In re E.C. CA3

BACKGROUND

The minor, born in April 2022, was detained by the Agency only days after she was born. At the time of her detention, father reported ancestry with the “Blackfoot tribe from Southern California”; he was not a registered member, but he believed other family members were. Father agreed to provide the Agency any relevant information regarding his ancestry. In May 2022, the Agency reported sending an e-mail notice of the petition to the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Blackfoot Tribe of the Blackfoot Indian Reservation of Montana. The Agency reported at the time that it had not received a response. On June 13, 2022, the juvenile court asked both parents if they had any new information about possible Indian heritage. The parents indicated they did not. In its six- month review report, the Agency stated it asked father for additional information about his relatives and their Indian ancestry, but he did not provide any new information. At the six-month review hearing in January 2023, the juvenile court asked father about his Indian heritage, particularly about any connection to the Choctaw tribe.…