Letters: Native families should have priority with regard to adoption of Native kids

This is regarding the “Goldwater Institute Files Class Action Lawsuit against parts of the Indian Welfare Act.” I think there’s two sides to every story and this story is only one sided.

Yes, I understand that some Native American children are born and raised off the reservations but that is the choice their parents made. I think that each child should have the opportunity to be raised with their own tribe/culture. How different is it for a non-Native child to be raised in a Native culture? The non-Native child would endure discrimination because they are different. Nowadays, there are a lot of interracial relationships and children, which brings up the issue of racism.

As a Native American woman who has lived off the Navajo Reservation for half of my life to go to school, I endured a lot of racism because of the color of my skin. My children were bullied and treated like they were Hispanics because of the color of their skin. I don’t think that parents realize the racism children go through when they make that choice to move into a town or city that isn’t of their race. I learned firsthand from my children who are now adults that they went through this humiliation and bullying because of their skin color.

This is one situation that may occur if a Native American child is adopted to a non-Native American home. Yes, these children go through abuse and neglect and that’s why they are in that situation, but look at the everyday racism they will go through if they aren’t with their own kind.

I believe that if there are Native American families who are available for children to be adopted then the Native American family should have first priority of adopting or fostering these Native American children. But if there are no options, then a non-Native could be a potential candidate for adoption.

I don’t believe that Native American children should be deprived of our culture and beliefs because there is a stereotype that all Native Americans are incompetent or criminals. Yes, I believe that Native American children are protected by the same laws that are in place.

As a foster/adopting Native American mother, I have gone through the same process that everyone else goes through where it’s through my tribe or state foster/adoption agency.

I also believe that as a foster mother, fostering is a temporary living arrangement for a child and that the foster parents should be made aware of their options for a child before adoption is even considered. It is the state’s obligation to follow and implement laws for these types of situations so there isn’t any miscommunication with these types of situations.

I can honestly experience and know that the grass isn’t green in the “white man’s” world. There are far more violence and crime in their communities. Yes, Native Americans may live in poverty or in rural areas, but we respect who we are and where we come from.

Dorothea Begaye
Tsaile, Ariz.

Looking for my father

Hello, my name is Tasha Havatone and I am writing you this letter with hopes of making contact with Patrick John Yazze/Yazzie/Yazi.

As a child growing up I always asked questions of who my biological father was. My mother, Sharon Havatone, told me that she would go on wildland fires with my father while working for the Department of Interior Ð Truxton Canon Agency. She also told me that he was from Albuquerque, and came from the Navajo Nation. She remembers that he had siblings but couldn’t remember exactly how many there were and their names, although she did remember his mother’s name, Rita Yazze.

My mother also recalls Patrick having epilepsy. As a baby I did have an episode with epilepsy but I quickly grew out of it. Today, I am 29 years old, married with two beautiful daughters and another on the way. I work full-time as an administrative assistant with the Hualapai Adult Detention Center, located in Peach Springs, Ariz.

I was born in April of 1986. At or around this time my mother had an argument with my father and too many things went wrong at once, those were the reasons I was given for my father leaving. But even though he left, he continued to write my mother letters and attempted to contact her through phone calls, He would leave her messages telling her to call or when she wrote letters to send it to a church where he worked because someone he was living with didn’t want him to have any contact with my mother. He was very aware that my mother was pregnant with me, gave birth to me and would ask, “How is my baby girl doing.”

Throughout the years I have contemplated on whether or not I should attempt to make contact with my biological father. So here I am, 29 years later. I am writing this letter in hopes of making contact with my father. I would like to know that he is healthy and safe. I would also like to know if I have other siblings, nieces and nephews.

As a mother I feel that it is my responsibility to make this attempt to contact my father. I do have a lot of questions for him, but none of them are important to the future I hope to build with him. I am not upset or angry with him for anything. I just want and need for him and his family to know that I am here.

I can be reached by email at tashahavatone@yahoo.com or by phone at 928-769-6055 or 928-769-2345. Thank you. I will be patiently awaiting your response.

Tasha P. Havatone
Peach Springs, Ariz.

Thank you Window Rock police

When my son left for Gallup and didn’t return after several days we got worried about him not coming home, so we called all the detention centers within our area in hopes that he might be at one of them, but to no avail. The first place we called was NCI (Gallup’s detox center), only to be told he was not there.

Thereafter, we called there everyday, only to be told the same thing. We spent a lot of time and money trying to find our son. Not to mention loss of sleep worrying. We called the dispatcher in Dilkon, Ariz., to file a missing person’s report. After providing them with all the necessary information pertaining to my son we were told that our missing person’s report was complete and in the system.

The next day while on our way to Gallup and Grants to continue our search we decided to check with the Window Rock Navajo Nation Police Department to see if any positive information might be given to us, only to learn that Dilkon’s Navajo Nation Police Department had not even done anything, as they had said.

At the dispatcher’s office in Window Rock we finally got the help we wanted. The officer in charge, Elroy Naswood, was very helpful. He was kind and considerate of our situation and did not waste any time helping us. Hats off to Officer Naswood for assisting us in a very professional manner.

The next day my son called us from Gallup and informed us he spent 72 hours at NCI. All NCI had to do was tell us he was there. Then I wouldn’t have depleted my funds during this very stressful ordeal. The old saying still goes “Honesty is the best policy”.

Now I know why that place was in the gutter recently. Some condolence comes from my practicing my freedom of speech as I see it. Thank you.

Raymond Yazzie
Lower Greasewood Springs, Ariz.

Looking for letters from home

Hello, my name is Edwin Onesalt and I am from Presten Mesa, Ariz. I’m an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and am currently an inmate at the Crossroad Correctional Center in Shelby, Mont., part of Montana State Prison.

I’ve been down for three and a half years for probation violation on a DUI charge. My next parole date is in April 2016.

I’ve been waiting for letters from family members over the years, but it never happened. So I decided to put my name in the Navajo Times and hope I hear from someone out there on the Navajo Reservation.

Here in the Crossroad Correctional Center, I ran into some Natives that are half Navajo and I teach them the Navajo language.

My address is Edwin Onesalt, AO No. 3003315, Crossroad Correctional Center, 50 Crossroad Drive, Shelby, MT 59474.

In the meantime, I’ll be looking forward to hearing from someone out there.

Edwin Onesalt
Shelby, Mont.
(Hometown: Presten Mesa, Ariz.)

What are officials doing with
Navajo’s money

I am a Native of Gallup. I grew up learning to honor and respect the Navajo Nation. I am quite saddened and confused as to why, and how, with all the money the nation has through its landfall from the U.S. government and its casinos, so many Natives have basic needs unmet. This is a travesty!
What is the government of the Navajo Nation doing with its millions of dollars?
With the millions of dollars at their disposal, the government of the Navajo Nation could be transforming the lives of the entire nation. And yet, I see reports like this coming from a major national and international newspaper (July 14, 2015, New York Times).

What does it take for us to find leaders who genuinely care for the people they are intended to lead?

Richard D. Neal
Albuquerque, N.M.

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