The Lakota Child Rescue Project

For 100 years Native American children have been removed from their families. It began in the 1880s under a US government policy of assimilation: children as young as 5 were taken from their homes, shipped to boarding schools, and instructed in the ways of white culture. Today, a generation of children is once again losing its connection to its traditions. This time, it's through state-run foster care. Every year in South Dakota the state takes nearly 700 Native American children. 95% of them are placed in non-Native foster and state-run care—in direct violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Why? Each year the state receives almost $100 million in federal money for foster care services.