Yesterday morning, I participated in my first webinar – an outreach tool designed to help educate social service providers statewide about the special needs of American Indian children. This is a topic of great importance to the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, whose members have worked hard to better identify and serve these children.
I commend the Jordan Institute for Family at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work for presenting the 90-minute webinar, “Working with Native American Families and Tribes." My fellow panelists were Nadja Jones, Senior Community Development Specialist for the National Indian Child Welfare Association, and Karma Warren, Licensing Consultant for the Division of Social Services.
My contribution focused on the progress being made, and additional steps needed, to increase the number of American Indian youth placed with American Indian foster or adoptive homes. Too often, this vital cultural connection is overlooked, creating heartache among willing Indian families and unnecessary distance from a child’s cultural heritage.
The traditions of our tribal peoples are handed down from father to son, from mother to daughter. If this continuity cannot be provided from biological parents, it is important that they be maintained from within the community. We feel strongly that, if an Indian child is raised in a household not part of the community, no matter how loving, the child will not be exposed to the traditions and culture that we believe are part of his or her birthright.
The Commission pledges its support in improving the timely identification of American Indian children, recruitment of Indian foster families, and partnership with the state’s tribes to better assist case workers in their efforts to aid our youth.