SCOTUS Favors To Keep Decades-Old Native American Law

The Indian Child Welfare Act prioritizes the placement of Native American children with Native families or tribes in child custody proceedings.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court decided in favor of a decades-old Native American law.

The Indian Child Welfare Act prioritizes the placement of Native American children with Native families or tribes in child custody proceedings, rejecting challenges brought by several adoptive parents.

The law was passed in 1978 to protect tribal sovereignty after congress documented the high number of children with Native American ancestry being placed with Non-Native families or institutions in state child welfare and private adoption proceedings.

The 7 to 2 decision backs the approval of the law by referring to decades of hostility on the part of the federal government when it comes to child issues and traditional values of Indian tribes.