What does blood have to do with identity? Kendra Mylnechuk, an adult Native adoptee, born in 1980 at the cusp of the ena | dG1fam1oU3V3SVl4MGc
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00:00When I was adopted, the agency had said to her, be careful, if someone saw her and was
00:18like, that's a native baby, you're white, you shouldn't have her.
00:24She was terrified someone was going to try to take me.
00:27There's no resource more important to the continued existence of American Indian tribes
00:33than their children.
00:36Between 25 and 35 percent of all American Indian children are removed from their families.
00:41It has been called by some cultural genocide.
00:44We were just desperate to have a family.
00:47It's hard to feel like there's any history behind America.
00:51Hi, April, this is Kendra Potter, your birthday.
00:58I don't know if leaving a voicemail is too weird.
01:01Hi.
01:02Hi.
01:07I was afraid that I would create more questions for her than provide answers.
01:13I'm so far from who that was.
01:17I'm so grateful you weren't a part of it yet.
01:22It's taken a long time for me to believe that I belong in places.
01:29There's this desire to be recognized as Native, but what is Native anymore?
01:38When someone says, you're Lummi, it's very hard for me.
01:43I can't wrap my mind around it.
01:45I don't know what that means.
01:47Don't be ashamed who you are now.
01:51Your ancestors are here.
01:54They led you here.