After 'Baby Veronica' case, a look at Minnesota's tribal adoptions

The custody battle over a 4-year-old Cherokee girl ended Monday when she was reunited with her white adoptive parents.

The girl, known as "Baby Veronica," was the center of a legal battle after her mother, who is not Native American, gave her up for adoption to a non-Native American family. Her father, who is part Cherokee, later sued for custody.

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The case of Veronica, who is 3/256 Cherokee, centered on the Indian Child Welfare Act, passed by Congress in 1978 in response to Native American protests. The law established that it was best to keep Native children with their families or, short of that, within their tribe to preserve their culture.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law did not apply in Veronica's case, in part because her birth parents were not married and also because her biological father, Dusten Brown, never had custody. Her adoption by the Capobiancos was finalized the following month.

But Brown refused to hand over Veronica and the girl remained with the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma until yet another court weighed in on Monday. Hours later, she was placed back with the Capobiancos.

We'll look at how this case might impact Minnesota laws on tribal adoption and child welfare.