Department of Social Services of San Francisco v. Diana L.

I. Summary

We hold that in a child custody proceeding, if it appears that the minor may be an Indian child, the court must notify the tribe in question and must seek its determination of the child’s Indian status, which determination is conclusive for the purpose of deciding whether the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 applies.

II. Statement of the Case and of the Facts

The minor’s natural mother (appellant) appeals from a judgment entered after the trial court issued its order declaring Junious M. (the minor) free from parental custody and control. The minor’s father did not participate in the proceedings and has not appealed. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in determining that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (the Act) did not apply to these proceedings. We conclude that the trial court erred in failing to notify the Nooksack Indian Tribe of the pending proceedings and that under the circumstances the error requires a qualified reversal of the judgment.

A detailed statement of the history of this case is not necessary to resolution of this appeal. We therefore offer this synopsis.

The minor was born on December 15, 1974, in San Francisco and…