Is American Indian a ‘racial’ or ‘political’ identity?

Is American Indian a ‘racial’ or ‘political’ identity? It’s complicated. I’d just posted on FB how the conservative right (the Goldwater Institute) is attempting to upend the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) through its state-by-state litigation.  There are two legal arguments, both funded by right-wing think-tanks, whose money can be traced to the […]

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Most Popular Question – Why did you write Bitterroot?

Book ideas don’t materialize out of nothing.  Built on foundations of experience, or rooted in something larger than a single story, ideas begin as ethereal and boundless shapes.  Over time they take form, eventually becoming distinct and real.  Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption is such a book.  Although shaping the story has its […]

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Role Modeling Resilience

Last night, I was one of 23 women who were part of a project at Colorado State University for International Women’s Day.  The Theme was resilience.  And there were four amazing speakers, three students and one professor, who told their stories of challenge and achievement, and reminded us ‘older’ ones what our role needs to […]

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Essay published in High Country News – Adoption Didn’t Solve the “Indian Problem”

During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, American Indian children were placed with white families at a phenomenal rate.  By 1974, approximately 30% American Indian children were removed from their American Indian families and placed with non-Indian families.  Neglect was cited most often, a vague term that was responsible for changing the lives of Indian children, […]

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