Veronica's father gives up fight

Dusten Brown drops legal efforts to win back custody of 4-year-old Veronica

By Glenn SmithThe bruising, cross-country custody battle for 4-year-old Veronica came to an emotional close Thursday with her biological father conceding defeat in tears while her adoptive parents on James Island huddled out of view and pleaded for privacy from the national spotlight.

With only long-shot hopes of winning her back, Dusten Brown announced during a press conference in Oklahoma that he was abandoning his legal fight to win back the little girl he called “his princess.”

Brown wiped his eyes and choked back tears as he described the void in his home since Veronica's departure and the pain of seeing her empty room full of toys she left behind. But Brown said he could no longer stomach the prospect of her caught at the center of a contentious legal fight and in the glare of national media.

“It was no longer fair for Veronica to be in the middle of the battle,” he said. “I love her too much to continue to have her in the spotlight.”An Emotional Dusten Brown Drops All Legal Litigation to Regain Custody of Veronica

By Levi RickertA broken and tearful Cherokee citizen Dusten Brown held a press conference this morning in Tulsa to let the nation know he was ending all legal litigation pending in Oklahoma to regain custody of his four year old daughter, Veronica.

He was forced to relinquish custody of Veronica on September 23.

He is doing so that Veronica can now have a normal life--“free of the spotlight.”

”For four years, Veronica has been in the media. I love her too much for her to be in the spotlight,” said a contrite Brown, who broke down several times and found it difficult to speak during the press conference as he read a prepared statement.Brown: No Longer Fair for Veronica to be in Middle

ICWA in trouble?

Unfortunately, the case has implications beyond the fate of Veronica Brown.

Tribal Leaders Worry 'Baby Veronica' Case Sets Precedent Against ICWA

By Ashlei KingAs Brown announced he will no longer fight for legal custody of his biological daughter, Veronica, tribal leaders from all over the state were left wondering what the future will hold for Indian children caught in the middle of custody battles.

"When you look at the whole picture, it wasn't about one child. It was about 500-and-some-odd nations," said Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger.

Although little Veronica is Cherokee, Tiger said the battle over Veronica sets a precedent for all tribes.

"That was a landmark decision that meant so much to the tribal leaders and tribal governments in general. It's kind of a sad day," he said.Veronica's Attorney: "There Remains Work to Do for Children and Indian Children"I was appointed to represent the legal rights and claims of Veronica. It included her legal right to a best interest hearing for custody and, at a minimum, for the process of transfer of custody. Her rights and claims were taken up in multiple forums, and much to my regret, no court took present consideration of her best interest in the decision for custody or transfer.

No matter how fit or even wonderful both families are or may be, it is disheartening that Veronica was ever in a position to know one mom and dad at bedtime one day, and the next night to be in a different home with another mom and dad. The fact that she did is unquestionably a failure of the legal systems as to this child. It is the judicial systems placing upon the little head of Veronica the issues many courts had an opportunity to and should have resolved under the legal right of Veronica to a present best interest hearing.

In legal matters, any child--including Indian children--hold legal rights and claims under various tribal, state, federal and/or international law. These legal rights are those of the child and independent of any other party. Failure of judicial systems to consider these independent rights and claims due the child is truly a failure to protect the most vulnerable of our societies and puts upon children the historic semblance of property. All our children deserve and are legally guaranteed more from our judicial systems. For that failure in these matters, my apologies to dear Veronica and both her families because it is now the two families who are left to pick up the pieces of Veronica and help her heal.

Today finds me in a place where continued litigation only places my client at the heart of potentially years of legal proceedings with no guarantee of outcome. This is not in the interest of my client, and it is Veronica who I was appointed to represent. It is time for all of the United States and Indian country, the legal systems, and any acts growing out of self-motivation or hatred to quietly step aside. Yes, there remains work to do for children and Indian children, but it is time to allow Veronica and her families to heal and grow together in private.

South Carolina continues crusade against Brown

Capobiancos Sue Dusten Brown for Nearly Half a Million in FeesAs Matt and Melanie Capobianco took possession of Veronica Brown on Monday night, another court action was brewing behind the scenes. Today, their lawyers in South Carolina are in court seeking fines, attorneys' fees and expenses totaling approximately $500,000 from Dusten Brown.South Carolina court could seek compensation from Dusten Brown, Cherokee NationThe proceedings were apparently initiated by the courts, not by Matt and Melanie Capobianco, who spent seven weeks in Oklahoma before taking custody of the 4-year-old girl Monday.Financial sanctions against Veronica’s birth father, tribe considered as attorney calls for truceTo some of Brown’s supporters, the move added insult to injury after he lost custody of the girl he cared for during the past 20 months. But Shannon Jones, his attorney in Charleston who attended the hearing but would not discuss it, called for a courtroom truce.Gov. Fallin seeks halt to Baby Veronica's father's extradition to South CarolinaWith Baby Veronica heading to South Carolina, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was looking for ways to avoid extraditing the girl's biological father, her office said Tuesday.Comment:  It's not clear if the Capobiancos are involved in this continuing persecution. If they aren't, they should speak up and tell the courts to stop hounding Brown. Silence = complicity in the crusade.

To review, this case went to the Supreme Court, where it lost on a 5-4 vote based on an invented pretext. This wasn't some frivolous lawsuit. It was the opposite: a critical challenge to Federal Indian law.

Brown shouldn't be punished for exercising his constitutional rights. Again, the opposite is true. If South Carolina thinks it's important to take Native children from their homes uphold adoption rights, it should pay for its convictions.

Put your money where your mouth is, South Carolina, or your position smacks of hypocrisy. As in, "We insist upon the Capobiancos' rights as long as they don't cost too much."

Indians mourn Baby Veronica's return

Two of the many mainstream articles that imply Veronica Brown is finally "home" after being somewhere else with her father Dusten Brown:

Capobiancos ‘overjoyed’ to have Veronica back in their lives, birth father’s role uncertainWhether Dusten Brown ever sees his biological daughter again could hinge on whether Veronica’s adoptive parents give him that chance or on the results of long-shot court appeals, attorneys said Tuesday.After 4 years and 2 states, Cherokee girl in disputed adoption case gets permanent home in SCWhen the Capobiancos complete the long drive from Oklahoma to South Carolina, their topmost priority should be creating the stable life that Veronica has lacked in her first four years of life, experts say.History repeats itself

Meanwhile, Brown, the Cherokee Nation, and Indians everywhere are mourning another stolen child:

Dusten Brown issues statement on the transfer of his daughter, VeronicaThe last few days without Veronica in our home have been more painful than words can describe. We are heartbroken at the loss of our daughter. I moved heaven and earth for two years to bring Veronica home to her family where she belongs.

Cherokee Nation Attorney General Comments on Transfer of Veronica BrownWe are deeply, deeply saddened by the events of today, but we will not lose hope. Veronica Brown will always be a Cherokee citizen, and although she may have left the Cherokee Nation, she will never leave our hearts.Transfer of Custody of Veronica Brown: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Baker RespondsHistory is repeating itself, as a Native American child is being forcibly relocated to South Carolina against the will of her father and her tribe.Cherokee Nation Mourns as Veronica Is Returned to Adoptive Family“We hope the Capobiancos honor their word that Dusten will be allowed to remain an important part of Veronica's life,” said Hembree. “We also look forward to her visiting the Cherokee Nation for many years to come, for she is always welcome. Veronica is a very special child who touched the hearts of many, and she will be sorely missed.”Support Mounting for Dusten Brown on Facebook Page ‘Standing Our Ground for Veronica Brown’Support for Dusten Brown has emerged through grassroots efforts, like a Facebook page, Standing Our Ground for Veronica Brown, and the website KeepVeronicaHome.com. The Facebook page has more than 12,000 followers and growing, but more support is needed for Brown, who is now being sued by the Capobiancos’ attorneys for nearly half a million in fees.

An Emotional Reaction: Mothers, Adoptive Parents and Adoptees Speak Out About Baby Veronica's RemovalIn the wake of Dusten Brown’s forced relinquishment of his biological daughter Veronica to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina, birth mothers, adoptive parents and adoptees have shared their heartache with media and flooded the Internet with blogs and open letters. They express grief, compassion, encouragement for Brown to continue fighting and insight into how Veronica will adapt and react when she learns about and understands the battle over her custody.Finally, one of the few non-Native columns that tried to understand the Native point of view:

Legal battle over Native American girl comes to a poignant endThis is one of those heartbreaking stories that periodically makes headlines, sending a shiver down the spines of adoptive parents and enraging Native Americans whose children had been ripped away from them so often that a federal law was passed in 1978 to put safeguards in place.

The facts of this case seem so unfair to the biological father that it’s hard to understand why the adoptive parents have ended up with custody.

The Christian baby-adoption racket

Skeptics of Veronica, Desaray cases call for closer look at private adoptions, laws

By Andrew KnappThe adoptive parents’ attorney said Pierce’s claims of coercion and deception were unfounded and that she and her son willingly agreed to settle. But the battle over 4-year-old Veronica and a new dispute over a 4-month-old named Desaray have stirred talk of similar accusations being rampant in other private adoptions. Both of those cases center on children with American Indian blood and the federal law that makes them more difficult to adopt.

But the larger issue, according to skeptics, is the allegation that some birth mothers, agencies and attorneys conceal adoptions and prevent birth fathers from asserting parental rights.

When it comes to Indian children, legal observers said attorneys have been emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that Veronica’s father hadn’t helped her mother during pregnancy and therefore couldn’t use the Indian Child Welfare Act to gain custody. Desaray’s case could be the first one that tests that precedent.

Many of the private agencies operate with a Christian-themed mission to provide a future for babies born to parents who cannot properly care for a child.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Christian Adoption Groups Stereotype Indians and The Capobiancos Anti-Indian Agenda.

Capobiancos take Baby Veronica

Adoptive parents take custody of Veronica from biological fatherBaby Veronica’s biological family handed over the 4-year-old girl Monday night, giving her back to her adoptive parents from South Carolina.“I do not want to go! I do not want to go!” Screamed Veronica as She Was Taken from Her Biological Father

Comment:  Veronica lasted a few weeks longer than I expected, but now she's gone. Alas, the outcome was pretty much inevitable.

Tribal sovereignty and tribal courts were never a serious impediment to this outcome. I didn't think they would be. America doesn't work that way.

Some Native reactions from Twitter:Adrienne K. ‏@NativeApprops
Veronica has been handed to the Copabiancos, taken away from her dad, family, & tribe. How is this fair? #heartbroken

Coya Hope ‏@coyahope
@NativeApprops because white people don't want to hear no, and have all those systems are designed to back them up, even to steal a child.

Nellie ‏@sailordom
@NativeApprops Really shows how many people still think "best interests of child" means "adopted by white family"

Ruth Hopkins ‏@_RuthHopkins
If state courts can disregard ICWA & Tribal Sovereignty to take #BabyVeronica from her birth father, none of our #Native children are safe.

Patrick G. Barkman @PGBarkman
#BabyVeronica proves yet again the great truth of American history: that anything of value NDNs have can be taken by white ppl at their whimYep, this is a classic case of white privilege in action. The law says the mother must consult with a father who's a tribal member, and his tribe. Did that happen? No. The Supreme Court invented a pretext for ignoring this law and favoring the white adoptive parents over the Cherokee father.

That's justice, American-style: 1) Determine outcome--e.g., cute baby should be with white folks. 2) Ignore law and make rulings to achieve outcome.

Funny that most of the articles don't seem to be reporting Veronica's reactions. I suspect that's a result of their pro-white, pro-adoption bias.

Of course, only one news account said she was screaming. Maybe it has a pro-Native bias.

In any case, I hope the Capobiancos have good mental health coverage. I suspect #BabyVeronica is in for a lifetime of abandonment and anger issues.

For more on Baby Veronica, see Baby Veronica Case Violates Sovereignty and Oklahoma Governor Orders Extradition for Brown.

Baby Veronica case violates sovereignty

UN official issues statement on Veronica

By Michael OverallDrawing international attention to the ongoing custody battle, a UN official demanded Tuesday that Oklahoma respect Baby Veronica’s “human rights as a child and as member of the Cherokee Nation.”

State and federal authorities should consider Veronica’s best interest before making a final custody decision, said James Anaya, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.

“Veronica’s human rights as a child and as member of the Cherokee Nation, an indigenous people, should be fully and adequately considered in the ongoing judicial and administrative proceedings that will determine her future upbringing,” Anaya said in a statement from Geneva.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court is considering an appeal from the girl’s biological father, who has been ordered by courts both in Oklahoma and South Carolina to hand the girl over to her adoptive parents.Indian Country Needs a Red Line in Sand Against Assaults on Sovereignty

By Jay DanielsHow sad that the Adoptive Couple may one day have to tell this little Cherokee girl that they challenged her in court. It’s under the guise of their challenging the biological father, but the case name is Baby v. Adoptive Couple. How would you feel to find out that you are one of the most significant Indian court cases in history and the plaintiff was your adoptive parents? The adoptive mother made a statement to a journalist recently “We beat the Cherokee Nation.” Was their intent to beat the Cherokee Nation, or to adopt the baby? That’s the history of Native Americans. It’s not so much that non-Indians believe they are right in their fight, but they love the feeling when they can take something away from us. They enjoy sitting back after it’s over and being able to say “We beat them.” Classic confrontation and it’s still happening today.

There are assaults on our casinos, smoke shops, water rights, unwanted mining on our trust lands or close proximity to reservations, lack of adequate supervised development of oil fields, taxation issues around the country, etc. We are given a bone here and there while they attempt to backdoor Indian Country by eroding our inherent right and sovereignty. We are forced to focus on winning a battle but sometimes losing the war. It’s one step forward and two steps backwards. Never able to completely move ahead because we are forced to move behind in key issues not only affecting tribes today but potentially drastic implications down the road for all of Indian Country.Comment:  For more on Baby Veronica, see Oklahoma Governor Orders Extradition for Brown and Christian Adoption Groups Stereotype Indians.

Oklahoma governor orders extradition for Brown

Fallin signs extradition order for Dusten BrownGovernor Mary Fallin signed the extradition order for Dusten Brown, the biological father of “Baby Veronica.”

Brown is contesting Veronica’s adoption to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of Charleston, South Carolina. His arguments have now been rejected by the United States Supreme Court as well as courts in South Carolina and Oklahoma.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley requested Brown’s extradition from Oklahoma to South Carolina on August 13. Brown, who has refused to release Veronica to her adopted parents, faces charges of custodial interference in South Carolina.

Brown’s extradition does not affect the current placement of Baby Veronica.Baby Veronica case: Dusten Brown released from custody

By Michael OverallBaby Veronica's biological father was released on bail this morning after appearing in Sequoyah County court to answer an extradition warrant signed by Gov. Mary Fallin.

Dusten Brown appeared Thursday before Sequoyah County Judge Jeff Payton, who ordered him released until an extradition hearing on Oct. 3. Brown was released on bail after he was arrested for a second time.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart called the governor's office to seek advice on releasing Brown, he told the Tulsa World. About 30 minutes later, the office advised him to follow the local court's direction and allow Brown to leave on bail.

"It's very unusual," Lockhart said, explaining that most suspects remain in jail until the extradition hearing when they've been arrested on a governor's warrant. "I've never seen this before."Meanwhile, here's what's going on emotionally behind the legal wrangling:

The Capobiancos should stop fighting for custody of Baby Veronica

Dusten Brown will be the only man that she truly calls 'daddy'

By Chris HaireAlthough the Capobiancos may not want to hear this, Ronnie Brown will never be their daughter as long as Dusten Brown is alive. Too much time has passed from when they called Baby Veronica their own and when they were forced to give her up. Today, the bond between Ronnie and her father is probably far too great to break, and anyone who believes that bond should be broken should be ashamed of themselves. When it comes down to it, Ronnie Brown is not a cause; Baby Veronica is. The flesh and blood Ronnie Brown is a child, and Dusten Brown is her flesh and blood father—and by all accounts, he loves her.

Forget the Indian Child Welfare Act. Forget that the Capobiancos raised Baby Veronica from birth until she was two. Forget that they tried desperately to have children of their own for years and years and years. Forget that they loved and cared for her as if she was their own child. She's not. She's Dusten Brown's, and for nearly the past two years, she has been under his care. She has spent her days and nights with him and his family. She has called him "daddy" countless times. Regardless of what happens, she will never call Matt Capobianco "daddy" and mean it in the exact same way she does when she refers to Dusten Brown.

Right now, Ronnie Brown is surely aware that her daddy, Dusten Brown, loves her so much he is willing to go to jail to save her. The Capobiancos will never be able to lay claim to such a heroic sacrifice, and because they can't, Ronnie Brown will never be theirs. And as the years go by, Dusten Brown's sacrifice will only grow in importance to little Ronnie Brown, and it will only poison whatever relationship the Capobiancos hope to have with her if she is handed over to them. Their lives will be ruined. But more importantly, so will hers.

So much has gone wrong when it comes to this case. So much has been mishandled. And too many tears have been shed and hearts have been broken. It's finally time for someone to do something right. And for the Capobiancos that means putting an end to this tragedy right here and right now. If they truly wish for the best for Ronnie Brown, they must quit fighting for custody of Baby Veronica. She doesn't exist. Ronnie Brown does, and Dusten Brown is her father. Let him have her. Her future—and theirs—depends on it.Comment:  Alas...since the Capobiancos are using Veronica to attack the Indian Child Welfare Act, they won't stop merely because it might hurt her. Like their Tea Party brethren, they believe in causes and conquest, not kids and compromise.

For more on Baby Veronica, see Christian Adoption Groups Stereotype Indians and Baby Veronica Exemplifies Tribal Resurgence.



"They're conservatives, honey. They hate Indians and children."

Christian adoption groups stereotype Indians

Baby Veronica and Indian Sovereignty 50 Years After the March on Washington

By Jacqueline KeelerThe argument posited by the Capobiancos–the white, South Carolina couple who wish to adopt Veronica–and their support team of PR professionals and lawyers is that ICWA sacrifices the needs of the Indian child to promote those of the tribe, often exposing the child to great harm by leaving them in the care of dangerous and violent Indian relatives. It is in this way, by pitting the helpless child against a vainglorious and ineptly-run tribal system, they have been extremely successful in persuading even moderate commentators like Anderson Cooper and Nina Totenberg of NPR to portray the Capobiancos as the wronged party, Dusten Brown as a deadbeat dad and ICWA as failed policy.

To be clear, the Supreme Court did NOT overturn ICWA, but in the court of public opinion ICWA and Indian Tribes lost a battle and that is something that we, as Indian people should take very seriously.

I have taken a closer look at two organizations that have been funneling substantial funds to the Capobiancos, These two organizations are the Christian Alliance for Indian Children and Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA). I was surprised to learn that each organization had been led by Native Americans at certain points in their history. Roland Morris, a full-blood Chippewa of the Leech Lake Chippewa Tribe in Minnesota, an Upholsterer by trade with Christian Alliance and Scott Kayla Morrison, a Choctaw attorney who once led CERA (both are now deceased: Morris from cancer and Morrison, tragically, from suicide.) They both advocated greater oversight of Indian tribal governments by the Federal government and opposed tribal transfer of lands into trust, federal dollars spent in Indian country and ICWA. They were driven by the troubles they had seen in their communities and in their families (in Roland's case) and had drawn the conclusion that through alliances with both Christian and Republican party members that they could help bring about the end of the suffering on reservations.

The Christian adoption groups' websites and articles are filled with stories about the poverty and abuse of Indian children in Indian country. The Christian Alliance posted this report on its site about the Spirit Lake Nation:

Thomas Sullivan, Regional Administrator of the Administration of Children and Families in Denver, stated in his 12th Mandated Report to the ACF office in Washington DC, February 2013: 'In these 8 months I have filed detailed reports concerning all of the following: The almost 40 children returned to on-reservation placements in abusive homes, many headed by known sex offenders… These children remain in the full time care and custody of sexual predators available to be raped on a daily basis. Since I filed my first report noting this situation, nothing has been done by any of you to remove these children to safe placements.'"

But the Brown family (I include the grandparents in this as they were granted guardianship by the Cherokee Nation) seems to have none of these problems. It seems odd that with so many children living in need in Indian country, that they chose this case to challenge ICWA and tribal sovereignty. And it begs the question, are all American Indian families being painted with the same brush?Comment:  Sure sounds as though American Indian families are being painted with the same brush. How are the problems on the Spirit Lake reservation relevant to the Cherokee Nation, or to any tribe other than Spirit Lake?

Does poverty in the white portions of Fargo, North Dakota, affect adoptions in Oklahoma City? Because those two cities are about as connected as the Spirit Lake and Cherokee Nations.

This is obviously pure stereotyping. The message is that all Indians are poor, criminal, and unfit to be parents--i.e., savage.

For more on Baby Veronica, see Baby Veronica Exemplifies Tribal Resurgence and Capobiancos Send The Locator.

Baby Veronica exemplifies tribal resurgence

The latest developments in the Baby Veronica case:

Baby Veronica case: Victory unlikely for either side as mediation begins

By Michael OverallMatt and Melanie Capobianco wanted Friday's hearing in Cherokee County court to end with them having physical custody of the 3-year-old girl again, according to a statement that their spokeswoman issued before the hearing.

Instead, the hearing ended with both sides agreeing to enter mediation.

Think of it as the modern court system's version of stickball--an alternative to waging legal battles in front of a judge.

The two sides will likely sit down face-to-face with no attorneys present, said Steven Hager, a former mediator who now serves as the director of litigation for Oklahoma Indian Legal Services.
Cherokee and other Indians are up in arms about the proceedings:

'Baby Veronica' Protesters Assemble In Downtown Tulsa

By Tony RussellMore than two dozen supporters of Dusten Brown showed up at a State of Oklahoma building in downtown Tulsa Saturday afternoon.

Veronica, 3, is at the center of a custody battle between Brown, her biological father, and Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina, her adoptive parents.

The group carried signs and expressed their hopes that the courts will keep Veronica with Brown, who is a Cherokee Nation citizen.

One day after Veronica's biological father and adoptive parents went to court in Tahlequah, supporters of Dusten Brown say they aren't dropping their signs anytime soon.Perhaps more important than the fate of one child is what this case signifies to Indian country:

To Oklahoma’s American Indian tribes, Veronica is a battle cry for cultures

By Andrew KnappIn the century since Indian children were removed because of government policies, tribes have made strides to restore their traditions. At the center of the resurgence: children who value their roots, no matter how little Indian blood might run through their veins.

The tribes thought the times of losing their children had ended. That’s why the recent adoption of 3-year-old Veronica, a member of the Cherokee Nation—an adoption that some here said was achieved through deception—has the Indian community talking about the old days again.

Their stance is matched by the pleas of Matt and Melanie Capobianco, who felt wronged when Veronica was taken from them. She’s their daughter, they said, and they want her home on James Island.

The custody dispute has become so much more. Though others have stakes in its outcome, the squabble has pitted the people of two states that are 1,000 miles but worlds apart.

Most Oklahomans understand the Cherokees’ cry, why Veronica matters so much. Their license plate says “Native America.” Their state is where Indians settled when others didn’t want them.

Losing Veronica to South Carolina, a state with one tribe compared to their 39, would be deflating to the spirit of tribal resurgence.Comment:  For more on Baby Veronica, see Capobiancos Send The Locator and The Capobiancos' Anti-Indian Agenda.

Below:  "A boy plays amid about 20 picketers who gathered outside Cherokee County District Court in Tahlequah, Okla., on Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, to protest the adoption of 3-year-old Veronica by Matt and Melanie Capobiancos of James Island." (Andrew Knapp)

Capobiancos send The Locater

Capobiancos Send 'The Locator' TV Star to Take Veronica From School

By Suzette Brewer[As the Capobiancos] continued their Oklahoma media tour yesterday, a large black SUV with blacked out windows was spotted trolling the Sequoyah Indian School campus in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Troy Dunn, star of the hit TV show "The Locator" and Capobianco spokesman, had brought a camera crew with him in an apparent attempt to track down Veronica and confront Dusten Brown in person on school grounds. The school is located on federal Indian trust land with hundreds of students and faculty ranging in age from pre-K through high school.

The Capobiancos, who have pointedly ignored several offers to see Veronica, sent Dunn with their permission to mediate on their behalf. Brown has made numerous attempts to schedule a visitation between the Capobiancos and Veronica since Governor Mary Fallin's veiled threat to extradite him if he didn't "cooperate" with the Capobiancos.

On August 15, Dunn's vehicle was instead stopped and surrounded by half a dozen Cherokee Nation Marshal vehicles and escorted off the school premises. The Cherokee tribal complex and the school, which are adjoining, are off-limits to television camera crews without prior consent of the tribe.

“He is neither a counselor, nor a mental expert, although he perpetuates that illusion on TV,” said Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree late Thursday afternoon. “Furthermore, in his more than year-long involvement with the Capobiancos, he has proven himself not to be a neutral party in this matter; he has made inflammatory statements to the media and has publicly posted degrading comments about Veronica's real father, Dusten Brown.”And:Rather than accept Brown's request to meet quietly to discuss Veronica's future, however, the Capobiancos instead turned to what has now become what insiders are calling “desperate and chilling” attempts to use the media to argue their case.

“While publicly pleading for a visit and a compromise on custody, now the Capobiancos refuse to respond to reasonable offers for both of those things, while they allow and condone a reality TV crew to stalk and harass the Browns,” said a local lawyer. “It is unclear what exactly the Capobiancos want, but it is clear that they are not at all concerned about what is best for Veronica.”Comment:  This is further evidence that the Capobiancos are more interested in promoting their right-wing, anti-Indian cause than in the child they supposedly care about.

For more on Baby Veronica, see The Capobiancos' Anti-Indian Agenda and Three-Way Battle for Baby Veronica.

The Capobiancos' anti-Indian agenda

Dramatic developments in the Baby Veronica case:

Birth father of adopted American Indian child arrested

By Harriet McLeodThe biological father at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court custody dispute over the rights of children with Native American heritage turned himself into Oklahoma authorities on Monday after missing court-ordered appearances to facilitate his daughter's return to her adopted parents, officials said.

Dusten Brown, who has Cherokee heritage and lives in Nowata, Oklahoma, was accompanied by a Cherokee Nation marshal as he was booked into the Sequoyah County Jail on a fugitive warrant, jail operations manager Jamie Faulkenberry said.

Brown left the jail after posting $10,000 personal recognizance bond.

The warrant was issued in South Carolina, where officials said they were working with Oklahoma officials to locate the daughter, Veronica, and arrange Brown's extradition on a charge of custodial interference.I don't think Brown has much chance of prevailing at this point. But one interesting thing the media hasn't explored is the Capobiancos' race-based agenda. These people are almost the opposite of loving parents who care about nothing except the child's welfare.

Trace DeMeyer explains:

The Baby Veronica Case: David vs. Goliath

By Trace A. DeMeyerWhile there are many in the adoption industry and in religious institutions guided by best practices, there are a number of red flags in Veronica’s adoption case that raise serious concerns. Specifically, the adoptive couple’s supporters, including fringe faith based organizations, tout a hauntingly familiar “save the Native child” mission. In fact, it’s become clear that the close supporters of the couple are actively working to erase ICWA altogether and open the flood gates to more adoptions from Indian country.

According to South Carolina court records, the biological mother Ms. Maldonado and the adoptive couple, the Capobiancos, were connected by the Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency--a Christian based non-profit with offices in California, Colorado, and South Carolina. According to the agency “Nightlight provides domestic and international adoption services, to families in all 50 states, and embryo donation and adoption worldwide” while remaining “committed to carrying out our mission in a way that will bring glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Faith is clearly a driving factor in this adoption effort. As Ms. Maldonado pointed out in a recent Washington Post op-ed, speaking publicly for the first time in years, she wrote that she chose the Capobiancos because she, “could tell they were people of strong faith, like me.”

Adoption agencies like Nightlight rely on the ever dwindling “supply” of children for their livelihood, not just to achieve their religious mission. That’s why it’s concerning that the adoption lawyers filed error-filled ICWA paperwork to the Cherokee Nation. Even the original South Carolina Supreme Court decision stated that though Maldonado alerted the agency of the father’s status as citizen of the Cherokee Nation, “It appears that there were some efforts to conceal his Indian status.” If those efforts to conceal his status had never occurred, Veronica’s father would have been notified of the attempt to adopt his daughter and she would have been with her father from the very start. Instead, without Mr. Brown’s knowledge, Veronica was removed from Oklahoma to South Carolina just days after her birth. Mr. Brown was then notified of the adoption four months later, only days before he was to be deployed to Iraq with the United States Army.

The actions of the Capobianco’s supporting cast during this saga should raise the greatest concern. The Capobianco’s PR agent, Jessica Munday, a family friend, has been working hand-in-hand with a group called the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare to operate the “Save Veronica” campaign which gathers support and raises money for the couple’s legal fees--$40,000 by the end of 2012. If the mission to “save” Veronica from her Cherokee family wasn’t problematic enough, the Capobianco’s supporters have stealthily created a new organization with other religious adoption interests to lobby Capitol Hill to end ICWA’s protections.A colleague elaborates on the Capobiancos' conservative ties:Well, the Capobiancos are looking a little under the weather after battling this case for years.

Maybe next time they can talk about their affiliation with the Coalition to Protect Indian Tribes and Families (CPIC), which Melanie (Duncan) Capobianco, Mark Fiddler, and their publicist Jessica Munday of Trio Solutions' "Save Veronica" campaign, are all founding members. CPIC, whose mission is to "amend" ICWA, orchestrated guests Troy Dunn and Johnston Moore (both members of CPIC) on Dr. Phil in 2012 and has an online petition of some 23,700 signatures to amend ICWA.

Oh, and CPIC works closely with the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (caicw.org) for Indian families "at risk" with ICWA and the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) that declares Federal Indian policy racist and unconstitutional.

And...these organizations, along with Melanie (Duncan) Capobianco, are all part of the "Tea Party Community" that meets in Washington, DC.What's their objective?

Another column tells us the racial agenda behind these right-wing connections:

Baby Veronica: U.S. Doesn't Respect or Understand Native Culture

By Dina Gilio-Whitaker[F]or an adoptive couple like the Capobiancos, the adoption process is an investment of time, intense emotional energy and large amounts of money. As ICTMN reported, the Caopbiancos as of two years ago were into their adoption of Baby Veronica (or Ronnie, as her family calls her) for $30,000 to $40,000 based on court records. People who are desperate for a child, where adoption is (very problematically) market-driven, with demand far exceeding availability--with that kind of energy and financial investment, aren’t going to give up easily. The Capobiancos undoubtedly are emotionally attached to Ronnie, but this fight seems to be more of an ideological war for them and their faith-based supporters than it is about what is in the best interest of the little girl.

On a socio-cultural (and inevitably political) level, the so-called Baby Veronica case is a stark reminder of how narratives of Native American identity have been constructed in the US. Much of the non-Native media reporting has invoked Dusten Brown and his daughter’s blood quantum in a way that minimizes their Cherokee identities. Emphasizing low blood quantum is an attempt, whether intentional or not, to diminish the role of culture and kinship as criteria for belonging in a tribal society. It relies on the tired and old but very destructive stereotype that “real Indians” are those with an acceptable fraction of Indian “blood,” arbitrarily imagined by society at large.

But worse still, invoking blood quantum complicates the understanding of Indian identity in the public’s eye by “racializing” it—a tactic favored by anti-Indian activists such as the Coalition for the Protection of Indian Children and Families who are working for the dismantling of the ICWA. Because ICWA is “race-based,” so the argument goes, it is unconstitutional.

In Indian country we’ve said it a million times and we’ll keep on saying it until everyone gets it—Indian identity is not based on racial categorizations, it’s based on political distinctions. That is, Native nations composed of individual Indians (which they themselves are free to determine—even if based on racialized ideas of blood quantum) are nations not because they consist of people of a particular racial make-up, but because of their pre-constitutional existence and their political relationship with the US. Thus, the efforts of anti-ICWA activists is really an ideology bent on the continued suppression of the political rights of Native nations.Comment:  Is it wrong that I keep wanting to call them the Copacabanas? <g>

Tea Party conservatives who hate minorities such as Indians...we've heard that only a thousand times or so.

You can bet these conservative Christians have stereotypical views of Indians. Like this: "They're drunks, heathens, savages--incapable of raising children to be good Americans = good Christians." There's no way they'd want to destroy tribal sovereignty and law if they thought Indians were the same as everyone else.

For more on Baby Veronica, see Three-Way Battle for Baby Veronica and Indians May Sue for Baby Veronica.

Three-way battle for Baby Veronica

Baby Veronica's family says arrest of her father won't stop their fight

By Michael OverallMore than a year and a half after sending Veronica to Oklahoma, a South Carolina court is demanding that she come back "immediately," restoring custody to her adoptive parents in the suburbs of Charleston.

Her biological father, Spc. Dusten Brown, expects to be arrested Sunday morning in Johnston, Iowa, where he has gone for training with the Oklahoma National Guard.

But that won't make Veronica's family hand her over, Robin Brown told the Tulsa World.

"We're never going to give up on this little girl," she said.And:Veronica, his granddaughter, has a Cherokee syllabary on her bedroom wall and knows how to say "osiyo"--hello--and several other Cherokee words.

"You can't be half Cherokee," says Chrissi Nimmo, the tribe's assistant attorney general. "Just like you can't be half American."

The case is a test of tribal sovereignty, she says.

And that has made Baby Veronica a cause célèbre for Indian rights nationwide, with coast-to-coast news coverage and more than 3,000 "likes" on the "Standing Our Ground for Veronica Brown" Facebook page.And:The tribal court granted the guardianship just five hours before the state Supreme Court of South Carolina decided to terminate Brown's parental rights and give full custody to the adoptive parents.

With the tribal order in place first, Cherokee officials are arguing that South Carolina didn't have the authority to override it.

Dusten Brown was due home two days before an Aug. 23 deadline to challenge the South Carolina order in a local court, setting up a potential three-way battle over jurisdiction between South Carolina, Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation.

The dispute could end up in federal court, where Brown and the Cherokee Nation have already lost twice.More media bias

Whatever you think of the Baby Veronica, you can see that tribal rights are a key factor in the case. But not if you're a mainstream media outlet such as The Today Show:

Adoptive parents awarded custody of girl, 3, but 'nobody showed'

By Linda CarrollA bitter custody battle between a South Carolina couple and an Iraq war veteran has taken another twist. At the center of it is a little girl who had been adopted by the couple, but then handed back to her birth father after a court decided in his favor almost two years ago.

After fighting the case all the way to the Supreme Court, Melanie and Matt Capobianco were once again awarded custody of “baby girl Veronica” last week. But the child's birth father, Dusten Brown, has not complied with the court’s order to hand the little girl over to the couple.

At the start of the five-day transition that had been planned to help the little girl adjust to the transfer from Brown back to the Capobiancos, “nobody showed,” Matt Capobianco told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Friday. “They could have asked for a different time, a different day. But none of his attorneys did. We assumed that he was going to show. But now I guess we assume they knew all along that he wasn’t going to show.”

Clearly distraught, Melanie Capobianco told Guthrie, “The last time we saw her was 19 months ago when we had to turn her over.”

Brown has had the little girl since 2011, when a South Carolina court awarded him custody from the Capobiancos, citing a federal law that seeks to keep Native American children with their birth parents. The Supreme Court overthrew that decision last week, saying that the federal statute did not apply in this case.

“They said because he had not been part of the child’s life, he was not entitled to say ‘this child is now being deprived of my heritage,’” Randy Kessler, a family law expert, explained to NBC in a taped report that preceded Guthrie's interview with the Capobiancos.Comment:  Impressive! A write-up on Baby Veronica that mentions "Native American" only once and doesn't mention "Cherokee," "ICWA," or "Indian" at all. Biased much?

For more on Baby Veronica, see Indians May Sue for Baby Veronica and Baby Veronica Returned to Adoptive Parents.

Below:  "Video: Melanie and Matt Capobianco, a South Carolina couple who have been awarded custody of a 3-year-old girl they adopted but then had to turn over to the child’s biological father, tell TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie they hope there is no trauma getting the little girl back after 18 months."

End experiments, honor apology

For Canada and First Nations, it’s time to end the experiments

By Shawn AtleoRecent reports about the Canadian government’s experiments on hungry, impoverished First Nations children in residential schools have sent a shock wave through the country.

My reaction was deeply personal. My father attended one of the schools where these experiments took place. My family and countless others were treated like lab rats, some even being deprived of necessary nutrition and health care so researchers could establish a “baseline” to measure the effects of food and diet.

First Nations, while condemning the government’s callous disregard for the welfare of children, were perhaps the only ones not completely surprised. The experiments are part of a long, sad pattern of federal policy that stretches through residential schools, forced relocations and the ultimate social experiment, the Indian Act, which overnight tried to displace ways of life that had been in place for generations. All of these experiments are abject failures.

It’s time to end the experiments. Canada must start working with us to honour the promises our ancestors made in treaties and other agreements, to give life to our rights as recognized by Canadian courts and relinquish the chokehold of colonial control over our communities.Honour the Apology: Fasting for My Father, a Residential School Survivor

By Wab KinewThis may sound funny, but history is not confined to the past. Just over a week ago I was at my childhood home on the reserve when I heard the news that my father and uncles Fred, Tootoons and John were likely part of one of these "nutritional experiments" you have probably read about, and one with clearly adverse side-effects at that. I felt as though a little piece of history reached out and punched me in the gut.

I struggle to understand what my uncle Fred Kelly must feel like. He is the surviving member of that group of brothers who were at St. Mary's Residential School. As he told an online audience on Monday night "to regurgitate the stories is to relive the horrors, the traumas and the indignities of Residential Schools."

Yet I know the hurt from these recent revelations is not limited to the Indigenous community. I know many Canadians from other walks of life who have been upset by the news and are contemplating what it says about this country's history. For me, the more important question is "what will our response say about what Canada is today?"

Some friends and I have put out a call to Canadians to shed some of this negativity by uniting across cultural and religious lines. We are calling our gatherings (to be held today at noon) "Honour The Apology," in reference to Prime Minister Harper's 2008 apology to Residential School survivors. The idea is that we can each honour the apology on an individual level by commemorating or praying for the survivors.Comment:  For more on boarding schools, see Native American Boarding School Project and Canadian Natives Denounce Kevin Annett.

Indians may sue for Baby Veronica

National Native Organizations Announce Pursuit of Civil Rights Lawsuit for Baby VeronicaThree of the nation’s leading tribal organizations announced today they are in the early stages of pursuing litigation to protect the civil rights of Veronica Brown, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who has been denied due process in the South Carolina courts.

Late Wednesday of last week the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a controversial order to the state’s family court calling for an expedited transfer of custody to the South Carolina-based adoptive couple without a hearing of best interest for Veronica. It is standard procedure that adoption proceedings require a hearing to determine the best interest of the child in advance of any transfer proceedings, an essential step the South Carolina Supreme Court failed to take, thus denying Veronica the right to have her best interests considered.

Leaders of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) said they were compelled to begin a process to represent the rights of Veronica in the situation, based on the Court’s order.

“When it comes to adoption proceedings, every court in this country has a legal obligation to put the best interests of a child first–every time, no matter the race of the child. This did not happen here. The South Carolina Court’s order represents a perilous prospect for not only Veronica, but any child involved in a custody proceeding in this country,” said Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director of NCAI. “In a rush to judgment, the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered Veronica to be removed from her biological father without any consideration for her best interests. The decision contributes to the long and sordid history of Native American children being removed from their families without any consideration of their best interests. The National Congress of American Indians refuses to stand by as the rights of this child are violated.”Cherokee Nation court grants joint custody of Baby Veronica to biological father's wife and parents

By Michael OverallUPDATE: A Cherokee Nation court has granted joint custody of Baby Veronica to the biological father's wife and the father's parents, a move that could pre-empt a South Carolina court's decision to bring the girl back to that state, tribal officials announced Monday.

The tribal court granted joint custody last week, just hours before the state Supreme Court of South Carolina issued its own ruling that Veronica should be returned to her adoptive parents in the suburbs of Charleston.

But the tribal court order was kept sealed until Monday, when the tribe formally asked the South Carolina court to reconsider its decision.

The father, Dusten Brown, left Monday for mandatory National Guard training, making it necessary to grant joint custody to his wife and parents, the tribe said.

In filing a petition for rehearing in the case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, also known as the “Baby Veronica” case, the Cherokee Nation asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to reconsider its July 17 order, which moved to terminate the parental rights of Dusten Brown and transfer Veronica to South Carolina without a hearing on her best interests, the tribe said.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Baby Veronica Returned to Adoptive Parents and Court Thwarts ICWA in Baby Veronica Case.

Baby Veronica returned to adoptive parents

Baby Veronica Must Return to Adoptive Parents

By Suzette BrewerThe South Carolina State Supreme Court just hours ago ordered the finalization of the adoption of Veronica Brown to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island. The Court has ordered the case to the Family Court judge in Charleston for finalization.

Ending a bitterly fought contest over custody of the child that led to the U.S. Supreme Court in April over the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Capobiancos will be filing shortly with the family court to finalize the adoption. Dusten Brown has five days to file for a rehearing in state court or the adoption will become final.Comment:  That's "returned" as in "ordered returned," not "physically returned." Dusten Brown isn't turning Veronica over yet.

For more on the subject, see Court Thwarts ICWA in Baby Veronica Case and Media Misreports Native Adoption.

Below:  "Veronica with her biological father, Dusten."

Court thwarts ICWA in Baby Veronica case

Supreme Court Thwarts ICWA Intent in Baby Veronica Case

By Rob CapricciosoThe U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling drafted by Justice Samuel Alito, has used provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to say that a child, widely known as Baby Veronica, does not have to live with her biological Cherokee father.

"[T]he parent abandoned the Indian child before birth and never had custody of the child," Alito wrote for the majority that was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Stephen G. Breyer.Court rules for adoptive parents in Baby Veronica case

Little 'Baby Veronica' was adopted for more than two years, but an obscure law preventing the breakup of Native American families had forced her return to her father.

By Richard WolfA sharply divided Supreme Court sided with a 3-year-old girl's adoptive parents over the legal claim of her father Tuesday in a case that revolved around the child's 1% Cherokee blood.

In doing so, the justices expressed skepticism about a 1978 federal law that's intended to prevent the breakup of Native American families--but in this case may have created one between father and daughter that barely existed originally.Analysis

This posting sums up a key problem with the Court's ruling:

The Court’s Bizarre 1 Percent Rule

By Aura BogadoLast week, we were all reminded how little Americans understand this foundational idea about the relationship between Native peoples and the U.S. government. When the Supreme Court ruled on June 25 in a case regarding the adoption of a Cherokee baby, Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, the prevailing justices seemed to forget tribal sovereignty exists at all. In Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion, the very first sentence read, “This case is about a little girl (Baby Girl) who is classified as an Indian because she is 1.2% (3/256) Cherokee.” Through the inherent right of tribal sovereignty, the Cherokee Nation determines its own citizens. The Cherokee Nation doesn’t use the practice of blood quantum, and instead identifies its members through the use of very specific genealogical records. Therefore, the baby at question in the case is not 1 percent Cherokee; she is Cherokee.

Popular conversation about the ruling followed Alito’s lead. A headline in USA Today declared that the Supreme Court “gives 1% Cherokee girl to adoptive parents.” The obsession with classifying Natives by blood is a contemporary anomaly that society reserves rather exclusively for Natives. USA Today would have never run a headline in 2008, for example, that read, “Voters elect first 50% black President.” We’ve figured out ways to get so much right when it comes to race—but still almost unknowingly accept when so much is wrong, and fundamentally misunderstood, about tribal sovereignty.

So while it might take some time to tackle the new White House Council’s numerous goals, the language of its opening lines is notable. As I’ve written previously, many people are unaware of the distinct issues that come with being part of a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. While many people are repelled instinctively by racism when it appears in certain cultural venues—say, for example, the Washington football team’s mascot—there’s a lack of understanding among non-Natives about the unique political position that Natives hold, a position which stems from tribal sovereignty.Comment:  The second article above was the one that had the offensive 1% headline. USA Today must've changed it after receiving a slew of complaints. But you can still tell the author's bias in the subhead about "an obscure law" and the first sentence.

For more on the subject, see Media Misreports Native Adoption and ICWA Prevents Child Kidnapping.

Below:  "Dusten Brown, Cherokee, reads to daughter Veronica at their home in Nowata, Oklahoma."

Media misreports Native adoption

An excellent article explains the problems with the media's coverage of the Baby Veronica case, which I noted in Dr. Phil's Horror Show and Baby Veronica Case on Dr. Phil.

Media Failures Lead to Flawed Understandings in Cherokee Adoption Case

By Michael CorcoranIt is a complicated and heartbreaking case. The Capobianco family, who by all accounts loved and cared for Veronica deeply, were understandably hurt and angry when they had to relinquish custody and are making legal efforts to regain the child. In fact, they appealed to the United State Supreme Court to take up the case. But, as complicated as the story is, in the vast majority of media articles that have discussed the case, the issue is portrayed, falsely, as a simple and unambiguous miscarriage of justice. First, the issue has been told almost entirely from the point of view of Melanie and Matt Capobianco. This is not surprising; the sheer drama of prospective parents losing a child is compelling material. But the media's coverage has been so one-sided that the outrage over the case is to be expected. Secondly, numerous inaccuracies about the facts of the case are prevalent in much of the coverage. Finally, the media coverage minimizes the importance and/or misunderstands the function of the ICWA, the history that created the necessity for it and its importance to Native American communities. As a result, much of the public is woefully misinformed about the case and its implications.

"The problem with coverage such as this is that it influences the public's opinion not only regarding this case, but also its perception of the Indian Child Welfare Act's true impact on families," said Terry Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, in a statement to Truthout. "Over the years, I have seen the media repeatedly use a tiny fraction of ICWA cases, such as this one, to portray the law as flawed and in need of amending. To do so is to ignore the thousands and thousands of children that the law has allowed to remain in loving, thriving Indian homes. That is the real story of ICWA."

He added, "It's been disappointing to see so many media outlets take only one side's account of this very complex case, make no discernible attempts to do basic fact-checking on this information and report it as the truth. Frankly, that is not journalism to me."

The media's one-sided coverage generally conveys the heartache of the adoptive parents, with little regard for opposing perspectives. Andrea Poe, writing in The Washington Times, called the case "every parent's worst nightmare." Poe also wrote a similar article for the Huffington Post, in which she declared that "[t]his is not an illegal abduction, although it certainly sounds that way" and that the "adoption community has been devastated by this news." Anderson Cooper and Dr. Phil both dedicated large portions of their widely watched television shows to portray the alleged cruelty of the court's decision. "Veronica was ripped from [the adoptive parents'] arms because she was a Cherokee," Dr. Phil said in an October broadcast dedicated to the case. When Chrissi Nimmo, the assistant attorney general of the Cherokee Nation, was brought onto the show to offer the other side, the adoptive parents left the room because they could "not bear to be in the same room with this person." She was attacked by one of Dr. Phil's guests, who said, "It sounds as if what you are saying is that a bad Indian family is better than a good non-Indian family."

This kind of hostility toward the Cherokee side of the argument has been the norm in most of the media coverage surrounding the case. In virtually all of the reports, the heartache of the parents is the primary focus. To be fair, Brown has not been responsive to requests for comments, but media outlets still have the responsibility to explain the legal reasons for the court's decision, as well as the importance of the ICWA.Comment:  For more on the subject, see ICWA Prevents Child Kidnapping.

Lakota girl imitates stereotypical images

Cultural Appropriation: A Different Perspective

By She the Bear (Britt Reed)I have reached out as a young child and throughout the course of my life to learn about my cultures. However, when you are removed, the media reduces your perception of the 500+ individual tribes and cultures to five tribes: Cherokee, Sioux, Navajo, Apache, and Mohawk. These five complex cultures get even further reduced down to the appearance of what I would now call the dominate-society’s-tacky-rendition-of-plains-culture.

Removed, I had little access to legitimate representations of Lakota culture and Choctaw culture. Being ignorant, while fiercely proud of being native, I took every representation of Native Americans in the media and let them become me. After all, in my mind, costumes, like the ones sold in Halloween stores and portrayed in the old western films, told me that this is how my ancestors dressed. If I wanted to be Native, then I need to dress that way, talk that way, act that way, and (dear god) I better also be sure my hair was straight, just like those Natives on TV and the rest of the media. When you are removed, and there is no one there to tell you what is legitimate and what is a stereotype. How are you to know? I can tell you that the American public schools definitely will not tell you. Popular media, as we know it right now, will not tell you. Dr. Phil cannot tell you.

I am now nearly 24 years old and have been able to reconnect with native communities. I have been told by a native social worker, that it is impressive that I have been able to do so at all—given that many children adopted out never are able to reconnect to Native communities. I know the toll that Native American costumes and the cultural appropriation of native cultures being sold in stores do. I know how the stereotypes that those costumes perpetuate can screw up someone that has been removed physiologically and stunt their growth. Too many times have I had to attempt to weed through what was real and what was a stereotype in my quest to reconnect as a Lakota and as a Choctaw Woman. These images make it harder.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Boutique Lookbook's Stereotypical Fashions and Aubrey O'Day as Indian Princess.

Below:  Tiger Lily from Peter Pan.

ICWA prevents child kidnapping

In a previous posting, people noted how Dr. Phil's show on Baby Veronica was unfair and upsetting. Here's a more rational critique of his presentation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA):

NICWA responds to Dr. Phil's coverage of S.C. ICWA caseOn October 18, 2012, the Dr. Phil show aired an episode that focused on a disputed custody case involving an American Indian child, Veronica. The case pits a loving father’s attempts to parent his daughter against a non-Indian couple from South Carolina–the Capobiancos–and their attorneys who orchestrated an illegal attempt to adopt Veronica. The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is gravely disappointed in the heavy slant toward the Capobiancos’ recounting of the situation and interpretation of the legal issues in the case.

Veronica’s father, who has been relentlessly vilified in the media as a “deadbeat dad” is, in fact, a loving parent and a decorated Iraq war veteran. Rather than acknowledge his right to protect his daughter from a media firestorm that has proven deeply biased, the Dr. Phil show instead allowed personal attacks on his character and speculation on his parenting–from those who admittedly have had no contact with him–to continue unchallenged. We find these attacks unsupported by court records and unacceptable.

Veronica’s pre-adoptive placement was kept secret by her mother and attorneys representing the Capobiancos. Her placement with them was not revealed to Veronica’s father for four months–just days before he was sent to Iraq. Upon learning of his daughter’s proposed adoption, the father quickly moved to affirm his rights to parent Veronica. After three decisions supporting his rights in the South Carolina courts, he has been parenting her since January 2012.

Dr. Phil and several of his guests ignored the fraudulent process attorneys representing the Capobiancos used to help them gain custody of Veronica during their unsuccessful attempt to adopt her. That Veronica is American Indian was known by the Capobiancos and their attorneys, as was the fact that any adoptive process involving her would be covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Instead of delving into why the Capobiancos were advised to circumvent the law, putting Veronica at high risk, Dr. Phil instead chose to rebuff the two guests with the most knowledge of this case and experience in such matters, Assistant District Attorney of the Cherokee Nation Chrissi Nimmo and Les Marston, attorney and tribal judge.

NICWA understands this case is emotionally-charged and has attracted worldwide attention. Nonetheless, we must reject the subjective definitions of what is in Veronica’s best interest that Dr. Phil disappointingly reinforced. Not only did the discussion of Veronica’s “best interest” completely discount the importance of her cultural identity and rights as a tribal citizen, it more shockingly ignored the significance of her being raised within a loving home with her father, sister, stepmother, and loving grandparents–and among a community that includes extended family and tribal members who love her. As Nimmo correctly stated, if Veronica was a non-Indian child, existing state and federal laws would have afforded the father an opportunity to seek custody of her and not reward those who violated the law.

Furthermore, NICWA firmly believes that Veronica’s best interest is not served by the continued negative media campaign currently pursued by the Capobiancos and their public relations firm. We have no doubt they love Veronica, but in this case, the ends they hope to accomplish certainly do not justify the means. Dr. Phil’s portrayal only serves to put Veronica at further risk.

The show’s characterization of ICWA was also filled with misinformation and inaccuracies. ICWA is a law that has helped protect thousands of American Indian children and keep them with their families. Veronica’s story illustrates the clear ongoing need for federal protections like ICWA for American Indian children who continue to be the victims of questionable, and sometimes illegal, attempts to adopt them out.

To learn more about how you can support the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s efforts to strengthen protections for American Indian children and families and to access more information on this case, please visit our website at www.nicwa.org.Kidnapping past and present

Here's some background on why the ICWA was and is needed:

Dr. Phil and the Real Purpose of the Indian Child Welfare Act

By Donna EnnisI recently became aware of a group that is called Coalition for the Protection of Indian Children and Families. On the surface that sounds legitimate but upon further investigation it turns out to be another group attempting to diminish the sovereignty of our tribes and undermine the structure of the Native family. There have been over 200 years of federal policy aimed at the extermination of Native American people. Some of these attempts have been subtle and others more blatant.

The federal government began sending Native children to off-reservation boarding schools in the 1870’s, when the United States was still at war with Indians. An Army officer, Richard Pratt, founded the first of these schools. Pratt believed that the Indian Wars weren’t extinguishing the culture fast enough and so he came upon the idea to separate the children from their parents. Children as young as 4 or 5 were forcibly taken from their homes and brought to the boarding school where they were stripped of their language, culture and family ties. It was many years before the era of the boarding schools was over and by then irreparable damage was done to Native people and the ripple effects are still felt today as evidenced by the historical, intergenerational and cultural trauma that we see in our people.

In 1978, the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to remedy the disproportionate number and widespread removal of children that were being taken from their homes. After the Boarding Schools were over, but before the passage of the federal law protecting Native children, they were again being forcibly removed from their families and placed cross-culturally; away from their language, culture and family ties. Sound familiar?Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families

By Laura Sullivan and Amy WaltersNearly 700 Native American children in South Dakota are being removed from their homes every year, sometimes under questionable circumstances. An NPR News investigation has found that the state is largely failing to place them according to the law. The vast majority of native kids in foster care in South Dakota are in nonnative homes or group homes, according to an NPR analysis of state records.

Years ago, thousands of Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools, where the motto of the schools' founder was "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." Children lost touch with their culture, traditions and families. Many suffered horrible abuse, leaving entire generations missing from the one place whose future depended on them—their tribes.

In 1978, Congress tried to put a stop to it. They passed the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says except in the rarest circumstances, Native American children must be placed with their relatives or tribes. It also says states must do everything it can to keep native families together.

But 32 states are failing to abide by the act in one way or another, and, an NPR investigation has found, nowhere is that more apparent than in South Dakota.

"Cousins are disappearing; family members are disappearing," said Peter Lengkeek, a Crow Creek Tribal Council member. "It's kidnapping. That's how we see it."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Dr. Phil's Horror Show and Baby Veronica Case on Dr. Phil.

Below:  "Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents' backyard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota's Department of Social Services in July 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family." (John Poole/NPR)

Dr. Phil's horror show

Natives were mostly outraged by the Baby Veronica case on Dr. Phil. Some of their responses:

Dr. Phil’s Hollywood-ized Adoption Propaganda

By Trace A. DeMeyerWatching clips of today’s episode (10-18-12) of Dr. Phil, watching those teary adoptive parents show their anger, outrage and despair over losing their babies because of some (ridiculous) (unjust) Indian Child Welfare Act, I knew right away this was going to be a one-sided show touting the benefits of adoption, even if they had a few Indian experts on the show, too.

Dr. Phil was obviously not allowing enough time to teach about ICWA and the wholesale removal of Indian Children in Canada and America, ethnic cleansing via non-Indian adoptions, or explaining why Indian children are called Stolen Generations.

Until I wrote my memoir, I couldn’t find much information in one place and had to dig pretty deep. That’s another reason why I wrote two books hoping it will counter such ignorance and this Hollywood-ized adoption propaganda that still dominates TV.

As I watched, it was obvious how young adoptees being Indian citizens didn’t really matter to the non-Indians parents who adopted them. All they really cared about is keeping them.

If these Americans had any knowledge of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the testimony of Indian leaders in 1976, or the history of America’s neglect of Indians (poverty, starvation and concentration camps called Indian reservations), and the legal theft of thousands of children, maybe then we’d stand a chance going on TV or entering the public courts. Maybe then America might catch a glimpse what 100+ years of theft of tribal children looks like.

Facing down teary adoptive parents who expect praise, not condemnation, we Indians are very familiar with their race-based judgments. Indians went direct to the Senate to get ICWA. Indians won’t win any debates on public TV in three-minute segments. Our history on this topic alone could fill several library collections.Dr. Phil’s Horror Show

By Donna LoringDr. Phil aired a horror show on October 17 featuring couples who had adopted Indian children or who were in the process of doing so. The show zeroed in on the Indian Child Welfare Act and blamed it for interfering with their adoptions and costing them custody of the Indian child they had adopted or were in the process of adopting. One couple they showed was in hiding with the Indian child they had taken. They hired security, like the tribe was the monster!

Did you watch that show? I am sad and dismayed to say that I watched it, yes the whole show! It was a one sided narrowly focused show. It was the scariest thing I have ever watched unfold. It was about Native children being taken. On the show they justified the taking and even featured two Native brothers who had been taken and totally immersed in the non-native culture. They had no idea of their tribal values or history.

It was a show filled with total ignorance of our genocide and one that perpetuates genocide by promoting the continued taking of our children. Without our children we disappear as a culture and a people. It presented the white cultures view only and it was some very dangerous perspectives to be feeding a national audience. Oops, did I say white culture? Yes I did, and there is one, believe it or not, and it does not have the survival of Indian people or Indian governments in mind. It never has. The historical taking of our children by those who wanted to “Kill the Indian and safe the man” tells the story of our cultural genocide in this country. This was accomplished in the form of Indian residential schools. It now is in the form of the adoption, foster care and Welfare systems.

If Dr. Phil or any of his production staff had taken the time to educate themselves on the history and background of this federal law they would have learned why it was necessary.

I watched in shock at the ignorance of Dr. Phil, the non-Native guests and the non-Native audience! The Native experts that were on his show were totally ignored or talked over and the audience made their feelings known which caused a chilling effect on these two Native advocates.Viewers Respond to Dr. Phil Episode About Baby Veronica Custody Battle: Boycott the Anti-Native American Dr. Phil ShowIn response to yesterday’s episode of the Dr. Phil Show that attacked the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and undermined the significance of Native children remaining in their tribe and being immersed in their culture, a grassroots campaign to “Boycott the Anti-Native American Dr. Phil Show” was started on Facebook.

The mission of the Facebook campaign is to hold “Dr. Phil McGraw accountable by boycotting until he agrees to have a show where QUALIFIED experts discuss ICWA’s importance.”For more on child welfare, see When Indians Make Bad Decisions and Why the Indian Child Welfare Act Exists.