Wanna Know About One Of The Biggest Race-Related Scandals You’ve Never Heard Of?

HINT: it concerns Native American children and the Federal Government.

Remember that messed up thing the United States government did to Native Americans starting in the 1800s? When Native American children were forced into boarding schools so that they could become ‘civilized’?

Via americanindiantah.com

Well, something similar is happening in South Dakota, today.

giphy.com / Via giphy.com

A statistic collected in 2014 evidenced that every year 750 kids are being seized by the state of South Dakota by Child Protective Services who are in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

Via nicwa.org

The Indian Child Welfare Act is a U.S. policy that declares that the best interest of Indian children is served by keeping them with their family and tribe. And also, that the U.S. government should assist tribes in developing tribally-run child and family service programs.

As of 2014, 13% of the child population in South Dakota is Native, and by staggering contrast, 54% of the children in the South Dakota foster care system are Native. This is disproportionately more than any other racial group in the SD foster care system.

Via youtube.com

In addition, 90% of Native children are placed in white homes and institutions, which, too, is reminiscent of the boarding school era even though federal law states that Native foster children should be placed in safe homes with relatives or tribal members.

On top of this, the state of South Dakota also receives about $70,000 annually for every Native child placed in foster care.

Via giphy.com

(at this rate that’s $52,500,000 dollars a year)

Moreover, Native children are not only being removed from their homes and being put into foster care, but some are even put into psychiatric facilities and prescribed medication without their parents’ consent.

Via giphy.com

The drugging of these children was inspired by George W. Bush’s Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), a program which ultimately spread to the rest of the country though the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (NFC). This policy dictates that children who are considered ‘vulnerable’ (i.e.-children in foster care) have to take tests evaluating their emotional well-being, in order to see whether or not they would be eligible to take hard-core psychiatric drugs. And it is obvious that most children who are removed from their parents are emotionally distressed. Because the policy was designed by the pharmaceutical industry, the test is likely to result in the administration of copious pharmaceutical psychotropics to Native children in the foster care system.

One of the children, Patrick Red Feather Jr., was taken from his home, put into a psychiatric facility, and forced to take psychiatric drugs that ultimately made him suicidal.

Via youtube.com

Patrick was 14 years old when he was taken from his family and placed into a psychiatric facility. Patrick ran away 20 times in the first six months he was there, which resulted in a judge forcing Patrick to take even more powerful psychiatric drugs than he had previously been administered. Patrick's mother, Sheris, begged the judge not to make Patrick take these drugs because his father had committed suicide after being prescribed similar psychotropic pills, and so Sheris feared that Patrick would also become suicidal. The judge neglected Sheris's plea, and Patrick eventually committed suicide.

What’s more is that the pharmaceutical corporation, Eli Lilly & Co., which promoted and profited from TMAP, was also one of Bush's biggest campaign contributors!

Via sciencediplomacy.org

This doesn’t appear to be a coincidence….(that's Bush and the former CEO and Chairman Emeritus of Eli Lilly back in 2003, when all of this was passed). Here's a link to the pharmaceutical giant's campaign contributions.

As a consequence to all of this, thousands of Native children in South Dakota, particularly belonging to the Lakota Tribe, have been stolen from their homes, and are being stripped of their culture.

Via youtube.com

While their parents and families are often left to fight a futile battle against the state of South Dakota, to regain custody.

If this is something that disturbs you, sign this petition!

Via lakotalaw.org

The petition can be found here. And to stay updated on this issue and learn more, like our Facebook page and watch this short documentary.