Comments on "Beyond Culture Camp" Paper
In November, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute published a groundbreaking study titled, “BEYOND CULTURE CAMP: PROMOTING HEALTHY IDENTITY FORMATION IN ADOPTION.” As you can imagine, I bristled a bit upon reading the title. After all I have spent the last 18 years of my life doing what I thought to be “promoting healthy identity formation in adoption” through, none other than - heritage (culture) camps!
A total of 468 adopted adults completed the study, but for the purposes of comparison, this published document concentrates on the 179 respondents born in South Korea and adopted by two White parents, and the 156 Caucasian respondents born in the U.S. and adopted by two White parents. In the document they say, “We title this study Beyond Culture Camp because we recognize that parents adopting across race and culture, and the professionals who guide them, have developed strategies such as camps and festivals to introduce or strengthen children's connection to their cultures and countries of origin. Yet, as this study found, such activities - while important - are insufficient in helping children adopted across racial and national boundaries develop a healthy, positive sense of self.”
Yet, as I read further in the study, and I hope you do the same
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/research/2009_11_culture_camp.php, I realized
that much of what they recommended to promote healthy identity in adopted
children is indeed, what we strive for at our camps! I breathed a little
sigh of relief, then thought about ways we can become even better at what
we do, and become a stronger force for adoptees and their families.
Again, please read the paper yourself if you are so inclined, but in a very brief nutshell, they recommend expanding parental preparation and post-placement support for those adopting across race and culture. I think our parent workshops at every camp are excellent sources for this, BUT, they say parents need to be able to arm their children to combat the prejudice and stereotypes they will face. I think we need to provide more workshops around that topic at every camp. It also says, it is essential to arm transracially adopted youth with ways to cope with discrimination in a manner that does not negatively impact their identity. Our trademark HeART Talks program does touch on that in every elementary grade level, in age appropriate ways, BUT we need to dig deeper into it for our middle and high school campers, and even our upper elementary campers. We have the resources to do that properly and with positive impact. Other recommendations they give in the paper about laws, publicity, etc. can also be something we continue to work on from a grassroots level.
Further, the study found adoption is an increasingly significant aspect of identity for adopted people as they age, and remains so even when they are adults. This is why our camps are for adoptees from age 3 through adults. As campers “age out” after they graduate from high school, they can still be part of camp as counselors, volunteers, or attendees. The connection between adoptees is vital, and one of the very most important aspects of our camps, BUT, we can do more, and in 2010 we’ll be establishing an active Advisory Board of adult adoptees, to help us “be real” about what we can do as an organization, and at each and every camp, to meet the needs of adoptees of all ages.
They also found that positive racial/ethnic identity development is most effectively facilitated by "lived" experiences such as travel to native country, racially diverse schools, and role models from their same race/ethnicity. At every camp, every year, there are role models from the race/ethnicity of the children attending camp. They are counselors, they teach the kids, they teach the parents, they provide meals, and they are part of planning every camp to make each one an authentic cultural experience. However, I realize that this is ONE long weekend out of our children’s lives. They need more, and I have already started talking with our established Advisory Board of ethnic community members about how to help adoptees maintain relationships with and feel part of their ethnic community throughout their lives, not just at camp.
In the paper’s conclusion they state, there seems no question about the need to provide transracially adopted children with opportunities to be in diverse settings and have diverse role models. Some of our respondents also noted that their parents did not know or understand the impact of being a person of color in a predominately White community or the importance of connecting children to adults of the same racial/ethnic background to serve as sources of information, support and role models. The same can be said for adoption itself; that is, adopted children benefit from interacting with other adopted children, and from having adult role models who themselves were adopted. Adoption professionals and parents, together, can facilitate a broader network of these types of supports and opportunities for adopted children and youth, especially those adopted transracially.
Culture and adoption. The two tenants of Colorado Heritage Camps. They go hand-in-hand for us, as does the importance of having the entire family attend camp, so that parents and siblings can “get” some of what adopted children go through, and find the resources and guidance to help our children through this journey.
Ultimately, I found this study to be very informative and illuminating, although unfortunately a bit dismissive about the heritage camp experience. I admit heritage camp is not the ONLY thing adoptees need to develop their healthy identities, but to me, there is no better place for an adoptive family to start building the resources, skills, support, and connections that can lead to positive self-esteem in adopted children. I wish the authors of this paper had said that though we do have to go “beyond heritage camp,” it’s a very good place to start.
We are ever evolving as an organization, and this kind of information will help. To bring in excellent guest speakers on these important topics, to implement new programming ideas, and to become better at what we do, we need your financial support, suggestions, and guidance. In fact, watch for more information to come about our new “This Is ME” program for our high school and middle school campers. We are in the developing stages of this program as a direct response to this paper.
As an adoptive parent of two young adults myself, I know what a difference heritage camp has made, and want to be sure we continue having an impact for many years to come.
Pam Sweetser
