1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: This episode is supported by the FX original series Reservation 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,560 Speaker 1: Dogs from Sterlin Harjo and Taiko Yitt. This first of 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: its kind indigenous creative team tells a story that invites 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: audiences into a surprisingly familiar and funny world. Reservation Dogs 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: All episodes now streaming exclusively FX on Hulu. Just a 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: note before we get started. The stories we're sharing this 7 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: season touch on different kinds of trauma. Please take care 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: of yourself while you listen. On a warm day in 9 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: May of twenty sixteen, I gassed up my pickup truck 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: and hit the highway. I was driving north towards a 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: military base in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On the base was an 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: important historical site, or at least what was left of it. 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:07,559 Speaker 1: The Carlisle Indian Industrial School Carlyle opened in eighteen seventy nine. 14 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: On a cold night that fall, one hundred and forty 15 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,279 Speaker 1: seven Native children got off a train. The youngest ones 16 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: were six. They were met by military staff who cut 17 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: their hair, changed their clothes, changed their names to Luther, 18 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: Joseph or Mary, and led them to the military barracks 19 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: that were now home. Carlile was a dangerous place to 20 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: be a child, Physical and sexual abuse was widespread and 21 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: well documented. The military gave the school such little money, 22 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: children didn't always have medical care or food. During the summers, 23 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: they were rented out as domestic servants or for farm labor. 24 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: Carlisle is still an active military base. On that warm 25 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: day in May, I pulled up to the security checkpoint 26 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: and could see the group I was meeting standing in 27 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: a circle. The guard looked at my driver's license with 28 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: a mirror on a little stick. He checked under my 29 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: car and then waved me through. I walked up to 30 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: the circle. We stood in a small section of grass 31 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: between the commissary parking lot and the road. From far away, 32 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: it looked like the edge of a strip mall, like 33 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: an afterthought. But up close you could see that behind 34 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: a black wrought iron fence lies what's left of the 35 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Today. It's a cemetery. It was 36 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: Memorial Day weekend and we were there to decorate the 37 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: graves of the children who died at Carlisle. We brought 38 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: tobacco ties, plastic flowers, and little toys and left them 39 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: on the headstones of the children who never came home. 40 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: Unlike Carlile, most of these so called schools, didn't mark 41 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: their graves, and last summer in Canada, people started finding 42 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: the bodies, the bodies of hundreds and then thousands of children. 43 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: In response, the US has launched an investigation into how 44 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: many babies are buried in our soil. For most of 45 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: the little ones who didn't survive these horrific places, we 46 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: still haven't found their bodies. Any other school that killed 47 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: its children would not be considered a success, but Carlile 48 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: was replicated. The Bureau of Indian Affairs opened twenty six 49 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: boarding schools, and churches opened hundreds more. Death didn't get 50 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: in the way of Carlile's mission because the mission wasn't education, 51 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: it was genocide. Carlyle was the brainchild of a white 52 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: man named Richard Henry Pratt. His idea was this, if 53 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: you took Native children and cut them off from their families, 54 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: their culture, and their tribe, they wouldn't be native anymore. 55 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: And if you did that to enough Native children, there 56 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't be Native people anymore. By the end of the 57 00:04:55,240 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, the US wasn't done acquiring Native land. It 58 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: had just come up with a new way to do it. 59 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: Instead of using war, this time, it used coercion in 60 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: the pressure campaign, Native kids were bargaining chips. In one letter, 61 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: Pratt wrote, the children would be hostages for the good 62 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: behavior of their people, and it worked. While Native children 63 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: were held hostage and boarding schools, the US seized more Land, 64 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: an area the size of Montana at the time. The 65 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: schools weren't talked about as a land grab or a 66 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: tool of genocide. They were charity to solicit donations. One 67 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: Catholic mission wrote that Indian children were in grave danger 68 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: and good Christians who came to the rescue would not 69 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: only save those children, but reap their own life rewards 70 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: with God. Pratt even talked about himself as a benevolent man. 71 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: He was saving those children. Throughout history, the people harming 72 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: Native Americans have been motivated by two things, greed and charity. 73 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: The greedy simply want what Native people have, but the 74 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:30,480 Speaker 1: charitable believe they know what Native people need better than 75 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: Native people ourselves. You might think that the greedy and 76 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: the charitable couldn't work together, but when you study history, 77 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: you find that they always do. It's almost as if 78 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: they need each other. The greedy have the resources and 79 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 1: power to get things done, and the charitable. Will the 80 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: charitable help excuse unspeakable harm? You're listening to This Land, 81 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: a podcast about the present day struggle for Native rights 82 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: from Cricket Media. I'm your host, Rebecca Nagel Goheen Dawadon 83 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: dalecayet Gela, citizen of Cherokee Nation. This season, we're following 84 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: how a string of custody battles over Native children turned 85 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: into a federal lawsuit, threatening everything from tribal sovereignty to 86 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: civil rights. Native elders started decorating the graves at Carlisle 87 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy three. They've gone back every Memorial Day 88 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: weekend since. At the time, Carlisle had closed, but other 89 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: boarding schools were still open. But by the nineteen seventies, 90 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: Native Americans were facing another crisis. About a third of 91 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: Native children had been removed from their homes and tribes, 92 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:17,239 Speaker 1: mostly by state child welfare agencies. Before tribes could recover 93 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: from the boarding school era, another generation was taken. In response, 94 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: Congress passed a law called the Indian Child Welfare Act 95 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: or IQUA for short. IQUA was created to keep Native 96 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: kids with their families and tribes. The law has been 97 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 1: around for decades, but recently, a small group of people 98 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: started saying that IQUA was a bad law, that it 99 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: shouldn't exist, and they started a campaign to get rid 100 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: of it. 101 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: A decade's old law to stop the separation of American, 102 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,559 Speaker 2: Indian and Alaska Native children has been struck down as unconstitutional. 103 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: The group says that they know what's best for Native 104 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: children and that contrary to the position of basically every 105 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: tribe and native organization, IQUA actually harms Native kids. 106 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 3: The decision in Texas centered on a non Native couple 107 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 3: who sued the state to adopt an American Indian toddler. 108 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: And, like so many people who came before, their effort 109 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:32,679 Speaker 1: to save Native children just happens to serve another agenda. 110 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: Last season, I had a story to share with you. 111 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: This season, I have a story to uncover. Stay with us. 112 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: For the past four years, I've been following one court case. 113 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: It's become a sort of obsession. The case isn't a 114 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: murder or even a crime. It's a lawsuit, big, sprawling 115 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:06,439 Speaker 1: federal lawsuit. Like all lawsuits, It has an official name, 116 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: Rakkeen v. Holland, but most people just call it the 117 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: Brakkeen's case. The Rakin's case is complicated. On one side, 118 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: there are foster families and states saying the Indian Child 119 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: Welfare Act is unconstitutional, and on the other side are 120 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: tribes in the US federal government defending the law. But 121 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: the whole thing starts with the story of this one 122 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: couple in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas, Chad and 123 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: Jennifer Bracken. Jennifer is a successful antesesiologist and Chad is 124 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: a stay at home dad. They are both Christian and 125 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: they believe people with a lot of money, people like them, 126 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: are supposed to use that money to serve God to 127 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: help others. A few years ago, they started looking around 128 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: for what to do, and after reading books, asking church leaders, 129 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: and praying, they decided to become foster parents. Brakeeen v. 130 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: Holland would not exist without Chad and Jennifer Bracken. They 131 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: started it, and I wanted to know why. How did 132 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: they go from wanting to help others to wanting to 133 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: get rid of iqua? Was it even their idea? The 134 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: Brakeens declined to speak with us for this podcast. We 135 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: reached out through their lawyers, We contacted them directly, I 136 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: attended court hearings when I was in the area. I 137 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: even drove to their house, thinking maybe I could convince 138 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: them in person. Jennifer politely declined, so we reached out 139 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: to people who knew them. 140 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 2: Jennifer and I grew up going to church camp together, 141 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,359 Speaker 2: and then we also attended the same college. 142 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,439 Speaker 1: This is Christina Jones. She's just a. 143 00:11:54,520 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 2: Great person, full of integrity, very driven, high justice. I mean, 144 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 2: just character, loyal, dependable. You would trust her. 145 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: By the time the Brakeens started thinking about it, Corey 146 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: and Christina had been fostering for years. Here's Corey. 147 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 4: When they got into the foster care and adoption world, 148 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 4: she reached out to Christina, and Christina's been sort of 149 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 4: a I think, a helpful resource for her through their journey. 150 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 1: Corey and Christina used to attend a Church of Christ, 151 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: like the Brakeens do now. According to Corey, within that 152 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: faith community, there is a big emphasis on adoption. 153 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 4: You commonly hear passages like James one twenty seven quoted 154 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,959 Speaker 4: that pure religion is to care for orphans and widows 155 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 4: in their distress. Especially in church cultures, foster care can 156 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,839 Speaker 4: really be built up as the ultimate expression of faith, 157 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 4: and so if you're not fostering. If you're not adopting, 158 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 4: if you're not involved somehow, then you're actually not living 159 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 4: the fullest expression of your faith possible. And people may 160 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 4: not come out and say it directly like that, but 161 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 4: it certainly implied in a lot of circles. 162 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: At the same time I was trying to get the 163 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: Brakkeens to do an interview, I was just googling them, 164 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: and one day I found something that felt big. It 165 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: was a public blog written by Jennifer Bracken. In between 166 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: posts about family reunions and Disney World, Jennifer described that long, 167 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: complicated journey from becoming a foster parent to launching a 168 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: federal lawsuit with a surprising level of detail. So that's 169 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: how we're going to tell one side of this complex story, 170 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 1: in Jennifer's own words, read by an actor. Here's one 171 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: post from about six months before they got their first placement. 172 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 5: This was all such a sweet idea until we discussed 173 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 5: it together and decide I this was really what God 174 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 5: was calling us to do. Then all of a sudden, 175 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 5: it was real. The struggles were real, the neglected kids 176 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 5: were real, and the long road to the new perfect 177 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 5: family became real. After we started telling our families and friends. 178 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 5: My fears became real. What in the world are you doing? 179 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 5: Everything is perfect? Why mess up a good thing? 180 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: To Jennifer, becoming a foster parent was a sacrifice. In 181 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: the blog, she compared it to going on a mission 182 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: trip and living with that electricity. 183 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 5: It would not be an offering to God if it 184 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 5: didn't cost us something. 185 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: Their first foster placement did not go well. On the blog, 186 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: Jennifer said the three year old boy was difficult and 187 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: even suffocating. She was overwhelmed by all the therapy appointments, 188 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: the messes he made in her house, and the strain 189 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: on her other two boys. After five months, Jennifer and 190 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: Chad asked Child Welfare to take the boy back. When 191 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: they got a call for another placement, Jennifer wrote she 192 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: thought it would be easier because the second foster child 193 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: was a baby. 194 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 5: Ironically, Chad didn't want to take the placement because we 195 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 5: were told from day one we would not be adopting him, 196 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 5: and I kind of agreed with that, But having had 197 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 5: such a rough time through our first placement, I thought 198 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 5: a baby for three months would be a nice way 199 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 5: to get our feet wet again. 200 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: So we took the placement. Jennifer was right. The baby 201 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: was so much easier. 202 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 5: Other than a difficult bedtime last night. He's spoiled us. 203 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 5: He's been easy to love. He's a precious one. A 204 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 5: big part of that is that he's a baby, not 205 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 5: a three year old, but I find that much easier 206 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 5: to do as an emotion and a lover. 207 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: In court documents, this child is referred to by his 208 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: initials ALM. We'll call him Antonio. It's hard to verify 209 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: Jennifer's blog because in Texas, child welfare cases are confidential. 210 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: It's one of the things that's really frustrating about this lawsuit. 211 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: So much hinges on the details of the underlying custody cases, 212 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: but those details are locked away in a black box, 213 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: and as a reporter, all I wanted for months was 214 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: to open it. But we do know from the blog 215 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: that the Brakeens knew why they couldn't adopt Antonio. 216 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 5: His ethnicity and the laws of this land at one 217 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 5: time meant to protect but likely antiquated at this point, 218 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 5: will likely prevent us from adopting him. 219 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: We won't get our hopes up. That law Jennifer mentioned 220 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: was the Indian child Welfare act. Antonio is Native American, 221 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: his mom is Navajo and his dad is Cherokee. IQUA, 222 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: as I mentioned before, was created to stop the systemic 223 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: removal of Native children from their families and tribes. The 224 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: law is a little complicated because it does more than 225 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: one thing. I think of it like a set of guardrails. 226 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: IQUA is there to make sure Native kids get through 227 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: foster care and adoption safely. First, it requires child welfare 228 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 1: agencies to make active efforts to reunify the child with 229 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: their parents. Second, the law allows tribes to advocate in 230 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: cases that involve their children or move the case to 231 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: tribal court. And lastly, if a child can't be reunified 232 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: with their parents, IQUA sets out placement preferences for where 233 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 1: that child should go next. The preferences go like this. 234 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: First are members of the child's family, the members of 235 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,239 Speaker 1: their tribe, and then other Native homes, which means the 236 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: Brakenes should come after all those other options. And that's 237 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: the part of the law they don't like because it 238 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 1: puts them last in line. Jennifer tried not to get 239 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: her hopes up, but then she got attached. 240 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 5: It's sad, really, the law is going to take him 241 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 5: from the only family he knows for over half of 242 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 5: his life by the time he goes home. If it's 243 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 5: going to be this way, then now is the time 244 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 5: to do it. Now when he likes to cuddle at night, 245 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,879 Speaker 5: Now when he's gaining his independence but always stays close, 246 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 5: Now is the time to bond with him, and we 247 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 5: are doing it. But it should be someone else. But 248 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 5: he's stuck in the system. So we wait, We wait 249 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 5: and wait and wait, and sometimes this is what foster 250 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 5: care is. He's loved and safe with us until the 251 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 5: day he goes home. 252 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: To be clear, the system Jennifer was waiting on here 253 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: wasn't Iqua. It was foster care. That's because Antonio's parents 254 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: had a year to work on their case plan, so 255 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: during that year, Antonio wasn't available to be adopted by anyone. 256 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,719 Speaker 1: I talked to a social worker at the agency that 257 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: licensed the Brackens. She told me fostering can be a 258 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: long and tedious process, but it is also very defined. 259 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: This is Jalen Smiley from k Family Services. 260 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 6: So when we are providing information to families in the 261 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,199 Speaker 6: early stages of the process, we're definitely stressing that this 262 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 6: is not a traditional adoption experience, because we don't know 263 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 6: what's going to happen with that case or what relatives 264 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 6: will come forward, so we can never make a prom 265 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 6: must set on the day that a child is placed 266 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 6: with a family that they will remain with that family forever. 267 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: In the majority of child welfare cases, the foster child 268 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: is not adopted by the foster family. At the end 269 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: of that year, Antonio's mom and dad lost their parental rights. 270 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: Two months later, Navajo Nation found a home a Navajo 271 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: couple living on the reservation in New Mexico wanted to 272 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: adopt Antonio. This placement complied with IQUA. That summer, the 273 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 1: Brakins drove to al Paso so Antonio could meet them. 274 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:43,440 Speaker 1: According to Navajo Nation, the couple was really excited about 275 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: the adoption. They even had a baby shower. But two 276 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: days before the trip, the Brakeens went to court. 277 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 5: We intervened. He has been with us over a year 278 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 5: and he was not yet two. We felt it was 279 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 5: in baby Brothers' best interest to stay right where he was, 280 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 5: the place where he knew he belonged. Since he could 281 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 5: not speak for himself, we spoke for him. 282 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: Jennifer and Chad Brakin did not think Antonio should go 283 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: and live with a family he had only met for 284 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: a few hours just because they were Navajo. They said 285 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: the culture he might gain didn't outweigh the trauma of 286 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,360 Speaker 1: taking him from their home. But here's what I struggle with. 287 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: How can the Brakkins weigh the value of Navajo culture when, 288 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: like most Americans, they don't know much about it. 289 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 7: Ayat a Pianolagana bashishin. 290 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: Tohsoi densha. This is Amber Kennisbakrati, a delegate on the 291 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:52,920 Speaker 1: Navajo Nation Council. 292 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 7: So as I began this conversation and introduced myself, I 293 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:05,479 Speaker 7: reckoned my family ties. You introduce yourself by clans and 294 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 7: then you know how you are instantly related to one another. 295 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: Most child welfare policy in this country is structured around 296 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: the idea of a nuclear family, as in mom, dad 297 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: and their kids. But Navajo families, because they are integrated 298 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: into those clans, are different. 299 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 7: Literally, when you see like a tree and the roots 300 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 7: that are sprouting on the bottom, and how they interconnect 301 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,360 Speaker 7: and intertwine and are there to support one another, that's 302 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 7: that's the family structure. So it's not one or two 303 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 7: individuals it's this whole system, right, it's this whole system. 304 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: Navajo Nation is not just a people, it's a place, 305 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 1: a place where the Navajo have lived since the beginning 306 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: of time. 307 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 7: There's songs and prayers that were seen when we see 308 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 7: our mountains, because that is where our umbilical cords are 309 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 7: are connected to the land, to this place that was 310 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 7: placed here for us, specifically for us, and so the land. 311 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 4: Is like our womb. 312 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 1: But in the eighteen sixties, the US Army cut that 313 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: umbilical cord. Using starvation and murder. The army forced Navajo 314 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 1: people into concentration camps and then on a four hundred 315 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: mile death march away from their homelands. 316 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 7: Not only was a time of great sorrow, but it 317 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 7: also then was a time where families were separated and 318 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 7: almost like our hearts and souls were taken from us. 319 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 1: Navajo Nation is one of the few tribes in the 320 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: US that, after removal, was able to negotiate their return. 321 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 7: And so when the elders and the leaders were able 322 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 7: to negotiate Napcos to return back to our homeland, there's 323 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 7: songs and there's prayers that we seing like when we 324 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:32,239 Speaker 7: passed the Rio Grand River because we recognize those that 325 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,119 Speaker 7: we lost. So that's how, in my mind, how I 326 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 7: see us being taken and being extremely fortunate to come 327 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 7: back home and have the ability to continue to care 328 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,919 Speaker 7: for our earth and to be here with our mountains 329 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 7: who when we walk amongst them, they. 330 00:24:57,920 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 3: Know who we are. 331 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: Counsel Woman Krotate wants Navajo children to have that, to 332 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: live on the land that knows them, to be part 333 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: of that root structure, and to be firmly planted in 334 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: who they are. 335 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 3: It is important for our children's spiritual, mental, physical well 336 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 3: being to know who they are, their special purpose. 337 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 7: In the world, and that this is theirs. This is 338 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 7: a space and a place in a people who claim 339 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 7: them and who will protect them. 340 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: According to the United Nations, taking the children of an 341 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: ethnic group is still a form of genocide. 342 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 7: A child missing is a sorrow in my heart because 343 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 7: I know we cannot continue to heal when we have 344 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 7: our children taking away from us. We cannot be whole 345 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 7: when we don't have our babies. 346 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: Both choices removing a child from a foster home and 347 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: removing a child from his tribe are a disruption, and 348 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 1: which disruption feels bigger is all about perspective. If you 349 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: zoom in, placing Antonio with that Navajole family breaks his 350 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: attachment with the Brakeens who'd raised him for a year. 351 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,160 Speaker 1: And if you zoom out, placing Antonio with the Brakeens 352 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:34,879 Speaker 1: breaks something I don't even have words for. I just 353 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:39,879 Speaker 1: think about the land between those sacred mountains, where Antonio's 354 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: family has lived since the beginning of time. The importance 355 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 1: of identity came up in our conversations with Jennifer's old 356 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: friends Christina and Corey Jones, too. It wasn't something they 357 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: understood at first. Corey just thought his big house and 358 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: all the opportunities that came with it gave his foster 359 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 1: kids a better life, and one day he said as 360 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: much to a social worker. 361 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 4: He dropped his pen, looked me dead in the eye 362 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 4: and said, being poor doesn't make you a bad parent, 363 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,679 Speaker 4: And I just quit talking and was like okay, and 364 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 4: that man, that just sort of rattled. 365 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 2: Through my bones For a while. 366 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 4: I didn't understand what is meant by good for the kids, 367 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 4: because I think if a child has opportunities for what 368 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 4: would widely be considered as a good school or a 369 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,960 Speaker 4: safe neighborhood, that that's good for a kid, but not 370 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 4: if the kid doesn't feel at home there, and not 371 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 4: if they don't feel like their identity is connected with 372 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 4: that place. 373 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 1: Corey kept having moments like that one where the reality 374 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: of foster care hit him like a ton of bricks 375 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: and it changed the way he and his wife Christina 376 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: saw things. It even changed the way they saw themselves. 377 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 4: And so, yeah, we've done a lot of soul searching 378 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 4: and of I guess, for lack of better term, repenting, 379 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 4: for just how we perceive people in general, and especially 380 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 4: people who are poor. I mean, if we're honest, and 381 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 4: I think especially those of us who come from like 382 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 4: white conservative Christian backgrounds, we can certainly come at it 383 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 4: with the white savior complex and we believe we're not 384 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 4: just helping kids, but we're also, you know, saving souls 385 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 4: and we're going to ride in on the white horse 386 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,680 Speaker 4: and save the day for these children. But I think 387 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 4: it's something that foster parents are going to have to 388 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 4: confront as well and check our own hearts and ask 389 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 4: why we're really doing this, Like are we doing this 390 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 4: to make ourselves feel better? Are we doing this because 391 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 4: we think this is this is how we finally make 392 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 4: it into heaven by doing this really cool, noble thing. 393 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: As the custody battle heated up, the bra Keen's got 394 00:28:55,320 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: some help from an unusual place. That story. After the break, 395 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: that petition the Brakines filed to adopt Antonio was denied 396 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: and Antonio was scheduled to be moved. Here is Jennifer's blog, 397 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 1: again read by an actor. 398 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 5: We wanted to appeal. We felt we should have won. 399 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,480 Speaker 5: Not to mention, we felt this would do real emotional 400 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 5: harm to him. But the cost of the appeal was 401 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 5: extraordinarily high. 402 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: It looked like they could lose Antonio. But then something happened, 403 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: something big. 404 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 5: Through God moving some very big mountains. We came to 405 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 5: find a firm who appealed for us pro bono. 406 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: That pro bono law firm was Gibson Done. You may 407 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: not have heard of Gibson Done, but you've probably heard 408 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: of their clients like Chevron, Shell, Walmart, and Amazon. Gibson 409 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: Don has a bit of a reputation. Here's how one 410 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: of their recent opponents put it. 411 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 4: Gibson Done has built an entire wing of that like. 412 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 6: Their reputation is the dirty work that they do for 413 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 6: Chevron and offering it to others. 414 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: If you're a big corporation, you don't hire Gibson Dun 415 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: to settle your lawsuit. You hire Gibson Dun to go 416 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: scorched earth. And they brought that scorched earth approach to 417 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: a custody battle over a two year old. Around the 418 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: same time the Brakeens were fighting to adopt Antonio in 419 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: state court, Gibson Dun helped them file another lawsuit in 420 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,520 Speaker 1: federal court. Here's their lawyer. 421 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaker 8: Thank you, Chief Judge Owen, and may it pleased the court. 422 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 8: Matthew McGill for the individual plaintiffs. My clients opened their 423 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 8: heart and their homes to a child in need and 424 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 8: embrace that child as a part of their family. They 425 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 8: are here because the Indian Child Welfare Acts placement preferences 426 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 8: turned their lives and their families upside down, solely because 427 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 8: the child they took in is an Indian child and 428 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 8: they are not and cannot be because of their race 429 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 8: Indian families. 430 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: It's a little tricky because there were two cases happening 431 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: at the same time. In state court, the Brackens were 432 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: fighting for custody, but in federal court they were fighting 433 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 1: to strike Igua down to get rid of the law entirely. 434 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,600 Speaker 1: That lawsuit, not the custody dispute, is Brakin v. Holland 435 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: it's still under appeal waiting on the steps of the 436 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:58,719 Speaker 1: Supreme Court. Antonio's custody case raises a lot of hard questions, 437 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,520 Speaker 1: and that's so woman's parable of who should raise this 438 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 1: child is what every reporter focused on. But the thing 439 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,720 Speaker 1: I wanted to know was what the hell is Gibson 440 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: Done doing here? Why is a big corporate law firm 441 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: involved in a custody dispute? How did the Brakens find them? 442 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 1: According to Jennifer's blog, whence Gipson Done was on the case, 443 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: things started to go their way. 444 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,520 Speaker 5: At this point, the potential adoptive couple removed their names 445 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 5: from consideration, and who could blame them? They were looking 446 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 5: at several months of uncertainty and waiting for a child 447 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 5: They had met once for three hours, when there were 448 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 5: plenty of children in need of a home. Now, the 449 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 5: tribes tried to find another family but were unable, so 450 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 5: they agreed to let us adopt. 451 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:58,200 Speaker 1: The Brakeenes one. They adopted Antonio. The blog posts about 452 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: adoption day include a new family portrait. In the picture 453 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: Antonio has a wide smile. He's definitely a toddler, standing 454 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: tall on two feet, but his cheeks are still fat 455 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: like a baby. The family is wearing matching baseball shirts 456 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: and incursive font running diagonally across Antonio's chest. Is his 457 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: new name, not his new last name, his new first name. 458 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: The Brakeenes changed it. Here's counselwoman Krotty. 459 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 6: We have learned. 460 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 7: From our own history, modern history, of those who were 461 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 7: taken fat inside them. 462 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,800 Speaker 6: They're being not knowing. 463 00:33:55,040 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 7: Where they originated from. They had a spiritual sense of 464 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:21,160 Speaker 7: something was missing. It's a calling we're trying. And when 465 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 7: we say prayers, and we're praying in a ceremonial way 466 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:28,960 Speaker 7: for our children to return, we pray for when someone 467 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:34,160 Speaker 7: has gone from the family, we pray for them for 468 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 7: the spiritual connection that they have because of who and 469 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 7: where they're from, for them to come back. 470 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: The Brakeen's case was not the first of its kind. 471 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,680 Speaker 1: In the last decade, IQUA has been challenged more times 472 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: than the Affordable Care Act. There is a coordinated effort 473 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:10,360 Speaker 1: underway to strike it down. As a reporter, I've followed 474 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 1: these anti EQUA cases for years. Why was this decade's 475 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:19,480 Speaker 1: old law, a small step towards addressing two hundred years 476 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: of family separation. Suddenly the target of these special interests 477 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:28,800 Speaker 1: and who was paying for it and why. I spent 478 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:33,480 Speaker 1: years poking around, and every time I connected a dot, 479 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 1: the web just got bigger. It was too big for 480 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,239 Speaker 1: one article or even one reporter. So we put a 481 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 1: team together and we spent a year investigating. We talked 482 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: to caseworkers, family members, adoptive couples, background sources, over one 483 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:56,239 Speaker 1: hundred people. IQUA opponents told us this case is all 484 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,920 Speaker 1: about the children. I think we need to get rid 485 00:35:58,960 --> 00:35:59,319 Speaker 1: of EQUA. 486 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 4: I think we do need to have the same laws 487 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,840 Speaker 4: for white, Black, Indian Chinese kids, no matter what. 488 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 1: But we found court documents and legal experts that pointed 489 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:10,360 Speaker 1: to something else. 490 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 4: The position of many of these conservative lawyers, in. 491 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 6: Effect, was that any conscious efforts to address racial inequality 492 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,480 Speaker 6: constituted so called reverse discrimination. 493 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:30,279 Speaker 8: It is a direct disadvantage placed on non Indians. 494 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 6: Give me a fucking break, I'm sorry, talk about privilege. 495 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,440 Speaker 6: We shouldn't be last because we're white, just because we're white. 496 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: We submitted sixty four your requests, read over ten thousand 497 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: pages of court documents. Our reporting uncovered details that have 498 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: never been shared publicly. We followed the money and found 499 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 1: some disturbing incentives. 500 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,160 Speaker 9: There are more people looking to adopt than there are children. 501 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:01,480 Speaker 9: There's clearly a shortage, and it's blind demand problem. 502 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 10: Some of these legal theories would put tribal gaming at 503 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:07,799 Speaker 10: risk in the same way they put the Indian Shell 504 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:13,600 Speaker 10: Welfare Act at risk, and it might be too obvious 505 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,200 Speaker 10: to do it in the gaming context. 506 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: Every time I thought I got to the bottom of it, 507 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: the bottom just got lower. 508 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,080 Speaker 11: If any country is not afraid, it should be, because 509 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:28,840 Speaker 11: this is the new frontier of trying to take away 510 00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:32,719 Speaker 11: everything that it means to self govern, everything that it 511 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,799 Speaker 11: means to build up an independent nation. 512 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:39,800 Speaker 7: They called and said, we will be disestablishing your reservation lands. 513 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:42,520 Speaker 6: I think everyone was looking at each other like, what 514 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:44,120 Speaker 6: the hell just happened. 515 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,000 Speaker 9: My cynical view on this is that this case is 516 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,240 Speaker 9: affront for a bigger legal challenge amount of by various 517 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:53,880 Speaker 9: conservative groups that are upset about all sorts of federal 518 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:58,439 Speaker 9: rules and regulations, ranging from abortion rights to the same 519 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 9: sex marriage civil rights laws. 520 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:06,759 Speaker 8: It's not about kids. It was never about kids. 521 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 1: One of the biggest breakthroughs came late in our reporting. 522 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 1: After months, we finally pieced together what actually happened in 523 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:23,160 Speaker 1: Antonio's custody case, and it wasn't at all what I expected. 524 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:28,360 Speaker 1: Next time on this Land, Let's Solista General of Texas 525 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:30,800 Speaker 1: is filing emotion in this custody case. 526 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:33,600 Speaker 6: Yes, what the hell? 527 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:35,200 Speaker 1: That's so bizarre? 528 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 7: Y'all, All, y'all. 529 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,520 Speaker 1: This Land is Rewarded Written and hosted by me Rebecca 530 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:09,600 Speaker 1: Nagel Goheen, citizen of Cherokee Nation. Additional reporting this season 531 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:14,160 Speaker 1: from Maddie Stone, Martha Troyan, citizen of Obie Chika kong 532 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:18,480 Speaker 1: Lack Suel First Nation, and Amy Westervelt from Cricket Media. 533 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:23,760 Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Jon Favreau, Sarah geismer Lyras Smith, 534 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: and Katie Long, with special thanks to Alison Falsetta from 535 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:32,880 Speaker 1: Critical Frequency. Our managing producer is Amy Westervelt, our senior 536 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 1: producer is Sarah Ventry, and our story editor is Raka Murphy. 537 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:41,399 Speaker 1: Additional editing from Martha Troyan and Polly Denette Claw who 538 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:45,759 Speaker 1: is Deney. Sound design by Lyras Smith, Mark Bush and 539 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 1: Charlotte Landis. Original score composed by Jared Tate. Citizen of 540 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 1: Chickasaw Nation. Our Outra Song is an honor song for adoptees, 541 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,960 Speaker 1: written and sung by Jerry Dearley, who is Oglala Lakota. 542 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:03,200 Speaker 1: Our fact is woudn Yan. Our First Amendment Attorney is 543 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,080 Speaker 1: James Wheaton, founder of The First Amendment Project. Podcast art 544 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:12,280 Speaker 1: by Kelly Gonzalez, citizen of Cherokee Nation. Jennifer Brakeen's blog 545 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:16,240 Speaker 1: was read by voice actor Alissa Zia. If you're enjoying 546 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:19,759 Speaker 1: the show, please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps more 547 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,120 Speaker 1: people find us, and please share it with your friends. 548 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:25,840 Speaker 1: If you have a tip or information to share related 549 00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:29,359 Speaker 1: to our reporting, you can do that securely and anonymously 550 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:32,440 Speaker 1: through our secure drop You can find a link in 551 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,520 Speaker 1: the show notes. While we were working on this episode, 552 00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,640 Speaker 1: one of the elders who started the annual decorating of 553 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:42,960 Speaker 1: graves at Carlisle passed away. Karen Collins was a citizen 554 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,200 Speaker 1: of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, served on the 555 00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:49,839 Speaker 1: Elders Council of the American Indian Society, and was an 556 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:53,680 Speaker 1: important leader in the DC Urban Native community. She was 557 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:58,280 Speaker 1: also incredibly kind to the people, especially the young people 558 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,560 Speaker 1: she helped lead to see pictures of Karen and the 559 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,919 Speaker 1: annual decorating of graves at Carlisle, please visit our website. 560 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:10,040 Speaker 1: On there, you will also find more historical information about 561 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 1: the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. We also have a link 562 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:18,080 Speaker 1: to Jennifer Bracken's blog. This season of This Land touches 563 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:22,839 Speaker 1: on different forms of family, childhood, and racial trauma. If 564 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,799 Speaker 1: you feel like you could use support, please check our 565 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:30,560 Speaker 1: show notes or website this landpodcast dot com to find 566 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:36,280 Speaker 1: resources for adoptees and survivors of childhood trauma, abuse, foster care, 567 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:42,239 Speaker 1: and boarding schools.