Home at Last: A Navajo Adoptee Finds His Place
S4, Ep. 6: Chris
Chris Stearns is Navajo and was adopted in the mid-1960s before the Indian Child Welfare Act existed. His mom was part of the federal Indian Relocation program which moved Native Americans away from reservation to large cities as part of a nation assimilation policy. Chris began his life in the Los Angeles County foster care system and was adopted when he was 2 years old by a loving white family in New Jersey where he was raised. Chris chose a career as an attorney fighting for Native American rights and spent many years in Washington, D.C. representing Indian tribes as well as working in the House of Representatives and the Clinton Administration. Chris eventually moved to Washington state where he now serves as a Representative in the state legislature. He also was able to access his sealed original birth records but has never been able to find his birth parents. He now lives in Auburn, where he and his wife Pamela have two adult daughters and a grandson.
The New York Times: The Brutal Past and Uncertain Future of Native Adoptions by Gabrielle Glaser: May 16th, 2023
Also in this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss American Baby by Gabrielle Glaser.
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Joe Soll & other adoptee resources
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