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Adoption Of Cherokee Girl Could Lead To Her "Devastation"

A Cherokee Nation attorney says a 3-year-old girl will be devastated if she is adopted by a South Carolina couple and taken away from her biological father, who is a tribal member.

Chrissi Nimmo, an assistant attorney general for the Oklahoma-based tribe, said today that Dusten Brown is unquestionably a fit parent. She says she can't understand how a South Carolina judge on Wednesday could have issued an order finalizing the adoption of a child living with a fit biological parent.

Brown has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the ruling.

The girl's biological mother hand-picked the South Carolina couple to adopt her daughter, and they raised her for two years while seeking to adopt her.

Courts awarded Brown custody in 2011 under the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act.

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