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- Title
The Raw and Never-Ending Grief of Native American Mothers Whose Children have been Separated From Them.
- Authors
Landers, Ashley L.
- Abstract
Native American mothers who have had their children separated from them, either through adoption or removal for assimilation into residential boarding schools, experience ongoing grief and loss. Many Native American children remain in the child welfare system due to discrimination, racial bias, structural racism, and poverty. The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 aimed to protect Native American children by prioritizing placement within their extended families or tribes. However, there is no consistent tracking of how many fostered and adopted Native American children have been reunited with their families. Native American birth mothers who have lost children to adoption experience ambiguous loss, which is a loss without resolution or closure. These mothers often feel forced to surrender their children due to their young age and lack of resources, leading to mental health and substance abuse problems. The healing of Native American birth mothers will require ongoing collective efforts.
- Subjects
GRIEF; NATIVE Americans; NATIVE American children; MOTHERS; NATIVE American women; INDIAN Child Welfare Act of 1978 (U.S.)
- Publication
CounterPunch, 2023, p1
- ISSN
1086-2323
- Publication type
Article