The Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978 to prevent state and local welfare offices from separating Indian children from their parents, many without good reason, and placing them in non-Indian homes. On Tuesday, in a case that turns heavily on the facts, the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether that law gave a member of the Cherokee Nation the right to revoke an adoption of his biological child. The law properly limits the breaking up of Indian families. But, in this case, the non-Indian biological mother, who was not married to the father, voluntarily placed her baby girl for adoption with a non-Indian couple after the father refused to provide any financial support and expressly renounced his parental rights.Get the Story:
Editorial: A Wrenching Adoption Case (The New York Times 4/16) South Carolina Supreme Court Decision:
Adoptive Couple v. Cherokee Nation (July 26, 2012) Related Stories:
Tribes gear up for big battle with Supreme Court's ICWA case (4/15)
Column: Supreme Court set to hear racially-tinged ICWA case (4/15)
ICT interview with Cherokee Nation attorney on ICWA dispute (4/11)
Supreme Court sets times for oral argument in ICWA dispute (4/2)
Turtle Talk: Guide to briefs in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/29)
DOJ submits brief in support of Cherokee father in ICWA case (3/18)
Wisbar News: Possible brief in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/8)
Tribes line up support as Supreme Court takes up ICWA dispute (3/6)
Blog: Supreme Court hears Cherokee Nation ICWA case in April (3/5)
Supreme Court to hear Cherokee Nation ICWA case on April 16 (02/14)
NYT Debate: Indian Child Welfare Act and the Supreme Court (01/25)
Supreme Court ruling could impact ICWA cases nationwide (1/14)
Analysis: Media fails in coverage of Cherokee ICWA dispute (1/14)
Supreme Court takes first Indian Child Welfare Act case in years (1/7)
Supreme Court considers petition in Cherokee Nation ICWA case (1/4)
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