Indian Placement Program facts for kids

The Indian Placement Program (IPP) was a program run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States. It officially operated from 1954 and mostly ended by 1996. It was most active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Through this program, Native American students who were members of the Church lived with Latter-day Saint foster families during the school year. They went to public schools with mostly white students. This was different from attending Indian boarding schools or local schools on their reservations.

The program was based on Church beliefs. It aimed to help Native Americans learn and fit into American culture. About 50,000 Native American children took part. Foster parents paid for the children's care. Most students came from the Navajo Nation. At its peak in 1972, about 5,000 students were in the program.

The program became smaller after the 1970s. This was due to criticism, changing views among Native Americans, and better schools on reservations. Many students and families praised the program. Others criticized it, saying it weakened Native Americans' ties to their own cultures.

In 2015, a lawsuit was filed in the Navajo Nation Tribal Court. It claimed that some people were harmed while in the program. The Church argued that the Tribal Court did not have the right to hear the case. However, a federal judge decided that the Church first had to work through the Tribal Court system. This was seen as an important decision for tribal courts.

History of the Program

Early Beginnings

In the early days of the Church in Utah, many Latter-day Saints raised Native American children in their homes. Church leader Brigham Young encouraged members to buy children who were held as slaves. He wanted them to be freed, educated, and raised as their own.

Church beliefs at the time suggested Native Americans had a special status. Some beliefs, now no longer taught by the Church, said that Native Americans could become "light-skinned" through faith.

The Indian Placement Program started informally in 1947. A 16-year-old Navajo teenager named Helen John wanted to attend school in Richfield, Utah. She was allowed to stay with the Buchanan family. This arrangement was not official, but it led to the formal program. By 1954, about 68 Native American students were living in foster homes in four western states.

The program was seen as an "educational opportunity." Its goal was to help Native American children fit into Mormon culture and religion. Some Church members believed this would make them "lightened." In 2013, the Church officially stated that this belief was not true.

Program Organization

Because the informal program was successful, the Church started a formal program in July 1954. It was part of the Church Social Services. Each Native American foster child had a social worker. A special center was built in Richfield. Children came to the center by bus, received medical checks, and met their foster families. Students came from the Navajo Nation and other tribes.

At first, some people complained that Church missionaries were recruiting children. In 1956, the Bureau of Indian Affairs received complaints. In response, social workers, not missionaries, were given the job of deciding which students could join the program.

For children to join, their parents had to ask for their placement. Foster parents were chosen by local Church leaders. They were expected to provide free room, food, and clothes. Children had to be at least eight years old. They also had to be baptized members of the Church and in good health.

In October 1960, Church leader Spencer W. Kimball spoke about the program. He said that Native Americans in the program were becoming lighter-skinned. The Church has since moved away from these race-based ideas.

Program Growth

Some families had their children baptized to get them into the program. To prevent this, the Church added new rules for joining in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1969, the Church created Unified Social Services to run the program. It was later renamed LDS Social Services in 1973.

By 1972, nearly 5,000 Native Americans were in foster homes through the program. Some students later attended Brigham Young University. In 1971, they formed a performance group called "The Lamanite Generation," later renamed Living Legends.

In 1972, local Church leaders became responsible for finding and checking new students. The program almost ended in 1977 due to strong criticism. However, a U.S. government study found that many Native American families praised the program. After this, the Church decided to continue it.

After 1972, fewer students joined the program. By the late 1970s, about 2,500 students were participating. In the 1980s, the program focused only on high school students. This was because schools on reservations were improving. By 1990, only 500 students were left. By 1996, almost no one was participating, though the last students graduated in 2000.

In the 1970s, the program tried to create stronger ties between natural families and foster families. The goal was to help Native Americans learn new values while keeping their own identity.

Program Results

Many studies have looked at the Indian Placement Program. However, not many studies share the Native American point of view. One study gathered stories from twenty-three Navajo participants. They were about thirty-three years old at the time of the study.

The study included seven men and fifteen women. All of them had finished high school. Ten had attended college, and four had earned college degrees. The average time spent in the program was about seven years. All participants in the study said they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

About one-third of the participants stayed in the program until they graduated from high school. Forty percent of students left the program early. Fifteen percent left because their parents wanted them to. Students who left the program were still more likely to finish high school than other Native American peers. The program had an 82 percent high school graduation rate. Studies found that students who stayed longer were more likely to be employed and earn more money. They were also more likely to marry.

Criticism

Starting in the 1970s, the Indian Placement Program faced more criticism. In 1977, the U.S. government investigated claims that the Church was pushing children to join. The study found that the program was mostly positive. It had strong support from both Native American parents and white foster parents.

Critics felt the program interfered with Native Americans' right to be fully Native American. They believed it weakened their culture and could cause emotional harm. Most of the students in the program came from the Navajo Nation.