hearing for Biden’s top child welfare officials; more federal scrutiny on for-profit colleges; and the human consequences of family court shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

Guest Interview Details

Last month, the Canadian government announced a historic, $31.5 billion agreement with Indigenous people to compensate them for three decades of discriminatory treatment by the child welfare system. Chief Cadmus Delorme of Cowessess First Nation joins to discuss the long, dark history that led to this settlement.

Reading Room

During Confirmation Hearing for Top Biden Child Welfare Officials, Senators Voice Their Own Priorities https://bit.ly/3gKAWe4 Confirmation Hearing of January Contreras and Rebecca Jones Gaston https://bit.ly/3Ls0dYV Consumer Finance Agency Digs Into Questionable Direct Student Loan Practices https://bit.ly/3uNwxzc Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Examine Colleges’ In-House Lending Practices https://bit.ly/3rNyZUs New York City Court Dysfunction Found to Have ‘Caused Harm to Thousands of Families’ https://bit.ly/3gGA0Y7 Historic $31.5 Billion Settlement to End First Nations Suits Against the Child Welfare System in Canada https://bit.ly/3JjL2Po

Families, Kids and Tribes: Rebecca Nagle on The Indian Child Welfare Act

On this week’s podcast we discuss new developments in the 2020 death of a teenager killed by staff at a Michigan residential center, state spending on post-permanency and the latest in The Imprint’s “Hidden Foster Care” series. 

Guest Interview Details

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 at a time when one-third of Native American children were separated from their families. Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of This Land, joins us to discuss the podcast’s new season about a major court case that could determine the future of ICWA.

Reading Room

Family of Foster Youth Slain by Staff at For-Profit Group Home Files $50 Million Federal Lawsuit https://bit.ly/3DmbW6a Better Data and Guidance Could Help States Reinvest Adoption Savings and Improve Federal Oversight https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-6.pdf Kinship Caregivers in D.C. Say Child Welfare Agency Owes Foster Payments https://bit.ly/3Da1uif California Foster Youth Must Make UBI Payments Work Along With Other Public Assistance https://bit.ly/3Ahc3ht This Land, Season 2 https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ The Nation’s First Family Separation Policy https://bit.ly/3AXykSt Indian Child Welfare Act Under Fire: Federal Judge Strikes Down 40-Year-Old Law, Appeals Could Lead to Supreme Court https://bit.ly/3Dr5Xgv Federal Court Ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act Goes in Several Directions https://bit.ly/3mvzWMX Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together https://bit.ly/2QwINme

Is The Indian Child Welfare Act Headed Back to the Supreme Court?

On this week’s podcast we discuss a portal to federal aid for former foster youth; a big juvenile probation reform proposal in California; and new leadership at a pioneer group for elevating parent voice in child welfare. 

Guest Interview Details

Chrissi Ross Nimmo, Deputy Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, joins us to discuss the massive and complicated federal opinion on the Indian Child Welfare Act, and its likely move to the Supreme Court. And Fostering Media Connections Founder Daniel Heimpel joins us for a “farewell” lookback on the media platform he created.

Reading Room

Arizona Launches Portal to Connect Former Foster Youth with Pandemic Relief https://bit.ly/2Q4BYrm California Weighs Plan to Shrink Probation Supervision Terms for Youth https://bit.ly/3fQ0qHG Parent-empowerment Group Rise Names New Leadership Duo https://bit.ly/322rNpU Federal Court Ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act Goes in Several Directions https://bit.ly/3mvzWMX Extending Foster Care Past Age 18 https://bit.ly/3mzDOfW UPCOMING EVENTS Unjust Roadblocks: How the Juvenile System Makes It Hard to Succeed April 13 / 1pm P/ 4pm E https://bit.ly/3u0V9kJ Transformation Points: Redesigning Child Welfare to Help Youth and Families Thrive April 29 / 11am P / 2pm E https://imprintnews.org/webinars