Council leader Bill Dixon said he was "bitterly disappointed" but the project still had three-quarters of the money in place from the private sector and the plan had not been abandoned.

BBC: Sunderland Glass centre gets ?750,000 art funding

"Courts in seven states have held that ICWA does not bar courts from terminating the parental rights of a non-custodial father under state law when the father abandoned his child to the sole custody of a non-Indian mother, " said Lisa Blatt, attorney for the couple.

CNN: High court to tackle Native American adoption dispute