Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families

Janice Howe fought the state of South Dakota for a year and a half to bring her grandchildren back home after they were placed in foster care.

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October 25, 2011

Part 1 of a three-part investigation

The dirt roads on the Crow Creek Indian reservation in South Dakota blow dust on the window frames of simple houses.

The people who live here are poor — in a way few Americans are poor. There are no grocery stores or restaurants. There's only electricity when it's possible to pay the bill.

This is where Janice Howe grew up, on a barren stretch of land that has belonged to the Dakota people for more than 100 years.

"I'm the eldest of nine kids," she explains, settling into a chair in the kitchen. "I went to college and I got my bachelor's degree in nursing."

Her sister lives across the street. Her parents live across the road. Her daughter lives two doors down with her four grandchildren — two young granddaughters and two twin babies.

4 responses
Man! Did this hit home! Myself and my sisters were in the NJ Foster care system for years and were separated. I could imagine the agony that the family felt. I was outraged but so glad that there was for this family a happy ending. I never felt like I had a family and it seemed I was always an outsider. I would love to hear more about this family and hear that the kids are doing well. I feel that the state of SD is criminal in fostering this kind of "kidnapping" and using Native children as pawns to get funds to keep their machine rolling.
My father was in foster care and two of his sisters remained in foster care all their lives and were separated from the rest of the family.
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