Here is what we know.
First the good news:
The good news for tribes and Native American children’s advocates and adoptive families is that the court upheld important aspects of the act.
The en banc court holds that Congress was authorized to enact the Indian Child Welfare Act and concludes that this authority derives from Congress’s enduring obligations to Indian tribes and its plenary authority to discharge this duty. In other words, the act is constitutional.
In this 2019 photo, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks during a news conference in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)