Hidden Identity.

In 1978, federal legislation was passed to protect tribally enrolled or potentially enrollable American Indian children and prevent the breakup of Indian families. Prior to the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act, it was estimated that one-quarter to one-third of all Indian children were being removed from their families. In this paper, an Indian woman, Anne Thunder Hawk, recounts her experiences growing up with her adoptive White family and a Black caretaker in Alabama and how she came to terms with her feelings of alienation, loss, and abandonment. She attended a public school, where she was the only Native person and where she was physically punished for challenging the history that was taught. There were also few Black students and no Black teachers in the school system, but being raised by an African American caretaker helped to sensitize Thunder Hawk to racial injustices at an early age. Experience with racial bias also extended to church, where Thunder Hawk was the only person of color and was accepted only because of her adoption. When Thunder Hawk was a teenager, a local Cherokee man took her to cultural events, supported her efforts in school, and encouraged her to look at her identity. Her search for identity has taken her to several reservation communities and is ongoing. She has scripted a documentary video on interracial adoption and is working on a book. (SV)