Minnesota state Rep. Heather Keeler, a Democrat, lashed out against “white Christians” adopting Native American babies, charging that it continues “genocide.”
Keeler, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, issued her attack on “white Christians” in a Facebook post recently, referring to them as “white saviors” who do not really care about helping Native American babies.
“I’m sick of white Christians adopting our babies and rejoicing,” she said. “It’s a really sad day when that happens. It means the genocide continues.”
“If you care about our babies, advocate against the genocide,” the post continued. “Help the actual issues impacting indigenous parents, stop stealing our babies and changing their names under the impression you are helping. White saviors are the worst!”
Alpha News shared a screenshot of her private Facebook post, which Keeler did not deny writing. Keeler later followed up her statement by doubling down on her professional Facebook page where she said that white people adopting Native American babies strips them of their “identity,” which she described as a “form of genocide.”
The Republican Party of Minnesota called it a “racist rant” and issued a fiery response to Keeler:
“There is no place in our political discourse for attacks on Minnesotans’ race or religions,” the statement said. “We condemn this hateful and extremist rhetoric in the strongest possible terms and call on all Democrats to do the same.”
The statement further called on Minnesota Gov. Mike Walz (D) and State Democrat Speaker Melissa Hortman to condemn Keeler’s words.
As noted by Fox News, Keeler has cosponsored a bill that aims to amend the “federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 that establishes child protection procedures and requirements for children who are members of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized Tribe.”
Keeler’s attack on “white Christians” adopting Native American babies echoes a similar attack conservative Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett faced for having adopted two Haitian children.
“Some White colonizers “adopted” Black children. They “civilized” these “savage” children in the “superior” ways of White people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the picture of humanity,” tweeted racialist Ibram X. Kendi at the time in a tweet he apparently later deleted.
“And whether this is Barrett or not is not the point. It is a belief too many White people have: if they have or adopt a child of color, then they can’t be racist,” he added. “I’m challenging the idea that White parents of kids of color are inherently ‘not racist’ and the bots completely change what I’m saying to ‘White parents of kids of color are inherently racist.’ These live and fake bots are good at their propaganda. Let’s not argue with them.”