Looking for Lost Bird: A Jewish Woman Discovers Her Navajo Roots

by Yvette Melanson, Claire Safran

In this haunting memoir, Yvette Melanson tells of being raised to believe that she was white and Jewish. At age forty-three, she learned that she was a "Lost Bird," a Navajo child taken against her family's wishes, and that her grieving birth mother had never stopped looking for her until the day she died.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Native American, Jewish, Memoir, Indigenous, Native Americans

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating true story of a woman raised white and Jewish who discovers later that she and her twin brother were actually stolen (yes, stolen) from her Navajo parents as babies, ferried across several states and eventually adopted out to two different families. Even before Yvette discovers her genetic identity, she lives a fascinating life -- mostly loved and cherished by both parents until her mother dies when she's about 12. Her father from that point on rejects her, partly because she has a vision of her mother's last words to her father and he is shocked she knows what was said and partly because he doesn't know how to deal with his grief. Later, she's sent off to a kibbutz in Israel and fights in the war there.

In her 40s, she discovers her real identity and after meeting her family, she and her husband and their two girls move to live on the Navajo reservation. I found the culture beautiful in some ways, disturbing in others, and some of their rituals strikingly familiar.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the true story of Yvette Melanson, a woman who along with her twin was stolen as a baby. She was adopted and raised by a Jewish family. She was loved, taken care of and taken to dance classes and piano lessons by her adoptive mother. Yvette had always questioned where she came from her, but her life was good and she was happy.
But then at age 13 her adoptive mother passes away. Rejection and grief follow. Yvette goes out on her own, going to Israel, joining the army and eventually meeting her husband, Dickie.

But for her whole life, Yvette has always asked the questions "Who I am?" and "Where do I come from?". She begins to search for her birth parents using the internet. She eventually finds a woman who she learns is her sister. And Yvette also finds out that she is Navajo.

Yvette's story is fascinating and I found that I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know about Yvette, her life and her journey to find out who she is.
In this book Yvette takes you on her long and tough journey to finding out who she is and where she belongs.
The story is inspiring. Yvette never gave up trying to find her family. In some ways I was able to relate to Yvette, in that she was trying to learn more about her family and heritage. Some things took time for her, some things were strange and sometimes she had her doubts if she'd ever be able to fit in with the Navajo people. She worries about her husband and her daughters, they left everything behind for her to be with her family. But in the end, Yvette finds peace and finds that she along with her husband and daughters fit in, that they belong.
I just thought the book was wonderful and I enjoyed every word, every page and every chapter. I'm happy that Yvette Melanson decided to share her story with others. I know I've learned and taken a lot from this book and I believe that if others read this book, they will too.

[Caren · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a literary point of view, the autobiography was disappointing. However, the journey of adult adoptee Yvette Melanson to find her birth family and establish her biological identity was compelling and, often, quite challenging. Raised in an initially loving, white Jewish family, after the death of her loving adoptive mother, Yvette became the abused "Cinderella" with a disturbed and abusive stepmother and a father who blindly aligned himself to his new wife and her hatred of his daughter. The lack of support young Yvette endured, the homelessness forced upon her, and the betrayal of her once adoring father, hit me hard.

Through the internet, as an adult - confused and troubled- Yvette discovered her Navajo roots as a twin and a "lost bird", the name given to missing children taken from their Native American family and reservation "by theft or by trickery." The second half of the story gained momentum and intensity as Yvette became involved in the revelation of her circumstance of origin and, particularly, as she travelled with her husband and two daughters to the reservation to reconnect with her birth family and reclaim her identity as a Native American.

Telling her remarkable story of resistance, denial, then acceptance, Yvette revealed her most intimate moments of being touched by the unexpected love and support of the Navajo family and community. For someone who had struggled for acceptance and stability through her life, this was a gift that certainly changed the direction of her life. I learned so much, as she did, about the customs, traditions, and beliefs of the Native Americans, resulting in my utmost respect and admiration for their connection to the land and to each other. The profile of Native Americans was certainly the highlight of the autobiography for me. It provided a refuge from the relentless pain and trauma of Yvette's earlier life.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual view of the Navajo culture. It's not written by an anthropologist, a missionary, or a scholar. Rather it's the view of someone who tries to assimilate into the culture when all she's known for 43 years is the "Indian stereotype." She shares her thoughts as she makes the adjustment. I'd like to know if this is her voice or that of the co-author. And, I'd like to know how she's doing now, almost 20 years after this book was written. Now that DNA testing is more widely available, her search for her roots would have been different today . -- I wonder if she and her (supposed) twin have submitted samples for testing.

p 22 Navajos wait for the baby's first laugh. It has to be spontaneous and self-generated; no kitchy-kooing and no tickling allowed. It usually happens when the baby is a month or so old. And then they celebrate. Unlike the baptism of Christians or the ceremonies of the Jewish peoples, this is a joyous celebration based on the baby's development.

p 60 The Navajos did not challenge nature or try to interfere with it. Their task was to be stewards of the land and caretakers of the animals, the birds, even the snakes who lived on it. They did not think about building dams or changing the course of ancient rivers or moving on to a greener place. Instead, they looked for ways to live in harmony with the reality of the world as it was.

p 179 I was a casual housekeeper, but Navajos are serious about neatness and sticklers over cleanliness.

This is probably a 3.5 star book, but I decided to round-up because it kept my attention. I've read enough about the Navajo's to give me some context for this story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the subtitle, “A Jewish Woman Discovers her Navajo Roots,” that really grabbed my interest in this book. It sounds improbable, but this is a true story, well told. Yvette and her twin brother were born on the Navajo Reservation of Indian parents, but were stolen from the hospital and sold on the black market. Separated from her brother, Yvette was adopted by a well-to-do Jewish couple in Florida. Until her adoptive other died, life was smooth for Yvette, but her adoptive father turned against her and she was out on her own. Contacted tears later by her Navajo sister on the Internet, Yvette and her husband and two daughters pulled up their roots in Maine and drove to Arizona to live on the reservation. This story has its share of coincidences, but it rings true and I learned a lot about life on an Indian Reservation in the twentieth century. Eventually they find the twin brother as well.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir about a woman, adopted in by a Jewish family in the 1950s, who discovers that she and her twin brother were stolen from a Navajo family. She moves to the reservation to explore her heritage.

This was a quick read, written in a simple manner. I was fascinated by her descriptions of her life on the reservation, as well as her mention of the time she lived in Israel after high school. Melanson has certainly had an interesting life. But I never really connected with the story--there was just something distant about the narration.

Apparently Melanson and her brother are only two of many "Lost Birds" who were stolen from their Native American families. Hopefully more of these lost birds will be able to use the Internet, as Melanson did, to eventually find their way home.

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about a woman who grows up always slightly confused about her identity, feeling as if something as missing. This may be a feeling that many adopted children know. However, she soon discovers that she's a child that was stolen from Navajo parents--sent away to be raised Jewish by a white family in a time when hospitals and other officials had "networks" that ushered native children away from their homes. This is her journey about finding her Navajo family, moving to learn more about her identity, and the trials she faces along the way.

Three stars because the writing is underdeveloped in many areas. If you're going to work with a ghost writer, get a good ghost.

Note: This was adapted into a Hallmark special (which I have not seen) for those interested in adaptation literature.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minnie Bob, and her brother Bob Minnie, adopted at birth, find their way "home" to the Navajo reservation. A first person narrative story, told by Claire Safran in a comfortable style. I was fascinated by the poverty, overall family feeling, personal determination to succeed, and general personal gutsiness of Yvette as she clambers through several years of struggles to become comfortable with being a Navajo.

I'm looking forward to finding "The Lost Child" movie.

[J L's Bibliomania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't grab me as much as I thought it would, while an interesting premise, the book came to no conclusions. Not sure if the issue is that I am recovering from illness and my overall sense of malaise is interfering with my level of interest, or if personal narrative is difficult and this book was written at at time when Yvette was still discovering her story.

[Kathy Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don’t know what took me so long to finish because the book is a fascinating read. If you admire people who rise up to every obstacle in their path, Yvette Melanson sets an extremely high bar. The insight into the Navajo culture was as interesting as exciting. I’m anxious to road trip through Northern Arizona and NM to see this part of the country with different eyes.

[Rona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I am rating Melanson’s nonfiction book a 3, it is a ‘Must Read.’ I sometimes did not enjoy reading the book, but could not put it down. I had to find out exactly what happened to this adoptee raised as a Jewish girl who finds she is actually a Navajo “Lost Bird,” a newborn stolen with her twin brother from a hospital off the reservation. I’m glad I stuck with it.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in the process of converting this book blog from one that took review copies to one that tracks my wishlist reading. When I was so focused on writing reviews for authors and publicists, I was stopped having fun with my posts. The writing became formulaic and to some degree, so did the reading. Now that I am back to doing this blog for fun (as it should be) I'm going to go back to telling the stories behind the books I chose to read. These are my stories. They might be nonsense but I want to tell them. You can, of course, skip ahead to when I actually talk about the book.

Looking for Lost Bird, Yvette Melanson's memoir has two stories attached to it. The first part comes with my choosing to read the book. The short version is, the book was research.

An on-going project of mine involves a series of books set in the distant future, on a distant planet. One of my characters is a doctor and a Navajo who has left the rez for his own reasons and will never be able to return. Being that far from home and not being able to return, even if he has some uncomfortable memories, has dredged up a need to return to traditions, rituals and beliefs he had abandoned years ago. I don't want any of my characters to be stereotypes or paper doll cutouts. I want them to be well rounded, flawed, and believable. I also don't want Mary Sues or Marty Stus.

In 2008 I started another round of research. Most of the titles that came up where either ones I'd already read or were college texts that I didn't have easy access too. Then there was Melanson's memoir that had two points in its favor: it was written for a general audience and her being raised Jewish just piqued my interest.

Fast forward now to New Year's Eve 2010. We were driving down to Southern California and Looking for Lost Bird was my current read. While my husband drove I had my nose buried in Melanson's memoir. By the end of the first chapter, I couldn't put the book down.

Yvette Melanson doesn't bog down her story with too many extraneous details. So many memoirs and biographies start with grandparents and only get to the titular subject fifty or a hundred pages in. Melanson jumps right into things: weaving together her decision to move with her husband and daughters to the reservation with her own birth and adoption.

She and her twin brother were stolen from the hospital when she had been jaundiced as a newborn. She ended up as a three or four year old being adopted by a Jewish family but after her adopted mother's death and her father's remarriage she found herself without a loving home and no sense of belonging.

After years of dead ends, the internet offered her a new tool. It lead her down an unexpected path and she found family who had been looking for her all her life. I'm not going to go into the details of what she found or how her reunion went. Those parts are the heart and soul of the book.

The book was a page turner. The long trip flew by. Although I'm skeptical about some of the details here and there, I still loved the book. I would some day like to add a copy to my personal collection.

[Anam Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story this is! I had seen the movie on Hallmark channel but wanted to know more about the people involved. IN the movie, the woman is named Rebecca, but in the book she is Yvette. I am certain that Yvette is this woman's first name as in doing research about her after finishing the book I saw a photo of her with a banner "Welcome Home Yvette" behind her. What I am not certain is true is her last name of Melanson.

Yvette was adopted by a Jewish family and always thought that she was Jewish and white. While a young teen her father slipped up and told her that he wanted the boy, but when he saw her, he fell in love. She found out she had a twin brother. When her loving mother died, her father became sullen and depressed. Eventually he remarried and it turned into a Cinderella story complete with mean stepmother and step siblings. She was sent away to boarding school and then later to live in Israel on a kibbutz. She joined the Israeli army and was wounded in an attack. Although still estranged from her father, she returned home when he asked her to.

She always wanted to learn more about her biological parents, but in the 1980's so many records were sealed. She joined online groups to try to find her family. Meanwhile her daughter had medical problems that were uncommon in white people, but common in Native Americans. Eventually, she found her family, there was no doubt in anyone's mind, was actually Navajo. She and her brother had been taken to a hospital when only a few days old because she was ill. Her parents were told to leave them and come back the next day when they would be better and released. One day turned into two which turned into week, and the children were never to be seen again. They had been stolen and put up for adoption.

I read the book because I wanted to know if she ever found her twin brother. Spoiler - the book says she did.

Her husband had not adapted to Navajo life as easily as she had, partly because there was prejudice against white people. Daughter Heather resembled her father - was darker complected - and took to Navajo life. Lori was fair like her mother (Yvette had blond hair and green eyes) and did not adapt as easily to live on the reservation. The book was written in 1999 and Hallmark made a movie The Lost Child in 2000 based on the book. Like all movies, it can't possibly contain everything in the book, but it is as close to the book as a movie can come. There is very little creative license.

This book will stay with me for some time. I feel a great need to learn what happened to the people in the story! Did she stay on the red? How did the children feel about that? What happened with her twin? Did his family also come to live there? If not, did they keep in contact?

I wish there were a sequel to this book. I'd buy it in a minute!

[Lois R. Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when it was published in 1999. In light of recent events about migrant children separated from their families, I thought it would be time to revisit it.

The basic story, and it is an intriguing one, is about a set of twins born to a Navajo woman in 1953. When one developed jaundice, the parents disregard Native knowledge and send both babies to a white hospital about fifty miles from the reservation. Several days later, when they go to pick up their children, they are gone. First they are told that the children are at another hospital but the children are gone. They were sent to an adoption service in Utah and then on to Miami and to NY. Only the story of the girl, named Yvette by her adoptive parents.

Blonde and green eyed, she does not fit the image of most Native people. She is raised as a Jewish child and embraces her status as a daughter of Long Island. She has a loving mother, a 1950s style father, and something of a dream upbringing based on economic status. All is well until her adoptive mother passes away. A Christian Scientist, she refuses medical treatment in favor of prayer, and leaves Yvette half-orphaned. Her father remarries quickly and Yvette, according to her recollection, became a real life Cinderella, shuffled from neighbor to neighbor because her stepmother doesn't want her in the house.

Her vagabond existence is an embarrassment to her family and her father sends her to a Kibbutz in Israel where she finds that she adapts well, falls in love, and also joins the IDF just in time for the Six Day War. Without giving away spoilers, this becomes the end of Yvette's sojourn in Eretz, but living in the same house with her stepmother continues to be impossible. With few other choices she joins the American military.

About this time, finds papers that opens the puzzle box of her adoption. Through traditional searches, internet searches, and a lot of mysticism, she reunites with what she believes to be her Navajo family. Now married and with three children, she talks her very white husband into relocating to the Rez to continue her journey of reclamation.


I had forgotten most of the book and really thought that more information was given about how the twins were spirited away which was the story I was looking for. Instead, this is really adult Yvette's story and it is interesting. The transition from the white world to the Native American world is not without potholes (literally). Sufficient to say that eventually Yvette finds her place and her peace.


An interesting story although giving little information about the American disgrace of the separation of Native children from their birth families.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

2015: In my desire to focus on my TBR books this year, I pulled this off the shelf and am so glad I did. I really enjoyed this story. Yvette tells her story of finding her Navajo family and moving to the reservation with unflinching honesty, interspersed with stories of her earlier life. The story is interesting and her attempts to learn about Navajo culture and begin to live in harmony were quite touching. The descriptions of Navajo religious life were fascinating and I found myself intrigued by many of the philosophical ideas. This was a very good read.

Navajo proverb: "Walk in harmony within the universe by being aware of who you are." p. 135

2008: This book is the basis for the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "The Lost Child", which I just watched from Netflix and really enjoyed. So I need to read the book now.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. A child adopted by a Jewish family discovers later in life that she was stolen from a Navajo family as a baby. Losing her adopted mother as a child then losing her father to a new woman she is sent to Israel where she lives on a kibbutz and fights in the Yom Kippur War. Back in the US and living in Maine she learns that she may be Navajo and has a twin brother. After a lengthy search she discovers her family and she, her husband and two of her children move to a Navajo reservation. Yes this is a true story.

This is not an easy read but I really enjoyed learning about the modern Navajo life, and a little about the life in Israel and the Jewish religion. My favorite part was near the end where she confronted bullying in the Navajo school. A fascinating read.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a part of Native American history that I'd never heard about - and I wasn't very surprised to learn. As Americans (and especially concerning the Native Americans) we've always thought we knew what was best for everyone we considered inferior. I haven't made up my mind about how selfish this woman is (only in respect to taking her children to such an impoverished and isolated area) or how brave she was to give up everything she knew and jump at the chance to totally commit herself to immersing in her heritage. I commend her white husband for agreeing to take the plunge with her. Also learned about history and rituals of the Navajos.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who doesn't know a lot about the Navajo lifestyle or beliefs, I thought this book gave a very good introduction and overview, while also conveying this woman's interesting life story. The writing style wasn't particularly fabulous or un-fabulous. A lot of turns of phrase were repeated, which made the writing less attractive, and which broke my suspension of disbelief on a couple of occasions. However, the content was enough to keep me interested and I definitely felt the book was worth my time.

[manatee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing memoir that I could not put down. The author did a great job of moving from past to present and allowing her decisions to be put in context. She suffered as a child and was really looking for a place to call home. I really sympathized with the character,but I wondered if her story really checks out. I realize that it was not the Navajo way to get a blood test or dig further, but that is what I would do. I would want to make sure that the adoption story panned out before I upended my life.

Still, this is an engaging book with a likable protagonist.

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Navajo girl is taken from her birth mother (against her birth mother's wishes) and placed with a white Jewish family and adopted. They raised her a white, Jewish girl. Her birth family finally finds her when she is aged 43. She has a husband and children of her own. She packs up her family and travels back to her birth family's home to discover who she is.

Classroom library for 5th and 6th grade. Could also be a part of a text set for Native American study.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. I especially connected with how she incorporated the Navajo's Vision Quest into how she re-told this part of her life. The vision quest is asking 3 questions: 1) Who am I, 2) What have I become with the who that I am, and 3)What is my purpose.
Also interesting to read about the similarities and clashes between her Jewish upbringing and her new Navajo culture.

[Caelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and I had a difficult time putting it down. It was a required text for my introduction to Native American Studies course and I only read half of it during the winter semester. I picked it up again this summer and read the whole thing in only a few days. It is a captivating tale of a woman's quest for her family and heritage. I would suggest that everyone reads this book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about this story from a movie on the Hallmark channel. I read the book and the movie was fairly true to the book. The story is of Navaho twins who were stolen from their parents and given to white parents and how they find their way back to their tribe and family. Evidently this was done somewhat frequently which is just another horrific story of racism. Good read.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating memoir of a Navaho woman, stolen as an infant and raised on Long Island by her Jewish adoptive family. She lived many lives in 35 years. This is the story of her return to her Native American roots. Great read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book of coming home. This story is highly relevant to today with the Supreme Court looking to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act. The loss of the ICWA will mean a new generation of lost birds.

[Shelly]

Can't wait to read this after seeing the movie (for the 3rd time)

[Colleen]

Made into the movie "The Lost Child." Excellent!

[Kimberley Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it very much! Compelling narrative with fascinating insights on the nature of identity, family, and belonging.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting. Beautifully Written, Utterly Heart-Breaking. I Was Absolutely Fascinated With This Empowering Novel. I Could Not Put It Down. Highly Recommended.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome story! Having lived on the Navajo reservation myself,and experiencing the beauty of the Dine, this story filled me with joy.