I remember the days when my mother would tuck me in at night with a sad look on her face, almost to a point of crying. I never did ask what was wrong because I had an idea, but knew that if I went further I felt I would’ve broken her. To this day I still don’t know what makes her sad. I only know one truth to her that I fear on the daily, the idea of losing her child.
As a survivor of the institutionalized system of foster care and group homes, I wish to point out the inhumane ways of brainwashing our young children of color into believing that their parents were horrible creatures’, as one therapist put it, that didn’t deserve to keep their children.
My mother did not have the mental capability to fully raise me in a “proper” manner. She had the physical capability to provide a home, food, and put me in school. But she had problems to deal with on her own. She had her ways of dealing with those problems, which was usually drinking.
The fact remains that many children get taken from their parents all he time due to poverty, forced diasporas, police brutality, and straight up racial profiling. 1.“Native American families feel the brunt of this. Their children make up less than 15 percent of the child population, yet they make up more than half of the children in foster care.”
This is a perfect example of assimilation in the united ‘snaaakes’ of amerikkka. Assimilation is a psychological way of stripping one’s identity from them. Many would say otherwise but to those who can empathize, you know the feeling During the days of forced assimilation
in the boarding schools, my mother was beaten, raped, and many other unspeakable deeds occurred. My mother struggled with that since she iived in the days of “kill an Indian, save a man” days.
I have been told many times that families, especially those in diasporas, need the right people behind them. We’re talking lawyers, doctors, and expert witnesses. My father was an expert witness for the Indian Child Welfare Act. He has saved many native children from what
goes on in the system. We need those who have that compassion and determination to save the children from the system or we change the system.
Now as a young single Lakota Sioux father and understand the fear of many parents that have been through what I have. I plan on putting my heart and soul into raising my daughter in a traditional and humble way. Maybe one day she may save a few children from the forced
diaspora of ASSIMILATION!