As boarding schools closed during the 20th century, Indian children were removed to non-Indian foster homes and adoptive families. Officials believed they were rescuing the children. The children themselves often felt like spiritual and cultural orphans.
In the 1970s, Michigan Indian children were adopted out of their communities at a rate of 370 percent higher than non-Indians. Foster care rates were even higher.
Policy Review Commission, an agency of the United States Congress, July 1976.