Two Native American children were adopted by a non-Indian family. Following a legal challenge under the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the case became before both the United States Supreme Court and an Indian Tribal Court. In this paper we analyze the procedure and outcome of this transcultural adoption case from the point of view of the children involved and compare it with the intracultural “Baby Richard” case.

Anna Freud believed that continuity of care is vital for each child’s healthy growth and development. Transcultural adoptions highlight questions that characterize contested placements, whether or not they cross cultural boundaries and whether or not they place children across lines of race, color, religion, or national origin.