CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear the appeal in an adoption case involving a 2-year-old girl who was raised in the state but whose biological father was recently granted custody. The child then returned to Oklahoma with her father, who is a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation.

It's apparently the first time the court will hear a case involving the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. But, because adoption hearings and records are sealed, it's a bit difficult to tell exactly what issues the justices will consider.

The act is a federal law passed in 1978 because of the high number of Indian children who were being removed from their homes. The act gives the child's tribe and family a say in decisions affecting the child.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)The Associated Press State & Local Wire February 5, 2012

The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear the appeal in an adoption case involving a 2-year-old girl who was raised in the state but whose biological father was recently granted custody. The child then returned to Oklahoma with her father, who is a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation.

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