A couple weeks ago I wrote about an ICWA law forum being held today in St. Paul. (I’m posting this early Tuesday morning/.)
Sunday, the misnamed anti-ICWA Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare. (CAICW) operated by non-Indian Lisa Morris, sent up a tizzyful prayer on Facebook: Ms Morris, in case you’re you’re not familiar with her, is a graduate of Bible College (unnamed), has “dabbled as a registered nurse” (her words) and is an active member of the Minnesota Tea Party. She believes (at least on paper) that prayer is the greatest weapon against ICWA, If the US were a sane country, Ms. Morris would be left standing on a street corner passing out tracts to the unsaved and unwashed. Instead she’s running an anti-civil rights organization.
CAICW (or Ms. Morris) urges us:
Please lift up the ICWA forum taking place on Tues, Oct. 29, in the Twin Cities. It is called “Implications for Working with Fathers in Indian Child Welfare Practice.”
Please pray that the “best interest of children” become not only clear, but vitally important to the majority of those present – and that misrepresentations and abuses of children by certain tribal leaders and advocates be exposed.
Excuse me!
Look carefully at the title of the forum:Implications for Working with Fathers in Indian Child Welfare Practice. It appears that our prayer warriors,.siding with adoption industry ur-sleaze, believe that if evoked loud enough God will gag, bind, and smite Indian men (and men in general probably) who grasp their parental rights in disputed child relinquishment cases. Men who can’t keep it in their pants don’t deserve to rear a child. Christian paps, as we all know, have never soiled their bed outside of marriage.
I dare say if the forum were Implications for Working with Mothers in Indian Child Welfare Practice we’d have a different prayer request since women, with only mild sexual agency (according to evangelical adoptonists), are simply seduced and abandoned by rotters, who I’ve previously noted, can’t keep their pants on It’s OK to trash responsible unmarried fathers, CAICW tells us. But unmarried mothers? Women as baby producers, hold all the cards–that is, the product, and in disputed relinquishment cases our do-gooders aren’t about to kill the goose. Women can, instead, just be cajoled, bribed, and threatened with a future of nothing. Not that CAICW suggests that God would approve that prayer petition..
It takes a lot of gall for CAICW to pray for “best interest” when their poster child Veronica Brown was not granted a routine child’s best interest hearing before she was tossed into the grabby arms of the crazy Capobiancos. If a hearing had been held– a hearing which the USSC certainly expected would be held– she’d be back in Oklahoma where she belongs with her dad Dusten Brown and stepmom Robin and grandparents. Instead, she’s being paraded around for photo ops in Charleston by her pretend parents,
But what if…
CAICW gets what it prays for and the child’s best interest “rule” actually is taken seriously by adoption agencies and courts? That would shove CAICW’s grubby ass right back into to the christianist cultural appropriation muck with a great big plop.
Let us pray!
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The historic role of christian missions in the destruction of native culture is well documented. The recent Brown case has reminded us not only of historical record, but that attempts to dismantle tribal culture, language, property rights, natural resources, and families continue in the effort to make other people rich and to save the souls of the heathen.
In The missionary is back: or perhaps they never left, published a few days ago, Shawnee-Cherokee adoptee writer Trace DeMeyer summarizes past mission practices, puts CAICW in its historical context, and condemns CAICW’s attempt to gut Indian protections and bring back colonization in the form of humanitarian intervention. (my term). She reminds us that Indians are capable of taking care of their own families without the pious interference of the descendants of Calvin and Knox.
What has happened in Indian Country since colonial invasion is not their concern as missionaries – but they do want to freely adopt out those poor kids off the rez. Is this a new thing? Absolutely not. This type of missionary zeal was the reason behind the Indian Child Welfare Act to begin with: White people taking Indian kids (for boarding schools and closed adoptions) caused a genocide and despair and collapse of culture that is still being felt today…
...History will repeat itself until Christians like Lisa [Morris] begin to understand sovereign tribes are handling their own Indian Child Welfare cases since ICWA was passed in 1978, and are working every day to heal the mess left by colonialism and earlier missionaries like Lisa.
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“Bad Indians” Chrissi Nimmo and Dusten Brown. How uppity can they get?
I know it’s popular to say that “ignorance” is no excuse for racism I suppose it’s not…. but really. These CACIW people (and other self-righteous baybee grabbers) despite their squawks are so hateful, so ill-informed, so white pickety fence, so full of themselves, so christo-fascist that willful ignorance can be the only explanation. Nothing fixes that. ICWA , they argue, is racist because it interferes with their white privilege of child appropriation, a privilege they’ve never examined without their rose colored glasses hanging from their pointy noses… Their “special right” to an Indian child does not extend to tribal and parental rights to their own children. Anyone who disagrees with these nutballs is guilty of promoting child abuse and “racism.” Adoptess shut up!
Last night I posted a short comment, now removed by CACIW, on its FB page under the law forum prayer request thread. (CAICW issues lots of prayer requests) I sent something like this:
Speaking of “best interest” Veronica Brown was not given a child’s best interest hearing. The adopted class is rising.
I know! But the Devil was whispering in my ear. I added a couple more tonight, which no doubt will be gone soon.
As of a little while ago the responses to the law forum prayer request thread (including mine that I put up a few hours ago), are posted below. The comments display an alarming amount of anger, disgust, ridicule and downright hatred towards Chrissi Nimmo, the AG for the Cherokee Nation who defended the tribe against Capobianco Veronica lust.. Commentators, also exhibit an unhealthy degree of animosity to anyone who disagrees with their narrow views on adoption and tribal sovereignty. How dare they! As usual, bastards don’t count.
I tried to remove computer junk, but some of it refused to budge. Here are the comments:
Comments;
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Marley Greiner Have any of you ever discussed this matter with Indian adoptees who support ICWA and even want it beefed up. You know, the people who aren’t not happy that they were feed into the adoption spammer?
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Ellen Kelley Chrissy Nimmo is the LAST person anyone would want involved -
Shauna Voigt Chrissy Nimmo needs to fall off the face of the earth honestly! -
Mai Fransen-Perkins UNreal….I am doing everything to contain myself regarding Ms. Nimmo-. So now the CN has is confirmed as having more “parental” rights than BOTH parents? How is this different from slavery-practises?-
Lisa Morris Exactly. I am like you. What they are saying is that tribal governments own OUR children and can treat them as chattel. I am going to DC swinging. As you could tell the last couple weeks – I have lost all patience. Children are NOT their property. -
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Renee Barnhart What the hell is their problem! Sorry but really, how can THEY just come in and say nope we will take your children if you don’t want them. I just don’t understand!-
Lisa Morris It isn’t supposed to be this way. I am not an attorney, but it sure seems like this defies not only the intent, but the law of ICWA.
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Melanie Bonds Boswell This is just crazy. CN and Nimmo have to be stopped! So are they going to try and take the twins and put them in foster care?-
Lisa Morris Yup.
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Melanie Bonds Boswell This is BS!! I think some of the foster parents and CN work together and its about the $. They get paid quite a bit to keep the children away from the biological and adoptive parents. It has NOTHING to do with culture. I know I will piss a lot of people off with that comment but that is how I feel. Enough is enough! -
Marley Greiner So, do you plan to stop the adoptee rights movement as well? Good luck with that. -
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Stephanie Morrow We can hate Nimmo all we want. If she gets dropped another equally nasty will take her place. Gotta get this law changed.-
2 Replies · 7 hours ago
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Jennifer Merrell Davis There’s something terribly wrong when two consenting adults can not choose a life for their families. Enough is enough -
Angie Thayer Praying for these birth parents and babies!-
Lisa Morris Amen, amen
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Ellen Kelley So CN basically says either you raise your children regardless of hardship or the tribe will take them. Obviously native culture is more important to CN than the health, safety and well being of children. And yes, there is a ton of money out there waiting to be grabbed.
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Ricky Shields CN!!!! Why am I not surprised? I have had case worker tell me they have let children grow up in shelters rather than in a non-ICWA home. Particularly males. -
Holly Fairchild Why in the heck is CN even allowed to be a part of this if the PARENTS chose who they wanted to raise their babies?-
3 Replies · 7 hours ago
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Pamela Renz The birth parents have spoken, they made a loving decision from a hard place; it should be more than enough.
To the Cherokee Nation, ye shall reap what ye have sown. -
Lara Thompson Riley FOUL! Legal precedents have already been set when both birthparents agree to the adoption – ICWA does NOT apply. And the Cherokee nation knows this!-
Marley Greiner Both parents did not consent in the Brown case.
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Betty Jo Krenz Holy cow! -
Connie Miles The insanity just needs to STOP!!!! -
MaryMargaret Finney I agree this is a perfect example of what is wrong with the ICWA. We do want to support the following of current State adoption law and recognize that the parents are united in this decision. I would suggest that we be respective when “speaking” of Ms. Nimmo as it is her job to advocate for the ICWA and the CN. That is who pays her. Much like a lawyer who defends an “evil” defendant. She is a good lawyer, I do not agree with or approve of her choices and actions when representing the CN. Hope that makes sense. This case is exactly why the ICWA needs changed or repealed.Twitter fried my account and I was forced to start a new one. Besides tweeting The Daily Bastardette I tweet (and retweet) about adoption issues, civil rights, freedom of the press, the corporate state, Depeche Mode, literature and books, plus some local stuff. I retweet generously. Join me there! Daily Bastardette @DBastardette.
“Please pray that the ‘best interest of children’ become not only clear, but vitally important to the majority of those present ”
And God said, ” Leave the kid with his father, you dolts.”
I’ve always loved the way you use words. ‘Anti-civil rights’ is the perfect term on many different levels.
I find it very sad that there are still so many ignorant and racist white people out there. You would think in this day and age that adults would have become a little more evolved than these people seem to express through their opinions. What small brains must they have. It’s an embarrassment to our country. It’s an affront to our native populations. They are the epitome of the bible’s definition of sinners. They covet others children, they do not serve anyone but themselves, they steal children, they lie to in order to steal, they worship themselves and they cause children to not honor their mother’s and father’s. They are the current day plague, a fungus that spoils and destroys. They put themselves on a pedestal and look down their noses on anyone who does not fit the description of themselves. They are the creators of the end.