Generations Stolen

Native American communities are grappling with the fallout of government policies which separated Native children from their families and stripped them of their culture - first at boarding schools, and later in white adoptive and foster homes. On June 15, 2023, the Supreme Court rejected challenges to ICWA, a victory for Native communities working to overcome generations of trauma.

Native American communities are grappling with the fallout of government policies which separated Native children from their families and stripped them of their culture - first at boarding schools, and later in white adoptive and foster homes. On June 15, 2023, the Supreme Court rejected challenges to ICWA, a victory for Native communities working to overcome generations of trauma.

Denise Lajimodiere (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) talks about the history of the off-reservation Native/Indian boarding schools and the generational trauma they created for the survivors and their loved ones. She also shares how the schools affected her own family as her father and her grandfather were sent to Fort Totten Indian Industrial School in North Dakota.

At a 1974 Senate hearing on the Indian child welfare program, Native mothers like Cheryl Spider DeCoteau spoke about their experiences with raising their children and the policies that challenge their ability. What these women said, and the grassroots movement that followed, led to was the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 - the law is meant "...to protect the best interest of Indian Children..."