Adoption Of My Daughters And I Into The Tribe
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Adoption Of My Daughters And I Into The Tribe
Jeff Sanders, between two Blackfeet (and former students)
Jeff Sanders, with colleague Reno Charente (Crow), Director of American Indian Outreach — and now his sister, after being adopted by her parents
My life has existed at the crossroads of two cultures for more than three decades — one foot planted in the modern American paradigm and the other equally in that of the Native American. Recently, I was deeply honored to be adopted into an American Indian Tribe, an extraordinary event which punctuated my journey of building cross-cultural bridges and mutual understanding. This story begins here:
I met Melinda on a river trip. I was on a leave of absence from teaching; she was a physician practicing allopathic family medicine on the Navajo Reservation. This fateful meeting changed my life personally and professionally.
Melinda’s experience on the reservation piqued my interest in American Indian studies that went way beyond the Hollywood stereotypes and mascot politics of Native Americans. In particular, I was intrigued by Melinda’s relationship with Mrs. Stanley, an honored medicine woman who was also her clinic’s nurse and interpreter’s mother. When Melinda could not figure out a difficult diagnosis in her clinic she would say, “Maybe you should see Mrs. Stanley up on the mesa…” — meaning a traditional Navajo diagnostician would take over. Likewise, when Mrs. Stanley saw something she thought allopathic medicine would heal she would say to her client, “Maybe you should see that white lady doctor down in the valley…”
This practice served her well in her capacity as a consultant for over 20 years to the Indian Health Service on reservations throughout Montana.
Melinda and I married 15 months after that trip, and we both went on to finish our graduate studies at the University of Arizona. While there, I had the honor and life-changing good fortune to work closely with the noted Native American scholars, Vine Deloria, Jr. and N. Scott Momaday. I took their classes, visited with them over coffee, and listened to their stories about life on reservations. What impressed me the most was that these men were able to balance exploring new worlds — literally and academically — while remaining deeply connected to their own culture and families. This is something I have since strived to achieve in my own life.
I think back now to the very first class I taught at MSUB when I was publically confronted (and ironically the only time such an incident occurred) with the question, “What makes you think you can teach Native American Studies when you are not an Indian?” Whoa , I said to myself, This could be a short career here. And I answered the most honest way I could think of relating back to what I learned from my mentors, “Yes, I am not a Native, and I have studied under some of the best American Indian scholars and I admire and respect Native culture and contributions. I know about the general dynamics of tribal societies, the history of American Indian people, as well as treaty law and federal Indian policy, and I would like to share that knowledge and respect with any who cares to listen. I will never purport to say what Indians think about this or that, because I am not one.
And thus began my 30+ year career in Native American Studies.
As a professor and a teacher of diversity training workshops, my primary goal has always been to accurately tell stories and share information that others may not know. So many of these stories — the true DNA of a people — were culled from my previous international travels as well as from my Native students.
Many of my students were first generation college students who did not have the luxury of being ‘just students’. Like so many from similar first generation families, they were also parents, full-time workers (outside of class times), and care providers to elders of their families. Many had special obligations to their families, clans and societies that required them to be present at tribal ceremonies that were not regulated by the university calendar. Being American Indians in a public state university, many had to leave the comfort zone of their own towns and families and learn how to live the duality of both worlds: the white majority society and their own rural reservation. Many of my non-Indian students had no idea of the unreported American Indian perspective of history. For example, what it was like to be a contemporary Native American who could be listening to the latest rap tune on his/her iPhone while going to a Sundance (where upon it would be put away after a stern glance from an elder). All of this provided me with abundant opportunities for an exchange of information and cross-cultural understanding.
This past spring of 2016, upon my retirement from Montana State University-Billings (MSUB), in recognition of my life’s work, I was bestowed one of the highest of honors — being formally adopted into the Crow Tribe of Montana. While it is not so rare for a ‘trusted friend’ of the Crow Tribe to be adopted (such as Barack Obama), my adoption was unique in that it took place off the reservation in the university gymnasium before approximately 1500 people. Since it was conducted off the reservation, to assure that the ceremony was performed in a traditionally correct way, it had to have the approval and blessing of many Crow elders from districts across the vast reservation (almost 2.5 million acres, about the size of Connecticut). This was accomplished thanks to my colleague, Reno Charette (Crow) and her family, with the assistance of many Native students such as Levi Yellowmule, a traditional Crow Indian who received academic credit for his key role in aiding my cross-cultural adoption.
My adoption ceremony was filled with cherished memories. In a sage and cedaring blessing ceremony earlier in the day, I was given a Crow name: Bawaaeechecheiishiitche. You cannot be ‘adopted’ without being ‘born’ and given a new name . The approximate English translation of my Crow name is: He who enjoys teaching and sharing with others . During the ceremony, Melinda and my sister, Hilary, were gifted with traditional clothing — one of the many physical and spiritual gifts that were given to us throughout the day. Becoming a member of the Crow tribe was certainly the most significant singular honor ever bestowed upon me — a day I will never forget. The connections and the cultural bridges that were built out of my initial curiosity and admiration and willingness to ‘learn another way’ and not be afraid of what I might find eventually led to mutual understanding and trust in a truly extraordinary cultural embrace.
So, after 35 years out west, and on the heels of being bestowed with this extraordinary honor, Melinda and I have just returned to my home state of New York, looking to meet new friends, to share old stories and create new ones. For as my new name so accurately proclaims, I truly enjoy sharing with others.
Jeff Sanders (Bawaaeechecheiishiitche)
Dr. Jeffrey Sanders, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Native American Studies at Montana State University-Billings. He has traveled in 40 countries, often spending extended periods of time with Indigenous people.
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Considerations when fostering or adopting
When fostering or adopting Native American children who have been removed from their home and placed in the care of the state or the tribe, families must be aware of laws governing the placement and adoption of Native American/Alaska Native children and understand the importance of maintaining children’s cultural heritage.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 is a federal law that governs the removal and out-of-home placement of eligible American Indian children who are in the state's custody. ICWA establishes standards for the placement of Indian children in foster and adoptive homes and gives tribes legal authority in child welfare cases. It also spells out criteria for foster and pre-adoptive homes.
ICWA placement preferences prioritize keeping Indian children placed with relatives or other Indian families:
“In any adoptive placement of an Indian child under State law, a preference shall be given, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, to a placement with (1) a member of the child's extended family; (2) other members of the Indian child's tribe; or (3) other Indian families.” ~ 25 U.S. Code § 1915
Your worker can help you understand the implications of ICWA for your specific experience as a foster or adoptive parent.
The law was enacted after the federal government acknowledged that historically, a high percentage of Indian families—an estimated 25 to 35 percent of the Native American children—had been broken up by the often unwarranted removal of their children by non-tribal public and private agencies. Many of these children were placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions far from their homes. Children lost touch with their families and their culture, and many suffered abuse. Read more about ICWA on the the National Indian Child Welfare Association website .
It is important that non-native foster and adoptive parents of Native American children encourage their children to maintain connections to their tribe and be involved in their tribe’s cultural heritage.
As a potential foster or adoptive parent, the first steps toward doing this are talking with your caseworker, learning about the child or youth’s tribal affiliation and cultural heritage, and, if appropriate, making connections and developing a relationship with the birth family (which could include immediate and extended family).
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA):
National Indian Law Library : A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act
Walking on Common Ground : Resources for promoting and facilitating tribal-state-federal collaborations
There are more than 560 federally recognized tribes and Alaskan Native villages in the United States, and each tribe’s government and child welfare systems are different. Many tribes have websites that can help a foster or adoptive parent understand the tribe. These sites may also provide contact information for the tribe’s child welfare program or a contact person within the tribe who works with children covered by ICWA.
A Choctaw Nation social worker talks about her job.
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Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood.
Tribal enrollment criteria are set forth in tribal constitutions, articles of incorporation or ordinances. The criterion varies from tribe to tribe, so uniform membership requirements do not exist.
Two common requirements for membership are lineal decendency from someone named on the tribe's base roll or relationship to a tribal member who descended from someone named on the base roll. (A "base roll" is the original list of members as designated in a tribal constitution or other document specifying enrollment criteria.) Other conditions such as tribal blood quantum, tribal residency, or continued contact with the tribe are common.
After you have completed your genealogical research, documented your ancestry, and determined the tribe with which your ancestor was affiliated, you are ready to contact the tribe directly to obtain the criteria for membership.
Rarely is the BIA involved in enrollment and membership. Each tribe determines whether an individual is eligible for membership. Each tribe maintains it's own enrollment records and records about past members. To obtain information about your eligibility for membership, you must contact the tribe.
The Tribal Leaders Directory that is published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs lists all 574 federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. It also lists all the Regions, Agencies and Offices within the BIA.
U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.
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