Rough Justice in Indian Child Welfare

Author(s)
Published on
December 25, 2012
My latest story, Rough Justice in Indian Child Welfare, provides a rare and shocking behind-the-scenes look at what can happen to Native children once they end up in the foster-care system, in this case in South Dakota. It's not strictly speaking about the high rate of Indian child suicide, which is the topic I'm covering for my 2012 health journalism fellowship, but one can certainly guess that experiences like the ones described here do not lead to positive health outcomes for children.
And here is some of the information on which the story is based -- a portion of the interrogation video (now a court document) of four Native children who accused their nonNative foster parents of sexual and physical abuse. The children were not shown in order to protect their privacy; what you'll see is the agents taking a break and planning their interrogation strategy off camera, but not aware they are still being recorded.