Bring Chanel Home

BringChanelHome.com

#BringChanelHome

#ICWA #MMIW

#NoMoreStolenChildrenOnStolenLand

Bring Chanel Home

Introduction:

January 2020: Kristen Huntington, mother of Chanel is murdered by her child’s father, Eric Rustad.

Before he is arrested, Rustad grants a power of attorney over Chanel to Nikki Richman, a complete stranger to her.

History:

In the USA, there have been hundreds of government funded, religious backed, boarding schools for Native American children throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In these schools and foster care systems, Indigenous children were abducted by government agencies and moved hundreds of miles away from their homelands and families where they were then subjected to torture and abuse – and sometimes even and often, murdered.

Native children were whitewashed, beaten, molested, raped, and tormented while being ripped away from those who loved them, and would have protected them with culture and tribe – an atrocity this country has never once repaid for, and it is still happening with Chanel’s case.

Definition of Child Kidnapping/Abduction: Child abduction or kidnapping is the unauthorized removal or retention of a minor from a parent or anyone with legal responsibility for the child. Child abduction can be committed by parents, or other family members, by people known but not related to the victim, strangers, neighbors, acquaintances, friends, or anyone not authorized to have custody of the child.

Tribal Law: Tribal government provides services and programs especially directed toward Indigenous Affairs and needs. They uphold the sovereignty of tribal response to community and social programs and to maintain civil practice and infrastructure for Native lands and peoples.

ICWA: ICWA is the Indian Child Welfare Act enacted in 1978. It is a US law that governs jurisdiction over the removal of American Indian children from their families in custody, foster care, and adoption cases. It gives tribal governments exclusive jurisdiction over children who reside on or are domiciled on a reservation.

History of Kristen and Chanel: Chanel has had her images posted on social media by Nikki since she gained her, and the commentary she and her partner have posted about Chanel is blatantly racist, defamatory suggesting raising her to be an indentured servant. Chanel has been actively kept away from her brother, and her grandmother and Nikki has refused to heed tribal court orders to return her to her grandmother for four days.

Definition of Defiance of Court Order: Defiance of a Court Order is known as Contempt of Court. Contempt of court is a legal concept that refers to any behavior that disrespects or defies the authority, dignity, or power of a court, judge, or legal system. It can take various forms, such as ignoring a court order, disrupting court proceedings, or refusing to comply with a subpoena.

Correlation to MMIW: This story is about a Native child who was removed from her tribe after her father murdered her mother. Her father signed a power of attorney and essentially traded off his daughter to a stranger to keep her from being returned to her deceased mother’s family – namely her grandmother Arlene. Not only is her mother’s memory being disrespected by this, but Chanel is being kept from her own brother and grandmother by the motions of a man who is responsible for her mother’s death. It is a travesty and Chanel deserves better.

Demand: Return Chanel to her people, to her village of Selawik, and to her brother and grandmother so she can learn about her lineage, her mother’s history and who she is at the core of her essence. There is no need to remove another Native child from a loving family that has done nothing wrong, and everything to prove themselves fit and capable of giving her all the love and nurturing she deserves.

Repercussion for Violating Court Order: Violating a court order is serious, and Nikki could find herself paying dearly. Committing contempt can include both civil and criminal penalties, such as fines, attorney fees, reduced custody time, and even jail. Is keeping someone else’s child and committing kidnapping worth all that when if you truly had Chanel’s welfare at heart you wouldn’t think to consider it?