Jad Abumrad (host) / main Radiolab host voice

Yeah, Veronica herself would be a little bit over 1%.

Wait, this whole thing is happening because he's only 2%?

Well, yeah, but you have to keep in mind that Cherokee Nation doesn't care about the percentage of Cherokee in your blood.

That's not how they determine their members.

Being a member of the Cherokee Nation is like being a member of the United States.

You are a citizen of the nation.

That's Chrissy Nemo, Assistant Attorney General for Cherokee Nation.

But you can automatically apply.

So it's based on direct lineage.

But still, you're right, because this is the argument that is most troubling to the tribes.

Both Chrissy Nemo and Marsha Zugg told me that if the Supreme Court ends up deciding that ICWA is unconstitutional because it really is race-based.

This is a case that they could use to do that.

If ICWA falls because it's unconstitutional, it could have a crazy domino effect.

What would that mean concretely if Indian law were to go away?

It means that their policing, their court system, their education, anything they do as a sovereign nation, all of that just evaporates.

A tribe would just become another group of people on some land.

That said, this is not the likely outcome.

Now, the Supreme Court will probably rule as narrowly as they possibly can.

And as far as the tribes are concerned, they can do a lot of damage to the law without calling it unconstitutional.

You know, they could allow for this certain kind of exception to ICWA, which would make it a lot easier for people like the Capo Biancos to adopt.