US has fraught history with Native adoption. Enter the Supreme Court.

On a cool October morning, the sun shines down on a clearing in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Here, Tania Blackburn, after spending her childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home, is starting to build a life for herself.

The sun shone on Aurene Martin too when, driving to Capitol Hill, she found out she had a chance to adopt another son.

And sunlight pierced the hospital window the day Robyn Bradshaw became a grandmother.

In the world of child welfare, sunny days can be hard to find – something these three Native American women know all too well.

Finding homes for children whose parents are unable or unwilling to raise them is a heart-wrenching process, even when it goes smoothly. An overworked and under-resourced system only adds to the emotional strain, as courts, caseworkers, and families grapple with the question at the core of every child welfare case: What is the best interest of the child?

In cases concerning Native American children, that question is especially complicated…

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