American Indian Children and U.S. Indian Policy
29 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016
Date Written: March 09, 2016
Abstract
The accompanying article provides a broad perspective that contributes much to the areas of American Indian law, Family Law, and Tribal Law on the topic of American Indian children. By contextualizing the life experience of children within the accepted eras of U.S. Indian policy, the authors intend to provide insight into the contemporary experiences of American Indian children. Societal, health, and juvenile justice statistics are presented to highlight the quality of life issues impacting the next generations of tribal peoples in the United States.
This is a significant work in addressing the often “invisibility” of American Indians and in particular children. As U.S. Indian policy has had a profound impact on tribal governance, the most vulnerable populations in tribal communities, children, have also been heavily impacted. The major U.S. Indian policies of warfare, assimilation through mandatory boarding school education, placing American Indian children into white adoptive homes, and addressing past policy negative consequences in contemporary federal initiatives are examined.
As contemporary tribal governments seek to embrace educational reform and greater child protection measures, the federal funding available and interaction with federal agencies has become increasingly important. This article serves as foundational information piece tracing historical U.S. Indian policies impacting American Indian children to the present to inform policy makers, legal scholars, tribal leadership and others.
Keywords: American Indian, Indigenous, Children, U.S. Indian Policy
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