A state court hearing is taking place this morning in the custody and adoption dispute over a young girl from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

Information has been hard to come by because the cases involving Dusten Brown and his daughter are sealed. There are at least two cases in state court and one case in tribal court.

A non-Indian couple from South Carolina wants to adopt Brown's daughter. They signed an agreement only with the biological mother, who is non-Indian.

Brown was notified of the adoption shortly before he was deployed to Iraq. The Cherokee Nation gave him its Patriotism Award in recognition of his military service and his fight to keep his daughter.

Get the Story:
Nowata court hearing in Baby Veronica case set for today (The Tulsa World 8/30)
Dusten Brown Wins Cherokee Medal (Bartlesville Radio 8/29)

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South Carolina officers in Oklahoma for Indian custody case (8/29)