American Indian Report - June 2008 - (Page 21)

also uses the English name Jennifer Mellette, said it is devastating when members of the community go into off-reservation foster care. “We’ve always been surrounded by family — that is who we are as a people,” said Mellette. When children whose parents can’t care for them have to leave their tribal culture, they suffer from “split feather syndrome.” “They don’t know who they are and forget their language. It is very painful to watch them take away our brothers and sisters. There are nights when we stay up late wondering if they are all right,” said Mellette, who, as Miss Standing Rock in 2006 and 2007, made advocacy for ICWA a priority. “ICWA brings back children to where they have come from and they have their roots,” Mellette continued. “I testified for it in South Dakota, using my voice on behalf of my brothers and sisters who can’t speak for themselves.” While ICWA has helped in keeping children in their tribal communities, it is not a panacea. Sometimes implementation has been difficult, said Cross. Policies also have impaired the ability of tribal communities to fight some of the issues, such as mental illness and drug addiction, that leave children without the care of their parents in the first place. Cross said, “If tribal members have addictions or mental illness, that belongs to the circumstance of that person [in tribal culture]. When they are healed, they come back into balance.” Tribal communities want to do all the work to help these tribal members, but tribes are excluded from much of the funding that states access, such as Title IV E Foster Care training funds and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act formula grants, Cross said. “To lose a child from these addictions or illnesses injures the family inter-generationally,” Cross said. Cross and Mellette made their comments at a forum for journalists that included adults who had grown up in the foster care system, a juvenile court judge and experts and advocates. n Web-Based, Real-Time Information Management. Emerald Systems offers Web-Based software solutions for the Justice/Public Safety and Security & Surveillance industries that provide secure information management and sharing. Real-Time access to highly sensitive information over secured internet, intranet, mobile and hosted connections. SORT—Sex Offender Registration & Tracking System SORT allows regional, state or national agencies to work together in the tracking and registration of sex offenders including Adam Walsh legislation. Track all vital information for sex offender registration and conduct cross-referenced data searches across all participating agencies. SENTINEL The most comprehensive Web-Based Jail Management System designed to efficiently manage inmates and facilities. Provides broad and discretionary information sharing among departments and law enforcement agencies. PYRAMID Securely track and share all information vital to drug, internal affairs, intelligence and gang investigations. Conduct cross-referenced data searches and create high impact reports. Extensive record management and discretionary information sharing across multiple agencies. CASINOTRAQ Effectively manage your Casino Surveillance and Security operations. Search and share historical records of all activities and incidents with other casinos, gaming commissions and state & federal gaming regulators. Learn more about our software solutions: www.emeraldsys.com sales@emeraldsys.com 800-892-7891 Emerald Systems is a certified SBA 8(a) organization. American Indian Report June 2008 21 http://www.emeraldsys.com http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/overviewtitleIV-E.htm http://www2.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/cblaws/capta/index.htm http://www2.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/cblaws/capta/index.htm http://www.emeraldsys.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Indian Report - June 2008

American Indian Report - June 2008 Contents Ethics & Standards of Conduct: Governing Work Habits of Elected Officials Congress: Activity on the Hill Catching Up with the Curve Grants: Police Equipment Assistance from the Federal Government The Pottery Project Neighbors Helping Neighbors Where They Belong Spreading the Word “Poverty is Not a Part of Our Culture” Strategic Planning: Step 1 — An Assessment of Now Saving the Samala Language

American Indian Report - June 2008

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