In re Levi R. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

We discuss only the facts pertinent to this appeal regarding the ICWA notice and not the facts leading up to the filing of the Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petitions on behalf of Levi and the termination of parental rights.2 On June 1, 2013, Mother denied that Levi had Indian ancestry. On June 5, 2013, Mother filled out a parental notification of Indian status form, stating that she might have Indian ancestry, specifically the Navajo and Cherokee tribes. Her handwritten notations referenced “GG Mo,” “Gracie,” and “James Allen [P.]” She also wrote the name of maternal great-aunt “Mary [L.]” and a phone number. Father filled out a parental notification of Indian status form, indicating he had no Indian ancestry. Mother and Father were in custody but appeared at a June 5, 2013 detention hearing. “Maternal grandmother and great uncle” were also present at the hearing. The juvenile court noted that Mother indicated that she had Navajo and Cherokee heritage. When asked whether she, her parents, or grandparents were registered members of any tribe, Mother answered that maternal grandmother “could better answer that.” Maternal grandmother then stated that her…