The Indian Child Welfare Act Turns 41
There are also two recent films related to ICWA that are making their way across the country: “Dawnland” and “Blood Memory.”
“The Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law outlining adoption and foster care regulations for American Indian/Alaska Native children in the United States, turns 41 on Nov. 8, 2019.
ICWA, as the law is commonly known, has faced dozens of legal challenges over its lifetime and finds supporters and opponents both within and outside Native communities. Like all Indian law, ICWA is complicated; according to its authors, this is largely due to the complex political relationship between the United States government and sovereign tribes. ICWA also reflects the complexity often found in family dynamics and the twisting narratives that accompany any report of child abuse or neglect.”
Continue reading at The Imprint.
'Dawnland' Tells Of The Taking Of Native American Children In Maine
Listen to an interview between Adam Mazo, Dawn Neptune Adams, and Anthony Brooks from WBUR.
“The documentary "Dawnland" tells the story of the state of Maine's effort to come to terms with a shockingly shameful part of its history, when state welfare workers removed Indian children from their families and placed them in foster care.
The film follows the work of the state's Truth And Reconciliation Commission, set up in 2012, which gathered stories from the state's indigenous people.”
Listen at WBUR.
Yarmouth Removes 1929 Plaque With Derogatory Language From Cemetery
‘“The historical marker was brought to my attention by members of the community who were preparing to make a presentation of Dawnland at the local library, and thought it was inconsistent with the message and intentions of today and values of today, and asked if I would remove it because the town owns the cemetery,” Tupper says.”
“The town of Yarmouth has removed a 90-year-old cemetery plaque that referred to Native American people as “savage enemies.”
Yarmouth Town Manager Nat Tupper says he did not know the marker existed, but that once it was determined that the plaque was a historical marker and not a gravestone marker, it was “not a complex matter to simply unscrew it.”
“The historical marker was brought to my attention by members of the community who were preparing to make a presentation of Dawnland at the local library, and thought it was inconsistent with the message and intentions of today and values of today, and asked if I would remove it because the town owns the cemetery,” Tupper says.
The plaque was removed from the cemetery Feb. 7.”
Continue reading and listen at Maine Public.
Livestream 'Dawnland' and Discussion With Indigenous Activists
“Watch as the documentary’s stars, Esther Anne and Dawn Neptune Adams, join the filmmakers for a live screening, concert and panel discussion.”
“Those who missed “Dawnland” when it aired via PBS last month can now see the movie and engage with its filmmakers and stars via livestream. Directing team Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip join Esther Anne and Dawn Neptune Adams for a special screening, musical performance and panel discussion at the University of Southern Maine this evening (December 5).
Mazo and Pender-Cudlip’s documentary captured the interworkings of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which tackled the ways United States child welfare institutions have harmed Indigenous children. The filmmakers documented the process at the invitation of Wabanaki tribal leaders and Maine-Wabanaki REACH, an organization that fights for Wabanaki autonomy.”
Continue reading at ColorLines.
10 Films That Show How the U.S. Has Mistreated Native Americans and Alaska Natives
“Educate yourself during this Thanksgiving season.”
“For the most part, everything that people are typically taught about Thanksgiving is wrong — unless craft hour is skipped over and they're taught that Thanksgiving is a holiday with roots in the mass killings of millions of Indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, many American public schools still teach a romanticized version of Thanksgiving instead of the true history of what actually went down during the first meetings between Natives and colonizers. Those misconceptions can change by having people not only learn the real history behind Thanksgiving, but also the history of the systematic oppression of Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United States. This November, in the spirit of “Truthsgiving” and Native American Heritage Month, check out these 10 films and documentaries that put a spotlight on how the United States has wronged the Indigenous peoples of the Americas throughout history.”
Continue reading at Teen Vogue.
The People of the Dawn
“DAWNLAND - An untold story of Native American child removal, the stakes of family separation policy are no less than cultural survival.”
“DAWNLAND - An untold story of Native American child removal, the stakes of family separation policy are no less than cultural survival.
They were forced to assimilate into white society: children ripped away from their families, depriving them of their culture and erasing their identities. Can reconciliation help heal the scars from childhoods lost? Dawnland is the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the US through the nation's first-ever government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission, which investigated the devastating impact of Maineís child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people. The Wabanaki are the people who are there to greet the light, "the people of the dawn," in the upper Northeast. For decades, Maineís child welfare system placed Wabanaki children in foster or adoptive homes under the presumption that assimilating into white society would improve their quality of life and give them a better future. Many children in the system suffered untold physical and psychological abuse. Their story brings to light how getting to the heart of the truth can offer a flicker of hope.”
Continue reading at WJCT News.
'Dawnland' documents untold story of Native American child removal in the U.S.
‘“Dawnland” not only exposes the truth of what happened in Maine, but also provides the opportunity to raise awareness of this nation-wide issue, which continues to impact families and children.”
““Dawnland,” a documentary which will begin streaming Nov. 6, follows the first government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission in the U.S. as Maine investigates the devastating impacts of Native American child removal.
“Dawnland” is premiering on the PBS series Independent Lens, as part of November Native American Heritage Month programming.
The investigation by the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission represented a groundbreaking moment in the history of tribal-state relations and its goal was to uncover and acknowledge the truth about what happened to Wabanaki children and families involved with the Maine welfare system.”
Continue reading at the Navajo-Hopi Observer.
‘Dawnland’ Documents Healing Process For Native Americans Taken From Maine Homes
“Maine Calling Host Jennifer Rooks spoke with Dawn Neptune Adams, a Penobscot who was taken and placed in foster care by the state of Maine. She also spoke with Esther Anne, a Passamaquoddy who served on the commission, and with filmmaker Adam Mazo.”
“The documentary “Dawnland” tells the story of Native American children who for the better part of the 20th century had been taken from their families and placed in foster care with white families. Many experienced abuse and were stripped of their cultural identity.
The film also tells the story of the first truth and reconciliation commission for Native people, which was launched in Maine.
“Dawnland” airs nationwide Monday night as part of the PBS series “Independent Lens.”
Maine Calling Host Jennifer Rooks spoke with Dawn Neptune Adams, a Penobscot who was taken and placed in foster care by the state of Maine. She also spoke with Esther Anne, a Passamaquoddy who served on the commission, and with filmmaker Adam Mazo, who says the inspiration for the film was a news story on the commission produced by Maine Public Radio more than five years ago.”
Continue reading and listen at Maine Public.