Undated photo of a Native American, "Baby Boy Quince," at the Protestant Home for Babies in New Orleans, Louisiana. (The language in this is atrocious.)
"Needs a Home - Seven-month-old Quince, a full-blooded American Indian and a resident of the Protestant Home for Babies in New Orleans, can't seem to get adopted. Miss Sally Matlock, executive director of the home, holds the tot for a news cameraman in hopes that publicity may find the boy a home."
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 gave preference to adoption solutions that would keep Native children within the tribal community.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding a dispute over Native American adoption law, the plaintiffs said the statute racially discriminates against non-Native Americans, violating the Constitution's Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law, and that it unconstitutionally directs the actions of state agencies in adoption matters. A federal judge ruled favor of the challengers on both claims in 2018. The case is due to be heard during the court's next term, which begins in October, with a ruling due by June 2023.