The Development of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Evelyn Lance Blanchard
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository American Studies ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 9-10-2010 To Prevent the Breakup of the Indian Family: The Development of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Evelyn Lance Blanchard Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds Recommended Citation Blanchard, Evelyn Lance. "To Prevent the Breakup of the Indian Family: The eD velopment of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.." (2010). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds/3 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Studies ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TO PREVENT THE BREAKUP OF THE INDIAN FAMILY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978 BY EVELYN LANCE BLANCHARD B.A., Sociology, The University of New Mexico, 1962 M.S.W., Social Work, University of Denver, 1969 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July, 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the work of promises kept to many children, who throughout my forty plus years serving as an advocate for them and their families have, time and again, asked me to tell their stories. They wanted their voices to be heard, not only so that others would understand their loss and pain, but also that others would come to comprehend the commanding influence of powerful forces, often biased and uninformed, which determined their lives. It is also in recognition of the many other advocates with whom I have worked from the earliest days of the Act‘s development. Special attention must go to my cherished friendship with Joseph DeLaCruz, who as President of the Quinault Nation, assisted me to gain access to tribal and Indian organization leadership throughout the country. He also introduced me to Goldie Denney, Quinault Director of Social Services, who would become the most precious of friends and a constant companion in the work to reverse the destructive thinking and practices that had served to destroy so many Indian families. Without the help of Bertram Hirsch‘s fierce commitment to correct injustices and his command of the law, I would not have been able to help return children to their families and tribes as an expert witness. It is an undeniable fact that this dissertation would not have been completed without the guidance and support of M. Jane Young and Margaret Connell Szasz, whom I place among those rare and special educators, who believe in their students and unselfishly dedicate their time and effort to students‘ success. For almost half a century, Samuel Roll has been a mainstay in the work I have been called to do. His deep understanding of iii human behavior and devotion to the integrity of family life have equipped and guided me to convince courts throughout the United States and Canada of the importance of familial relationship and the significance of the child‘s connection to tribal heritage. It is a special privilege to have Gerald Vizenor as a member of my committee. Gerald‘s voice, heard throughout the world, has insisted that the cloak of romanticism be torn away to expose the fallacy of the convictions of many, that Indian children would be better off reared by others than their families and tribes. And lastly, my most heartfelt appreciation goes to my children, Stanton Lance and Kim Lance, whose great sacrifice during important years of their development, allowed me to do the work I have done that made it possible for many children to return to their families and people. iv TO PREVENT THE BREAKUP OF THE INDIAN FAMILY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978 BY EVELYN LANCE BLANCHARD ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July, 2010 TO PREVENT THE BREAKUP OF THE INDIAN FAMILY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978 BY EVELYN LANCE BLANCHARD B.A., Sociology, The University of New Mexico, 1962 M.S.W., Social Work, University of Denver, 1969 Ph.D., American Studies, The University of New Mexico, 2010 ABSTRACT This dissertation is the story of the destruction of Indian families as told to Congress in hearings held by the Sub-Committee on Indian Affairs in 1974 and the Select Committee on Indian Affairs in 1977 through the testimony of children, parents, Indian leadership, the Association on American Indian Affairs, psychological witnesses, and other advocates who opposed destructive child welfare practices. Their testimony described the illegal removal of Indian children, the exploitation of families through violation of their due process rights, the tragedy of children who were abused and neglected in placement, the psychological damage suffered by the children and their families, and the failure and neglect of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to protect the rights of Indian people as required by law. The litany of longstanding abusive practices revealed that one out of every four Indian children had been removed from her or his parents or extended family members in whose care they had been left, and that eighty-five percent of these children had been placed in non-Indian homes and institutions. Their testimony would convince Congress of the need to regulate the actions of state courts and public and private child welfare agencies to prevent the breakup of the Indian family. vi The testimony further revealed the federal government‘s continuing use of federal boarding schools as a primary resource for the placement of Indian children taken from families experiencing difficulties and its failure to provide services to these families, and for those children for whom local schools, near to their family homes, were not available. The federal boarding school system was established in the late 1800s to assimilate the Native people into mainstream society and to destroy tribal life. The Committees also heard from federal government witnesses who refused to accept their responsibility, and who strongly opposed enactment of laws to protect the integrity of Indian family life, despite clear evidence of the government‘s complicity in its destruction. Other witnesses who joined the government‘s opposition included representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who feared that a law to protect Indian families would interfere with its Student Placement Program in which over twenty-five hundred children were taken every school year into Mormon foster homes for educational purposes. The information provided to Congress formed the foundation for the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I: “Indignity was heaped upon indignity. .” ....................................................... 1 Chapter II: “. and it may be said of him, that his faults were those of an Indian, and his virtues were those of man.” ................................................................................ 24 Chapter III: “It has been called cultural genocide.” ........................................................ 58 Chapter III: When I look at our children, our Indian children, they are too few, but when one is taken away, that is too many. .............................................................. 93 Chapter IV: “. what it amounts to is that in lieu of subsidy for what used to be guns and soldiers we’re losing our kids by law, legislation and policy . .” ............... 118 Chapter V: “The human experiment of tampering with Indian children’s welfare and education for over 100 years has been for the most part a failure.” .................. 155 Chapter VI: “What has the Bureau done to protect the rights of mothers and children who suffer at these predatory practices?” ............................................................ 204 Chapter VII: “We’ve got to take care of these Indians because they don’t have enough education; they don’t have the skills.” .................................................................. 242 Chapter VIII: “To me, that is a ridiculous law.” ............................................................ 289 Appendix A Committees on Indian Affairs ..................................................................... 310 Appendix B Letter to the Editor of Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) ............ 311 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 313 Endnotes............................................................................................................................... 319 viii Chapter I: “Indignity was heaped upon indignity. .” Joe S. Sando, Jemez Pueblo Historian Cheryl DeCouteau testified to the Sub-Committee on Indian Affairs that the local welfare officials took her children from her because the man said: . I wasn‘t a very good mother . and that my children were better off being in a white home where they were adopted out, or in this home, wherever they were. They could buy all this stuff that I couldn‘t give them, and give them all the love that I couldn‘t give them. (U.S. Senate 1975, 66) On November 7, 1978 the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA, P.L. 95-608) became law. The intent of the law was to prevent the breakup of the