Historical Timeline And Context For Indian Child Welfare Practice Issues

Library: Cultural Competency

Historical Timeline And Context For Indian Child Welfare Practice Issues

Document Author: Prepared by Diane Payne, Children’s Justice Specialist, Tribal Law & Policy Institute, updated, May 2002
Date Posted: 6/02

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

European:

European invasion of homelands of Native people after centuries of indigenous community existence
European view of Native people as uncivilized, savage
European perception that Native children were unsupervised & untaught

European beliefs about children:

Children are to be seen/not heard
Spare the rod & you’ll spoil the child
Poor children sent to workhouses (contributed to the idea of children as property)

Native Peoples:

Emphasis on family, group, village – tribal cultural identity
Emphasis on spirituality
Learning through stories of the past
Emphasis on sharing rather than acquiring possessions

Native Peoples beliefs about children:

Native children regarded as gifts from Creator
Extended family responsibility/role in child raising & guidance
Kinship included “chosen” families as well as birth family
Different standards for maturity/immaturity

Native Values:

Knowledge of family tree
Domestic skills
Hunter success
Respect
Humility
Honoring Elders

THE HISTORICAL TIMELINE

Native American		Child Welfare
Colonial Years 1492 – 1776 Removal Period 1776 - 1830		Institutionalized care: orphanages, asylums – 1700’s Reacting to institutionalized care - Foster care movement – Mid 1800’s
Reservations & Treaties - 1831 – 1880 Allotment Era -1880 – 1930		Until late 1880’s children were transferred from family to family via property deeds
1880 – 1930: INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD ABUSE Boarding Schools Reservations Missionaries Families Separated		American families “rescued” Indian children following massacres and forced relocations (Read Lost Bird of Wounded Knee & Children of the Dragonfly) These links to Amazon will open in new window to return to CASAnet, close the wndow.
Indian Reorganization Act Era 1930 – 1950 BIA domination Boarding Schools continue Tribal constitutions Court of Indian offenses		Prior to 1930’s transracial adoptions were rare; stricter adoption laws led to “black market” adoptions by 1929
Native American Termination Era 1950 – 1970 Economic termination Relocation to cities Private adoptions Coercion to give up children		Child Abuse Protection Act 1974 passed
Self – Determination Era 1970 to present Sterilization of Indian Women 1960’s – 70’s By 1960’s Tribes lose more than 50% of children Indian Child Welfare Act drafts & hearings – 1972 – 1976; passed in 1978 Indian Religious Freedom Act passed		APRIL 2001: During the annual National Indian Child Welfare Conference in Anchorage Alaska, the Child Welfare League of America issued a public apology for their role in the massive removal of Native children from their families and communities

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