{"id":70,"date":"2018-11-29T23:19:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T23:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/?page_id=70"},"modified":"2018-12-13T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T18:00:03","slug":"gallery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"Galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adoptive families, foster care alumni discuss experiences<\/h2>\n

In reporting on Native American adoptions, we encountered a wide range of voices, from parents of Native children to former foster children who wish an like the Indian Child Welfare Act was put into place while they were in foster care. Here are some of the people we interviewed who offered their personal experiences. <\/p>\n

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  • \"\"
    Carolyn Matter, 58, was adopted out her Apache tribe and raised across the country in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. \"I grew up alone. I grew up 45 minutes from a reservation. At the time, I was embarrased to be native,\" Matter said. (Photo by Harrison Mantas)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"\"
    Sandy White Hawk talks about her experience adopted by white missionaries in the 1950s, and growing up cut off from her culture, \"I didn't know what being Indian meant. I knew I wasn't white, and I never really fit in,\" White Hawk said. (Photo by Harrison Mantas)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"\"
    Gary Williams, Gaming Commissioner for the Gila River Indian Community, speaks about his experiences in the foster care system. \"There's holes in my life now that I can't go back and change, which was learning my language, which was learning my family,\" Williams said. (Photo by Kailey Broussard)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"Condon\"
    Condon has adopted her four sons, three of whom are Native American. She brings them to cultural events to keep in touch with their heritage. \"We were just on this camping trip recently, somebody asked my 7 year old where he was from and he said the Yakama Tribe,\" Condon said. \"He didn\u2019t say what town he lived in or what state he lives in, but he said he was from the tribe, so I think it\u2019s working.\" (Photo by Lindsay Walker).<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"\"
    Elisia Manuel runs a nonprofit on the Gila River Indian Community reservation that helps Native Americans foster families with supplies for incoming foster youth. She also helps non-Native foster families connect their children to their Native roots. \"Don't keep a child away from their culture, because they'll come back asking for it like no other.\" Manuel said. (Photo by Amy-Xiaosha DePaola).<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    The Condons<\/h2>\n

    After years of fostering children, Mimi and Tom Condon saw what children in foster care may experience. Over the years, they have adopted four children, three of whom are Native American, after attempts to reunite them with their family were unsuccessful. Although the children aren’t biologically related, Mimi Condon says they act as if they are. <\/p>\n

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    • \"\"
      David, Tom, Destin and Blaize during story time. Mimi says the whole family worked as a team when they fostered kids and it's changed their family dynamic forever. Their two older daughters act as additional parents to their younger siblings. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      David teaches Isaac a clapping game. David is the oldest adopted child in the Condon family and Mimi refers to the process as a \"39 month labor.\" David is Native American and his adoption fell under the jurisdiction of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law created to to protect tribal heritage. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Tommy laughs while playing with Isaac and Mimi. Three of the four Condon boys have relationships with their biological siblings. Mimi says \"when they become adults one day, they may really need each other.\" (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Tom and Destin laugh while they take a break from a tickle fight. Destin came to the Condons' home as a two-day-old. They initially only intended to foster him, due to their already full house, but eventually adopted him as well. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      The Condons display photos of their former foster children in their home. They say the experience of fostering has inspired them to fight hard and advocate for kids who can't do so themselves. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Blaize, 23, helps her youngest brother, Destin, 3, construct his train tracks. Mimi says growing up in a foster family has inspired her girls to foster and adopt one day as well. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
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      Tommy, 7, shows off his favorite toy. When asked recently where he is from, Tommy said the Yakama Tribe. Mimi says her kids feel connected to their native roots even if they don't live with Native American parents. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
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      Mimi attempts to calm an energetic Isaac. In addition to her role as a stay-at-home mom, she volunteers with CASA and advocates for foster kids still in the system. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
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      When the Condons began fostering in 2006, there were 10,000 kids in foster care in Arizona. According to Court-Appointed Special Advocates of Arizona (CASA), that number is now closer to 14,000. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
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      Isaac, 4, tries to fly like Superman. Like two of his brothers, Isaac is Native American. The kids are all registered with their respective tribes and attend tribal events a few times each year. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Mimi never stops parenting. After several miscarriages, Mimi and her husband, Tom, decided to become foster parents in 2006. They have fostered 15 kids total. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Tom, 59, and Mimi, 56, spend time with their family inside on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Their oldest daughter lives on a Naval base in Okinawa, Japan, with their grandson, though their oldest daughter Blaize, 23, lives nearby. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Left to right: Tommy, 7, David, 11, Isaac, 4, and Destin, 3, play trains together. The boys are not biologically related but Mimi, their mother, said they interact like they are. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Mimi Condon, 56, plays a puzzle game with her son Isaac, 4. Condon is a stay-at-home mom to four adopted sons. She and her husband also have two adult daughters and are grandparents. (Photo by Lindsay Walker)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Adoptive families, foster care alumni discuss experiences In reporting on Native American adoptions, we encountered a wide range of voices, from parents of Native children to former foster children who wish an like the Indian Child Welfare Act was put into place while they were in foster care. Here are some of the people we interviewed who offered their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-70","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/nativeadoptions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}