Things to know about the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act

By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The Supreme Court has preserved a federal law giving preference to Native American families when it comes to adopting Native children in foster care. The 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act aims to reverse centuries of government-sanctioned efforts to separate Native children from their families to be raised outside their tribal cultures. When the law came under attack by conservative legal groups, tribal nations saw the case as an existential threat. What law says and does, and the reactions of tribal leaders and the law’s opponents are among the things to know after the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision Thursday upholding the law.