When asked how extra-tribal adoption has affected her family she explains, “I was placed with
guardians, that were appointed by the court, for 5 years, and those years shaped my life for the
worse for a while after.”
By the time she was three, Clementine was recognized by the court system to be a legal
orphan after her mom and dad died. She would be allowed to live with her aunt for a few years
but would be sent to live with appointed guardians. The courts would be concerned with placing
Clementine in a nuclear family because it fit their definition of normal and healthy. Clementine
always felt like her aunt gave a place where she was loved and in the long run, a place where she
was needed. While her grandmother did not register as a Yurok member, the courts would not
recognize that Clementine would fall under the rights of the ICWA and that although her mother
named the non-Native couple as guardians the concept of a fitness of the home was never
examined beyond its being nuclear. When I asked Clementine about the process of her moving in
with her appointed guardians she said there was nothing that resembled a home study typical in
the adoption process. She only regretted that the couple did not realize what it takes to care for a
child. When asked what may happen if a child is being harmed, in other words in an unfit home
she tells about her own experience,
I guess it depends on the person and their moral compass. I was physically abused by my
guardian, [Jolene], and ironically we attended church every Sunday. After one incident
when I was about 9 or 10, involved me lighting a match and lying about doing it, so she
straddled me and slapped my face repeatedly. My left side, I believe, was bruised badly
and she tried covering it with make-up. We went to church the following Sunday and
while I was in Sunday school, [Carter’s] cousin asked me what was wrong. I lied a[nd]
said “nothing.” She kept asking me and saying that she wouldn’t say anything and I
began to trust her. I finally told her the truth and it turns out that she reported it to child
services. I ended up with a social worker who would come by once in a great while and
“checkup” with me, but nothing was done to [Jolene] (letter to author, May 23, 2014).
Then when there are individual was have good intentions, like Carter’s cousin,
when there are individuals [...] who do speak out and report to the “authorities” who are
supposed to be advocates for the children, some children and their needs fall through the
cracks. So I’m assuming the system is at fault; whether its due to lack of time
management, work overload, or carelessness, I’m not sure, but I’d think it’s a
combination of all of those and more.
It takes a person who is dedicated to paying attention to minute detail and gaining a
child’s trust to uncover abuse and then it takes a strong individual to go forth with the
information and actually follow-up on it to make sure that the child is protected (letter to
author, May 23, 2014).
Clementine realized at a very young age that the state did not have the same understanding of
what a “fit” home was. Her aunt would need to care for more than one child but Jolene had
plenty of time to devote to Clementine, little of which could be said to have been for the welfare
of the child. Clementine understood her aunt was her best option so, without ever informing the
courts, she finally left Jolene and Carter’s home for her aunt’s home. She was taking part in a
fighting against lack of care and voice and utilizing her agency to choose.
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