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In the late 1950s, the federal government established a program called the “Indian Adoption Project.” Throughout the nearly decade-long initiative, hundreds of native children were removed from their communities and placed with white families. The children were called “lost birds.” Lena Welker, now 66, was one of them.
Lena now lives in Amherst, Virginia, where she runs “Medicine Lake Herbals” and “Blue Heron Outdoor School” along with her husband Dave.
Watch this special Inside Appalachia Folkways story below:
This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, which is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation.
Subscribe to Inside Appalachia to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts, and culture.
