Supreme Court struggles with a case dealing with the rights of Native American Tribes

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority seemed conflicted Wednesday, as the justices heard arguments challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act, known by the acronym "ICWA."

The law was enacted more than 40 years ago after a congressional investigation found that public and private agencies had removed a third of all Native children from their homes and placed most of them in institutions or homes with no ties to American Indian tribes.

ICWA established minimum federal standards for removing native children from their homes. It required state courts to notify tribes when an American Indian child is removed from her family, and it required that in foster and adoption placements, preference be