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Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Abstract

The myth of abandoned children of immigrants and Indigenous folk forms multicultural families through the “salvation” of nonwhite children by adoption, but this narrative of love obscures the fact that the demand white families looking to adopt create is giving rise to an opportunity for the state to reproduce itself within familial bonds. I will address how the common migratory system of adoption distinctively impacts immigrants and Indigenous folk through two case studies: Adoptive Parents v. Baby Girl and the deportation of Felipe Montes. This examination challenges the notion that the removal of Indigenous children and children of immigrants contribute to child welfare by demonstrating how adoption works as an extension of the deportation process and as a validation to diminish Indigenous sovereignty. I argue that adoption can be a point of departure of Indigenous and immigrant solidarity for recognition by and resistance to the state.

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