In Lakota country, grandparents play a special and important role. They are the caretakers of the next generation—they are the caretakers of the future of Lakota culture.
During our efforts to enforce compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), we have found that in a great many cases grandmothers and grandfathers are the ones who have been denied the right to care for their Lakota grandchildren. In response, Organizer Madonna Thunderhawk started the Grandmothers Outreach Program. Over the course of the last year, she has focused her work on helping grandmothers who are trying to get their grandchildren out of the child welfare system. She meets weekly with a group of grandmothers in Sioux Falls and coaches many others on how to navigate the legalities of ICWA and the Department of Social Services. Through this organizing she is empowering Lakota grandmothers, who not only receive support from LPLP but have also learned to provide support to each other.
These efforts are paying off. Recently, several Lakota grandmothers—who refused to give up fighting for their families—have won custody of their grandchildren. In 2011 alone, six children were put into the care of their Lakota grandparents.
In 2011, the Grandmothers Outreach Program helped return six children into the care of their Lakota grandparents.
Grandmothers Standing Together
In Lakota country, grandparents play a special and important role. They are the caretakers of the next generation—they are the caretakers of the future of Lakota culture.
During our efforts to enforce compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), we have found that in a great many cases grandmothers and grandfathers are the ones who have been denied the right to care for their Lakota grandchildren. In response, Organizer Madonna Thunderhawk started the Grandmothers Outreach Program. Over the course of the last year, she has focused her work on helping grandmothers who are trying to get their grandchildren out of the child welfare system. She meets weekly with a group of grandmothers in Sioux Falls and coaches many others on how to navigate the legalities of ICWA and the Department of Social Services. Through this organizing she is empowering Lakota grandmothers, who not only receive support from LPLP but have also learned to provide support to each other.
These efforts are paying off. Recently, several Lakota grandmothers—who refused to give up fighting for their families—have won custody of their grandchildren. In 2011 alone, six children were put into the care of their Lakota grandparents.