A Navajo teen whose adoption sparked an Indian Child Welfare Act battle is returning home to her roots on the Navajo Nation.

Allyssa Keetso-Pitts, 17, was known as "Baby K." In 1988, she was at the center of a dispute between the Navajo Nation and her non-Native adoptive parents.

The tribe assumed jurisdiction of the case and granted permanent guardianship and custody of Keetso-Pitts to the non-Native couple, who later divorced. Her Navajo mother, Trish Polacca, retained visitation rights.

Keetso-Pitts is now moving to Arizona where she plans to learn more about Navajo culture and language. She has seven half-brothers and half-sisters.

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Teen yearns to live, learn her Navajo roots (The Oregonian 6/22)