Dear Romi,
For the last nine months, we at the Lakota People's Law Project have focused
all of our energy on three campaigns. With your support, we’ve succeeded! We
write to share our progress with you and to tell you about two things you can
do right now to help:
1. In 2011 the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) promised to hold a summit
on Lakota foster care—but after a full year they had done nothing. So we
launched a petition drive to force the BIA to keep its pledge to Lakota
families. In January of this year, an ICWA director, tribal leaders, and Lakota
grandmothers armed with 5,000 petition signatures went to the BIA office in
Aberdeen, SD—and a date for the summit has been set: May 15-17, 2013 in Rapid
City! This is an important first step. Now, we're working with the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal leaders to ensure that the agenda looks at
the roots of the problem and proposes real, lasting solutions.
2. Last June, we broke the story of the Mette foster care scandal, and
the story of Brandon Taliaferro and Shirley Schwab, two child advocates who
were targeted by South Dakota after they exposed the state's failure to stop
the sexual abuse of four Lakota foster girls. On January 10th—after 18 months
of prosecution—all charges against Taliaferro and Schwab were dismissed. We
will soon release a Special Report that lays bare the state's actions in this
case of abuse, cover up, and false prosecution.
3. In mid-summer of 2012, we began work with the Coalition of Sioux
Tribes for Children and Families to prepare a Report to Congress detailing the
extent of South Dakota’s ICWA violations. On January 25, the Coalition
submitted its report. This garnered media coverage by NPR, the Associated
Press, and other outlets and prompted several Representatives to call for
congressional hearings on the issue.
These successes would not have happened without your continued support. Thank
you!!
As we move into the second quarter of this year, all of our energy will be
focused on the upcoming, historic Summit—which is now only a few weeks away.
Our organizers are on the ground, spreading the word and mobilizing Lakota
families to attend. You can help us prepare in two ways:
Sign our letter to Congress asking them to go to South Dakota and to ensure
that the Summit looks at the roots of the problem and proposes real, lasting
solutions.
Make a donation to our Grassroots Fund. Our immediate goal is to raise $20,000
before the Summit On May 15th. Your tax-deductable donation will give us the
resources we need to ensure that Lakota families get to the Summit and that
experts are prepared to put real, lasting solutions on the table.
Pilamaya—we thank you!
Sara Nelson and Madonna Thunder Hawk
P.S. To truly change what the state of South Dakota is doing, we need more
hearts and minds in this movement! Please send this e-mail to others in your
network who you believe will join us in this historic work.
VIDEO: Lakota Grandmothers deliver petitions to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
calling for Summit on Native foster care.
You can help give us the resources we need to ensure the upcoming, historic
summit is a success.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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