Native Families Research Articles

Abolition, Settler Colonialism, and the Persistent Threat of Indian Child Welfare

Family separation is a defining feature of the U.S. government’s policy to forcibly assimilate and dismantle American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribal nations. The historical record catalogues the violence of this separation in several ways, including the mass displacement of Native children into boarding schools throughout the 19th century and the widespread adoption of Native children into non-Native homes in the 20th century. This legacy eventually prompted the passage of landmark legislation known as the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). ICWA introduced federal protections against the unnecessary removal of Native children and affirmed the role of the tribe as an important partner in child welfare proceedings. To what extent has the federal government honored the commitments of ICWA and reversed the trajectory of Native family separation since 1978? What can be done to reduce the threat of the current child welfare system on the well-being of Native families?
 In this Article, we use administrative and historical data to statistically evaluate the magnitude of change in AIAN family separation since the passage of ICWA and locate the institutional pathways that funnel AIAN families into the child welfare system. We find that, despite long-standing treaty responsibilities to support the health and well-being of tribal nations, AIAN children remain at incredibly high risk of family separation. In particular, we find that the frequency of AIAN children’s placement into foster care has remained relatively stable since the passage of ICWA and that the post-investigation removal decision by child welfare agencies is a key mechanism of inequality in family separation. We situate these findings within theories about settler colonialism and Indigenous dispossession to illustrate that the continuous removal of Native children from their homes is not an anomaly. Instead, we argue that the very intent of a white supremacist settler-state is to dismantle Native communities. Based upon these findings, we argue that the child welfare system in its entirety must be abolished in order to stop the routine surveillance and separation of Native and nonWhite children from their families by the state. We suggest that ICWA has provided, and will continue to provide, a necessary intervention to protect Native families so long as this intrusive system remains. We conclude by envisioning an abolitionist approach that immediately redirects social and financial resources into the hands of Native families and works cooperatively with tribal nations to promote Indigenous communities of care.

The Surveillance Tentacles of the Child Welfare System

The family regulation system identifies families through the use of widespread, cross-system surveillance for the purported purpose of keeping children safe. But the system does not surveil all families equally, leading to the disproportionate impact of family regulation on Black, Brown, and Native families, and fails to protect while causing more harm to children and communities of color. We examine how institutions and professionals that are meant to provide necessary services to the community—medical providers, social services agencies, the police, and schools—act as tentacles of surveillance, entrapping families in the family regulation system. We argue that engineering service and community providers as surveillance agents perpetuates inequality and leads to unnecessary family separation and trauma, and that genuine support for families can only thrive outside of the family regulation system and its surveillance tentacles.

Foreword

The 2001 book, Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare, by Dorothy Roberts, called out the racism of the child welfare system and the harms that system perpetrates on families and communities. Twenty years later, despite numerous reform efforts, the racism and profound harms endure. It is time for transformative change. In this foreword to the symposium Strengthened Bonds: Abolishing the Child Welfare System and Re-Envisioning Child Well-Being, honoring the 20th anniversary of Shattered Bonds, we highlight Professor Roberts’ articulation of her development as a family policing abolitionist and summarize the articles and comments contributed from scholars in numerous disciplines and well as impacted parents, family defense advocates and systemchange activists. These contributions help us learn from history and political theory; focus on the unique and shared circumstances of Native American families; critique, and call for repeal of, much of current law; condemn the punitive, and racially disproportionate, surveillance of families; and demand a new approach that diverts the massive funding of the foster-care industrial complex into support, services, and healing for families, tribes, and communities. We call for abolition of the family regulation system, the term we use as a more accurate description of what is commonly called the child welfare or child protection system. We situate this call in the context of the more developed movement for prison abolition. The current system is predicated on seeing individual parents as a risk to their children. It fails to see the strengths and resilience of parents and families; the harms of surveillance and removal; and the structural forces that harm children by failing to invest in adequate housing, income, child care, health and mental health services, and educational opportunities for all families. Abolition provides the transformative mind-set that will enable loving and strengthened families to raise happy, healthy, safe, educated, and imaginative children.

Birth order and alcohol-related mortality by ethnic origin and national context: Within-family comparisons for Finland and Sweden

BackgroundPrevious studies have found that birth order is an important predictor of later life health, including hospitalisation for alcohol use. We examine the relationship between birth order and alcohol-related mortality in two national contexts, within native families who differ on ethnic origin. MethodsWe study the association between birth order and alcohol-related mortality after age 17, using Finnish register data for cohorts born 1953−1999 and Swedish register data for cohorts born 1940−1999. We apply Cox proportional hazard models and use sibling fixed effects that eliminate confounding by factors shared by siblings. We separate full-sibling groups by ethnic origin, which for Finland means mother’s and father’s Finnish or Swedish ethnolinguistic affiliation. For Sweden, we distinguish native-born according to whether one or both parents were born in Sweden or Finland. ResultsWe find a positive correlation between birth order and alcohol-related mortality, but only for ethnic Finns in Finland and primarily men. Within these sibling groups, second-borns have an alcohol-related mortality risk that is 9% higher than that of first-borns, third-borns 19 % higher, fourth-borns 22 % higher, and fifth- or higher-borns 47 % higher. No such birth order associations can be found for any of the other ethnic groups analysed in Finland or Sweden. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that cultural-related behaviours typical for ethnic groups, and the national context in which they are studied, are relevant for whether any association between birth order and alcohol-related mortality can be observed. Differences in the social interplay within the family may be an important factor.

Understanding the connection between the ‘Āina, strengths, and houselessness among previously houseless Native Hawaiian and Micronesian families

ABSTRACT Houselessness in Hawai‘i is a structural public health concern, and strategies are needed to address the issue. Using a strength-based approach, this study sought to examine protective factors within a family resilience framework for formerly houseless Native Hawaiian and Micronesian families. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews with previously houseless Native Hawaiian and Micronesian families, this study explored both challenges and protective factors. The data were coded using the coding and themes based on previous research that developed a framework for family resilience. The study found that the families did utilize many of the protective factors in the theoretical framework. The study also uncovered a strong connection to the ‘āina and the impact of historical trauma. Implications for strength-based interventions and further research are discussed.

Autonomy-Supportive Parenting in Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Youth During Early Adolescence

There is a burgeoning literature on autonomy-supportive parenting and positive adaptation in youth across diverse cultures, but little is known about autonomy support in immigrant families. Bolstering autonomy in immigrant youth may be particularly important for their success on both universal and immigrant-specific developmental tasks and yet studies examining autonomy support in immigrant adolescents are rare. In the current study, the first goal was to establish measurement equivalence for a widely-used autonomy support measure in immigrant and non-immigrant youth. Subsequently, we examined how changes in autonomy support during early adolescence varied by immigrant status. The sample included 1252 immigrant and non-immigrant youth (Mage = 12.70 at Wave 1) living in Greece who completed a self-report measure of maternal autonomy support in their schools once per year for three years. Results indicated that the latent construct, factor loadings, and item thresholds of the autonomy support measure were invariant across immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents, as well as over time. Neither group displayed significant growth in autonomy support and, counter to expectation, trajectories of autonomy support did not differ by immigrant status. These findings demonstrate that autonomy support is a meaningful construct in Greek native and immigrant families and also indicate that these behaviors, as perceived by youth, were stable during early to middle adolescence for immigrant and non-immigrant youth living in Greece.

Commuting patterns of preschool children in metropolitan Stockholm

AbstractThis full population study of travel‐to‐preschool patterns of the youngest children (< 6 years old) in metropolitan Stockholm analyses how school markets, even at an early stage, reproduce inequalities related to social and geographical distances. Our findings show that families with foreign backgrounds tend to convert educational capital into social capital by sending their children to preschools in more socio‐economically favourable neighbourhoods. Furthermore, we detect avoidance behaviour among the majority population in ethnically mixed neighbourhoods, which indicate that some native families are inclined to avoid preschools with high shares of non‐native peers.

There and Back Again: A Commentary on Social Welfare Policy in the Wake of 2020

There and Back Again: A Commentary on Social Welfare Policy in the Wake of 2020

Working with a Family. How a Family-Oriented Welfare System Opens the Border for Migrant Care Workers

In Italy, the strong desire to take care of the elderly at home and within the family opens the border to migrant care workers. Despite an increasing focus on the closure of borders, migrant care workers are considered desirable immigrants and are generally socially accepted in Italian society because they are believed to fulfil an indispensable role in Italian families. Based on ninety-three qualitative interviews with migrant care workers, elderly care recipients, and the family members responsible for the organization of their care, this article considers the favourable position of care workers vis-à-vis the selectivity of immigration governance. Moreover, it discusses the relations established by Italian families with immigrant care workers, in comparison with what the scholarship says about the relationships between immigrant care workers and native families. For this purpose, we propose a typology of domestic elder care relationships, arranging them along a continuum where at one extreme they are asymmetrical and exploitative, whilst at the other they are warm and reciprocal. Finally, we observe a process of “familization” whereby employers and care workers begin to see each other as members of the same “family”. Whilst familialization can be interpreted as genuine affection, it also creates a web of obligations that prioritizes expectations by employers and duties of care workers.

“I’ll Be Right Behind You”: Native American Families, Land Debt, and College Affordability

Family connections are critical for Native student persistence, yet families’ voices are absent in research. Using an Indigenous-specific version of educational debt, land debt, we center familial perspectives by exploring the financial struggles among Native families as their students transition to a Predominately White Institution. Findings indicate that Indigenous families experienced fear and frustration surrounding college affordability and the financial aid process. Regardless, these Native families made extreme sacrifices in paying for college. These findings were contextualized within the economic conditions created by land theft from Indigenous peoples. Returning to land debt, we argue that institutions need to begin from a perspective of what is owed to Native peoples in their policy decisions. That is, such decisions should take account of the benefits historically accrued by institutions residing on forcibly taken Indigenous land, and then examine how that debt can be repaid by supporting Native students, families, and communities.

Development and Validation of a Community Assessment Tool for Diverse Rural Family Caregivers

The aging of the United States population has led to an increase in the prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Many individuals with ADRD receive care from family members and friends who, themselves, experience poor health outcomes. ADRD family caregivers from diverse backgrounds are frequently underserved by health and social service systems. However, research suggests that diverse caregivers possess culturally-based strengths that serve as protective factors against poor outcomes. This presentation reports findings from a study to develop and validate a community assessment of the needs, assets, and resources of rural Latinx and Native American ADRD family caregivers. Initial assessment items were based upon validated measures developed for diverse ADRD and comparable caregiver populations. A Delphi process was used to obtain ratings from a 9-member expert panel (ADRD policy makers, providers, and family caregivers) about the degree to which the assessment was: (1) inclusive of different cultural groups; (2) respectful of cultural values and norms; (3) comprehensive with respect to needs, assets, and resources, and; (4) relevant to the lived experiences of diverse rural caregivers. Experts also provided qualitative feedback about modifying phrases to make the assessment more relevant to diverse respondents, removing sections, and adding items and response options to better reflect rural life. After two formal rounds of review and multiple iterations, between 77% and 100% of experts agreed that all sections of the assessment met criteria. Findings highlight the benefits of a systematic process for developing and validating community assessments for diverse, rural populations.

Parental Academic Involvement in Cross-border marriage, Native and Immigrant Families: The Roles of Family Resources and Parental Expectations

Migration patterns have become more complicated than before. The increase in cross-border marriage has increased the diversity of the student population. A simple distinction between native and immigrant students overly simplifies their diverse backgrounds. Analyzing data from PISA 2012, we attempt to fill the gap in the literature by comparing parental involvement between cross-border marriage, native, and immigrant families in Hong Kong, with a special focus on the roles of family resources and parental expectations. Our findings show that cross-border marriage families are significantly different from and sit between native families and immigrant families in terms of family resources, parental expectations, and parental involvement. Family resources play a greater role than parental expectations in the differences in parental involvement between cross-border marriage families, native families, and migrant families. This suggests that the disadvantages of cross-border marriage and immigrant families in parental involvement largely stem from a lack of family resources.

The role of the parent-child relationship in fostering resilience in American Indian/Alaskan Native children.

Resilience is a key characteristic to study in families, particularly those who have experienced significant systemic risk factors. While much resilience research focuses on ethnic and cultural minorities, little research focuses specifically on American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) families. The parent-child relationship has been demonstrated to be a key characteristic in families, and this relationship may also serve as a protective factor for AI/AN families. Positive parent-child relationships are consistently linked to positive child outcomes, and parental psychological symptoms are linked with child psychological symptoms in non-Native families. These associations warrant further examination among AI/AN families. We hypothesized that the parent-child relationship would moderate the link between parent distress (i.e., depressive and anxious symptoms) and child internalizing problems in a sample of 57 AI/AN parents of children 3-5 years of age. As expected, the parent-child relationship moderated the associations between parent anxiety symptoms and child internalizing symptoms, and between parent depressive symptoms and child internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, the strength of the parent-child relationship buffered the effects of parent distress on child internalizing symptoms. Results highlight the potentially protective role of strong parent-child relationships in AI/AN families.

Moving for Diversity or Moving for the Kids? The Micro-Dynamics of Residential Relocations During Family Formation of Immigrants and Natives.

Family formation is a crucial event in the life course and generates a major part of residential relocations. After family formation, neighborhoods become re-evaluated, now as contexts for children's development and socialization. We argue that the perceived or assumed quality of schools and neighborhoods is an important condition of choosing a destination. However, as the literature on “ethnic colonies” and immigrant-native residential segregation suggests, immigrants differ from natives in their neighborhood preferences and relocation patterns. If relocations of migrant and native families to particular destinations do indeed occur basically during family formation and family enhancement, and if they are at the same time outcomes of different preferences, the micro-dynamics of young families' adaptation of housing conditions might have a considerable impact on segregation. Results of our ordered Heckman probit and event history models show that on the one hand, immigrants and natives tend to different evaluations of characteristics in their neighborhoods. Particularly respondents of Turkish, Arabic or African origin highly appreciate living nearby a house of worship and also with many Non-Germans. On the other hand, our analysis of how these evaluations transform into residential relocations did not show any differences between immigrants and natives. Results thus suggest that evaluations or preferences during family formation do not trigger relocations which result in “ethnic colonies” at the macro level.

OBJECTIONS TO THE POLICY OF COLLECTIVIZATION IN THE 20-30S OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

In the 1920s, the strong consolidation of the Soviet system of power led to significant changes in the system of traditional economy of the Kazakh people. In 1928, a campaign to confiscate rich and middle-class groups of Kazakhs, and a policy to destroy native families of Kazakh origin, developed into mass discontent with the Soviet government. Thus began the causes of 372 revolts against collectivization. The article describes the political changes that occurred in the Kazakh steppe in the 20-30s of the XX century. Especially in those years, the tragic fate of the Kazakh people, who opposed the policy of collectivization against the Soviet government, was described. Opposition to the Soviet authorities varied significantly in each region of Kazakhstan. Opposition to corporate policy has two aspects, as stated in the article. The first was the process of moving residents of the border district to another country, the second was the uprising against local authorities and law enforcement agencies. The study includes a historiographical overview of the problem and recent collections of sources

Factors Affecting Scaling Experiences of Adolescent Children from Multicultural and Native Families

Background: Multicultural families are constantly on the rise as marriage migrants and foreign workers increase. Multicultural families appear to record poor health levels compared to native families. As health is a social issue, children of surviving generations of multicultural families are also a growing interest. This study was conducted to confirm the effect of multicultural families and parents’ educational level on the scaling experience of children. Methods: For this study, the 2016∼2018 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey data were used. In order to make the two groups of adolescents belonging to multicultural and native families similar, a total of 5,362 people were included in the survey, consisting of 2,681 individuals each from multicultural and native families using the propensity score matching method. Logistic analysis was performed to identify factors influencing the scaling experience of adolescent children. Results: The results confirm that, even after controlling for factors such as parents’ educational level, household income, and children’s oral health behavior, parents’ nationality appeared to have a statistically significant effect on their children’s scaling experience. In addition, it was confirmed that the experience of oral health education had a significant effect. Conclusion: Cultural heterogeneity and the lack of adequate language ability of immigrants affects health behavior and medical accessibility. Therefore, children from multicultural families are more likely to be exposed to unhealthy environments compared to the children of native Korean families. Based on an understanding of the socioeconomic multicultural background of individuals, education and public policy should be prepared to improve the awareness for the need for preventive oral health and provide unhindered accessibility to dental services.

Inequality in learning opportunities during Covid-19: Evidence from library takeout

Research shows that Covid-19 enhanced inequality in families’ learning environments. We use register data from Denmark to analyze inequality in families’ takeout of digital children’s books from public libraries. Our register data, which include more than 55 million observations of families’ daily library takeout, show that the socioeconomic gradient in library takeout (by parents’ education and income) that existed before the Covid-19 lockdown increased after the lockdown. We also find that the increase in the socioeconomic gradient during Covid-19 was weaker in immigrant than in native families, stronger in families with recent experience in taking out digital materials from the library, and stronger in families with children in the early stages of elementary school. Overall, our results suggest that Covid-19 increased inequality in learning opportunities because better off families were more successful at using libraries during the pandemic than worse off families.

Abstract B002: Restoring Balance, a physical activity intervention for Native cancer survivors, preliminary analysis (NNR.14.192)

Abstract Physical activity has been shown to improve quality of life, body composition, metabolic and physical function, and survival among cancer survivors. However, no studies have focused on Native American cancer survivors. Methods: Native cancer survivors and family members were enrolled in a 12-week multi-site, randomized supervised and home-based physical activity intervention (n = 63). The intervention includes 1d/wk supervised resistance, aerobic, flexibility, and balance and 2-3 days/wk of home-based exercise. National guidelines for survivorship exercise training were culturally tailored based focus groups and interviews, as well as cultural expert program review by representatives from 10 tribes. Preliminary descriptive statistics (mean, SD) and six and twelve week changes in weight (kg), fat mass (%), HbA1c (%), fitness by 6min walk test (meters), and quality of life by PROMIS10 questionnaire score have been assessed by paired t-test for survivors only (n = 30). Though currently under powered, data collection is ongoing and will be updated as participants complete the 12-week intervention. Results: Participants were 58.4 ± 12.2 years of age. Tumor types were breast (n = 7), colorectal (n = 7), stomach (n = 2), lung (n = 2), and other varied cancers. Reasons for loss to follow-up were: repeat surgeries or change in clinical care plan (n=3), loss of family members (n=1), and loss of contact (n=3). Comorbidities for cancer survivors included: diabetes (n=7), cardiovascular disease (N=13). Twenty-two Native cancer survivors have completed six weeks of intervention and 14 Native cancer survivors have completed twelve weeks of intervention thus far. Weight loss was significant at six weeks (-1.0 ± 2.2kg; p=0.04), but not twelve weeks. Fitness and quality of life were improved by twelve weeks, 31.9 ± 132m and 1.6±0.4, respectively, though not significant. Conclusions: Tailored exercise programs present opportunities to restore health and balance among Native cancer survivors. This ongoing trial will provide important information on the effects of physical activity in Native cancer survivorship, unaddressed to date. Citation Format: Jennifer W Bea, Hendrik de Heer, Taylor Lane, Brenda Charley, Etta Yazzie, Jennifer Hudson, Mishayla Mitchell, Betsy Wertheim, Anna Schwartz. Restoring Balance, a physical activity intervention for Native cancer survivors, preliminary analysis (NNR.14.192) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B002.

Strengthening the Spirit

Multisystemic Therapy [MSR] is an evidence based treatment for youth with severe psychosocial and behavioral problems. Discussed are the personal experiences of a Native American student in social work who is engaged in pursuing information on MST for Native youth and communities. Although there is still promise of its efficacy, there are questions on MST’s effectiveness, replicability, and ease of implementation as a program. There is little quantitative and qualitative information to date to support its generalizability across race - no outcome results for Native participants have been disseminated. With goals of strengthening Native families and communities, discussion includes how MST can be adapted for use and programs concerns that should be considered.

Native Family Law, Indian Child Welfare Act and Tribal Sovereignty

There has been historical abuse of Native American children in the U.S. which began in the late 19th century in what is known as the residential school movement. It led to their forced integration on pain of removing and eradicating traces of their Indian heritage. The lack of protection for Indigenous children in being transferred from the reservations to non- Indian foster parents caused the U.S. Congress to use their legislative power and enact the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 [ICWA]. This has intervened in a process that is aimed at keeping Native American children within the tribe of their parents over the last 35 years. The result of the ICWA is that it has led to the greater supervision by tribal courts over children but it has caused a conflict to arise with the state courts due to jurisdictional reasons that allows guardianship and supervision to non-Indian parents. The Arizona Court of Appeals has recently ruled in Navajo Nation v. Arizona Department of Economic Security (2012) CA-JV 11-0123 that an Indian child can stay with his non-Native foster parents despite the protests of the tribe that it was infringing the provisions of the statute. This article is intended for the practitioner and policy makers and brings to the fore the issues of the preservation of children on reservation lands, and the need for a greater care consideration in the determination if they should be transferred to foster parents outside the tribe’s jurisdiction. It also conducts a comparison with Canada where First Nations children have also suffered abuse and where there is an ongoing debate about the course of action to prevent the appropriation of children from the reserves to live with the non-Native foster parents.