““Every child deserves to grow up knowing where they come from and who their people are. That’s not just culture. That’s identity.”
— Chrissi Nimmo, Cherokee Nation Deputy Attorney General
Helpful Links
More Information about ICWA: https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/dhs/icwa
Important statistics on multiracial adoption: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/264526/MEPA-Graphical-Factsheet.pdf
Information to consider when adopting Native children: https://adoptuskids.org/adoption-and-foster-care/overview/who-can-adopt-foster/families-for-native-children
Multiracial vs. Interracial adoption: https://www.adoptionchoicesofnevada.org/the-difference-between-multiracial-transracial-and-interracial-adoptions/
Other Articles
Books To Read
What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption by Melissa Guida-Richards is a candid, eye-opening guide that challenges white adoptive parents to move beyond colorblindness and fully engage with the racial realities their adopted children face. Drawing from her own experience as a transracial adoptee, Guida-Richards explores issues like identity, cultural erasure, racism, and the importance of maintaining connections to a child’s birth culture. The book emphasizes that love alone isn’t enough—white parents must actively educate themselves, confront their own biases, and advocate for their children in a racially unequal world.
Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption by Susan Devan Harness is a powerful, deeply personal account of the author’s experience as a Native American child adopted by a white family during a time when many Indigenous children were systematically removed from their communities. Raised in a household that denied her cultural identity and left her feeling isolated and ashamed of her Native roots, Harness embarks on a journey to reconnect with her biological family, her tribe, and herself. The memoir explores themes of identity, belonging, racism, and the lasting impacts of transracial adoption, all while shedding light on the broader historical and political context of Native child removal in the U.S. Through raw honesty and reflection, Harness offers a compelling look at what it means to reclaim a stolen heritage.
Adoption’s Hidden History: From Native American Tribes to Locked Lives by Lori Carangelo reveals the often-overlooked and unsettling history of adoption in the United States, beginning with the forced removal of Native American children from their families and extending to broader systems that have separated millions from their roots. The book examines how adoption has been used as a tool for cultural erasure, control, and secrecy, especially for marginalized communities. Drawing on historical records, personal stories, and policy analysis, Carangelo exposes how sealed records and closed systems have kept adoptees in the dark about their identities and rights.
A Generation Removed: The Fostering and Adoption of Indigenous Children in the Postwar World by Margaret D. Jacobs explores the widespread removal of Native American children from their families by government and religious agencies in the mid-20th century. Through extensive research and personal accounts, Jacobs reveals how these practices, often justified as child welfare, were in fact acts of cultural assimilation that disrupted tribal communities and violated Indigenous sovereignty. The book highlights how these removals were part of a broader pattern of settler colonialism and calls attention to the resilience of Native communities fighting to protect their children and preserve their cultures.
