The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected challenges to a federal law that prioritizes the placement of Native American children with Native families or tribes in child custody proceedings.

The law was passed in 1978 to protect tribal sovereignty after Congress documented the alarmingly high number of children with Native American ancestry being placed with non-Native families or institutions in state child welfare and private adoption proceedings.

The 7-2 decision backs the law passed in the wake of decades of hostility on the part of the federal government when it comes to child custody issues and traditional values of Indian tribes.

Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote that "The bottom line is that we reject all of petitioners' challenges to the statute, some on the merits and others for lack of standing."

This story is breaking and will be updated.