Foster care and adoption are always complex, and never more so when not only families and children are involved, but also States and Native American tribes. Here's a NY Times story on a complex case, involving a little boy and his sister, the family who adopted the boy and would like to adopt his sister, the biological mother who would like to see the adoption go through, the tribe that opposes it, and the courts.
"Zachary, or A.L.M. as he is called in legal papers, has a Navajo birth mother, a Cherokee birth father and adoptive parents, Jennifer and Chad Brackeen, neither of whom is Native American. The Brackeens are challenging a federal law governing Native American children in state foster care: It requires that priority to adopt them be given to Native families, to reinforce the children’s tribal identity.
"Last fall, a federal judge ruled in the Brackeens’ favor, declaring that the law, the Indian Child Welfare Act, was unconstitutional — in part, he said, because it was based on race.
"The case is now before a federal appeals court. Whoever loses is almost certain to ask the Supreme Court to hear it."