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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

NPR story

Hey there. One more thing. This aired on National Radio on Christmas morning. I just got the nerve to listen to it myself. Natasha speaks on it as well as me. It's 5 minutes long.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98709433&sc=emaf&sc=emaf

Leech Lake Press Release

The following is a press release that was printed in the Bemidji Pioneer newspaper on Monday December 22. Thought you would all get a kick out of this. I have put in red the sentences that I find TRULY amusing. Enjoy!!




Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Arthur “Archie” Larose Chairman
Michael Bongo, Secretary/Treasurer

District I Representative District II Representative District III Representative
Robbie Howe Lyman L. Losh Eugene “Ribs” Whitebird


Press Release December 20, 2008

LEECH LAKE THANKS LARSONS, BABY SAFE AND HAPPY

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO) thanks the Larsons for taking good care of one of our newest tribal members, Destino (Talon). Contrary to reports in the news, the baby known as Talon in Utah was never adopted by the Larsons. In fact, the adoption proceedings were not initiated in Utah until a month after the LLBO Tribal Court issued an order for pick-up and return of the baby to Minnesota under the jurisdiction and custody of the Tribal Court.
It is unfortunate that Heart and Soul Adoptions failed to follow-up on the “red flag” responses the birth mother gave on their Intake questionnaire. Heart and Soul knew a pick-up order had been issued by the Tribal Court within two (2) weeks after the baby was born. Instead of complying with the court order, Heart and Soul and the Larsons initiated a “flawed” adoption process in Utah courts.
Under Utah law, when the birth parents are married, both parents must give consent to the adoption. In this case the married father never gave his consent. It is regrettable that adoption agencies are able to prey on pregnant mothers in poverty. Worse yet is giving false hopes to their paying clients, who they present with a baby, who is actually someone else’s child.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) protects tribes, tribal members and their children and our collective Anishinabe culture. The Band did respectfully intervene in the Larson’s Utah adoption proceedings. That Judge carefully reviewed the facts and evidence, as well as federal law trumping state law, and followed the law.
Heart and Soul should have returned the child in June to avoid this unnecessarily long duration and consequential attachment by the Larsons. ICWA, Indians and Indian tribes are not the problem here. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe hopes the Press media and Utah’s agency licensing adoption agencies will critically examine Heart and Soul as quickly.
The Band hopes that the Larsons will be provided a child that they may legally adopt and keep. Any requests for information or other questions should be directed to the Leech Lake Legal Department, Tribal Attorney Frank Bibeau at 218-335-3673.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Natasha Calls!!!

Just thought you all would be interested in knowing that Natasha called. She called a week ago (the Sunday before Christmas) and I wasn't home. Clint answered and she asked for me. When he said I wasn't home she said "would you like to hear MY baby's voice?" Clint told her that she was unbelievable, and that she just used people for money. She then said that she couldn't believe what we had put about her on our blog, (like any of it isn't true). She also said that this was HER baby. He has her blood running through his veins, he looks like her other kids, as if this was something we were disputing. After she badgered him some more, he hung up on her.

There are a few things about this conversation that strike me as funny. First of all, we would never have started this blog if this battle hadn't happened. I would have just gone about life, mailing Christmas cards, and never saying a negative word about her. Second, OF COURSE he has her blood running through his veins. I never once suggested that he was ours biologically...only that we love him, and he is ours in our hearts.

Just thought that those of you following the blog would like to know about this little development. I hope you all had a good Christmas. We had the best one we could, considering there was a hole in it. Kade did really well, and we are thinking that we will get him into counseling when school resumes. He needs a little help that we don't know how to give. He is still angry and very concerned about Talon. He prays that he is safe every night.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Our Side of MN news

Hey all...just thought I'd let you know that I called the news station that interviewed Natasha. He informed me that they had aired OUR side of the story the night before. I apologized for not knowing that, and he was VERY cordial. I looked it up, and here is the link to the story they did on our side. I think they did a very good job.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S708397.shtml

Friday, December 19, 2008

No Gag Order

Just thought I'd clarify. There was no gag order put on me. It is simply that the tribal court proceedings are to remain confidential. Just thought I'd try to clarify. Thanks for all your continued support. We are so blessed to have so many prayers coming our way, and for everyone else involved as well. Thank you all and may God bless!!

Tribal Court

We attended tribal court today, and have been ordered by the judge to keep everything confidential. I'm sorry I can't say anymore.

Interesting

Just thought I'd share this very interesting interview Natasha did with a local News Agency.
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S712763.shtml
Enjoy!!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

couple more pics











thought I'd give you some more pulling of the heartstrings. He is so photogenic, I can't help it. These are a couple pics my friend took. She is AMAZING!!!

EMERGENCY HEARING!!!

The tribe contacted our attorney today, and they have called an "emergency hearing" tomorrow. We have no idea what this means, and are quite nervous about it. We don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess we shall see. It was too short of notice for us to be able to go to Minnesota, so we will be appearing via phone. Keep your fingers crossed, and PLEASE keep the prayers coming.

More Publicity

Hello everyone. Just thought I'd write and let you know the newest developments. First of all, after GMA on Tuesday I was contacted by someone in Minnesota that thinks she may be able to help us. I have also found an attorney that is seeing if he can do anything to help. He is working pro bono, so that is VERY appreciated. We were also contacted by a reporter from the associated press (apparently they sell stories to papers nationwide). I did an interview with him, and we will see what happens with that. We were also contacted by KUER 90.1. They are public radio, and we were interviewed by them this morning. She said that she would be editing it and airing it next week nationally. She said that they have about 14 million listeners nation wide. We were also contacted by a paper in Northern Minnesota yesterday, and they did a short interview, and it went out this morning. You can see that article at their website: www.bemidjipioneer.com . Then later yesterday afternoon KSL called me and said that they had been contacted by a Canadian radio station that would like to do an interview with us. They called me today and did a live interview over the radio in Canada. They were totally on our side. It was AMAZING. Anyways...I thought you would like to know what I have been up to. Hopefully things will start to happen quickly. It would be AMAZING to get some laws changed to protect adopted parents. Think about how many more children would have loving homes if adoption weren't so threatening.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Continue the Fight

Hello all. I just wanted you to know that this is NOT over. I know I have said this to many individuals, but I want everyone to know that we are not giving up. The outpouring of support has been amazing, and I truly believe this is happening for a reason. I also believe that together we can change the world. Keep spreading the news, keep praying, and AMAZING things will happen. Thank you all again for your continuing support.

Pictures
















Thought I would share a few pictures of our last days with our baby. Kade couldn't stop taking pictures of him. He said he "didn't want to forget him". We love him dearly, and don't want people to forget the beautiful face they are fighting for. Thank you again for all your support!!!

SPREAD THE WORD!!

We never in a million years thought this would get this big. We are getting phone calls, emails and comments from people all over the country. We are BLOWN AWAY by the amount of support that we have been shown. So many people have asked what they can do, or told me to call them if we need anything. The biggest thing at this point that I believe is helping, is SPREAD THE WORD. Tell everyone you know about this blog and ask them to tell everyone they know. Let them educate themselves, let them know about this sweet boy and what has happened to him. You never know who you might know that might know someone else that could possibly help us. The more people that know about this the better. I thank you again and pray that this will get resolved. We will not give up without a fight.

Talon's Cause

Hello again. First thing is first. I want EVERYONE to understand that we are not begging for money. We want to keep fighting for Talon, and when people saw the news reports, there was an overwhelming response of people that wanted to help financially. Much to our chagrin, our family decided to set up a fund for Talon's Cause. If anyone would like to donate, please see the following information also provided by my sister.

If you or someone you know is looking for a worthwhile cause to contribute to this Christmas, this is it. She is going to continue her fight to get Talon back but has run out of money. Even if she is not able to get Talon back, she is at least going to try to make sure nothing like this happens to anyone else. They have set up a trust fund for Talon that you can donate to and it will go directly to this cause and nothing else. If you are interested, make the check payable to: For Benefit of Talon Larson and mail to:

Wells Fargo
7869 S. Redwood Rd.
West Jordan, UT 84088

You can also make a donation in Talon’s name at any Wells Fargo branch in the country.

Media Exposure

Hello all. I just thought I would update you on where you can find our story online. The following is an email that my sister sent out. It gives all the links where you can see our news coverage online. There are also some comment boards if that is something that interests you.

To all those who may be interested:

My sister, Heather Larson, lost her 6-month old adopted son last night to the Ojibwe Indian Tribe after a lengthy court battle. Needless to say, it was devastating to everyone involved. Before Talon was born, the birth mother sought to place her child for adoption and personally chose Heather and Clint as the adoptive parents. 24 hours after he was born, she signed away her rights to Talon and a few days later, Heather and Clint were able to take him home. His birth mother was on drugs so Heather had to nurse this innocent baby through a drug addiction and of course, Heather, Clint and their 7-year-old son Kade bonded with him instantly. Shortly after returning home, the birth mother went to the tribal council and changed her mind. Even though in her repeated phone conversations with Heather she stated that she did not want him back. Regardless, the tribe pursued getting the child back. The tribe has deemed the birth mother unfit and now Talon will be going straight into foster care. He is such a sweet, beautiful baby and this is such a tragedy. They held a rally for him last night and her house and yard were filled completely with people supporting her and her family as Talon was taken by the Indian Tribe. They all sang I Am A Child of God as Heather and Clint carried their baby to the car of the Tribal member. We are all truly heartbroken and sick that this could have happened. Three different news stations ran live footage of the event. If you are interested, you can view the stories at
www.ksl.com ; www.kutv.com ; and www.abc4.com . You would be looking for a story with a headline reading something like “South Jordan family loses adoption fight”. There was also a story in the Deseret News about this. Also, if you would like to see pictures or know more about the situation, go to www.talonsadoption.blogspot.com .

I would like everyone to know that Heather and her family will be on Good Morning America tomorrow morning (Tuesday, 12/16). I don’t know the exact time but if you are interested, please watch.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

AMAZING SUPPORT

I can't believe all the support we have had over the last 48 hours. I can't thank everyone enough. Just to inform those of you who don't know...I'm going to give you the readers digest version of the things that have happened in the last 2 days. BOTH Senators from Utah have been contacted, and have been very helpful, and are doing all they can to help. From there, one of the Senators for Virginia, who is the advocate for adoption in the Senate, has been contacted and her assistant is investigating our situation, and trying to find a solution for us as quickly as possible. Governor Huntsman has been contacted and is seeing what he can do to help, the media has been contacted and we have channel 2 news coming to our house tomorrow morning to do an interview with us. EVERYONE in the neighborhood has been informed of what is happening, and a rally is being planned to show support for us when they do come to get Talon. We are going to fight to the bitter end. If we still loose Talon, maybe we can continue to fight for the rights of people in the future. Maybe that is why this is all happening. Maybe it is to help someone that doesn't know anyone that could help them. I really can't believe all the support, and can't convey our appreciation enough. We really feel loved, and are so so blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives. I will write more soon and let you know what comes of all this.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Heartbreaking Judgement

Well...we went back to State Court again today for what we thought was a review hearing. It ended up being much more than that. To give you the long and short of it, the State Judge, Judge Lindbergh, ruled in the favor of the tribe and ordered that "the child" be returned to the reservation. They will be coming Sunday night at 6 p.m. to take him away from us forever. The news has spread quickly and we have already had a lot of support from family, but I thought I'd mark it officially on the blog. I will write more within the next couple of days as to the details of the hearing, but I'm too tired tonight. If you would like to come over and see him before they take him away, give me a call and we can definitely arrange it. I think most of my next few days will be spent at home. I will be at church on Sunday, our last Sunday with our baby. More to come.

Monday, December 8, 2008

New Tooth!!!

Good news!!! Talon's second tooth finally came through. Hopefully it will stay through this time!! We are also hopefully going to get some more sleep now! New news tomorrow...we have an update hearing in State Court tomorrow. I'll post soon and let you know what happens with that!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

6 Months

Hey all...Talon is turning 6 months on Tuesday. If only the tribe would realize that we love him, and that he will have a good home with us, we could be finalizing our adoption this week. We could bless him, and have him sealed to us this month. If only...

Hopefully soon.....

MILESTONES!!!
















We have reached some more milestones!!! Talon is now rolling both from front to back, and back to front. He doesn't do it very quickly, and it is quite efforted, but it is happening none the less. He started rolling again about a week before Thanksgiving. The morning before Thanksgiving I discovered a little tooth had popped through those stiff gums of his. It is now quite visible, and the other one is trying desperately to come through. He is also starting to balance himself sitting up, but only for very brief moments. He is actively reaching for things, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He has also started eating baby food. He is very finicky and only eats when he wants to, but seems to be enjoying it overall.

He also had his first Halloween, he was a monkey, his first swim in a pool, his first Thanksgiving, and is getting ready for his first Christmas!! Will Santa bring us a special gift this year??? I wish!!!

And the Verdict is...

Well...we finally got a hold of the attorney, and he said that the agency would pay for all trial level hearings, but nothing past that...translation...they will NOT pay for the appeal. So looks like we're on our own for that. How do we NOT fight for him though? Have you SEEN those eyes? So we sent in our appeal to the tribe. Now we wait to see if the appellate court accepts our appeal. According to our attorneys, if they accept it and we go through the appeal process it could take up to a year, if they do NOT accept our appeal, then we could go to federal court. What will happen there??? Your guess is as good as mine, but we do have a better chance in federal than in tribal. We just take things a day at a time, and become dizzy from all the breath holding, but nothing changes our love for him. No matter what happens, we will always love him and he will ALWAYS be our son.