In re J.T. CA3

BACKGROUND

The minor’s half sibling A.E. was removed from mother’s care in 2015 due to substance abuse by mother and the half sibling’s father. (In re A.E. (Feb. 26, 2018, C084468 [nonpub. opn.].) The initial orders terminating parental rights as to the minor’s half sibling were conditionally reversed and remanded for further ICWA compliance related to mother’s claim of Indian ancestry. (Ibid.) The minor in this case, J.T., was previously removed from mother and father’s care upon his birth in July 2016, during the pendency of his half sibling’s appeal as a result of mother and father’s substance abuse. (In re A.E., supra, C084468.) At that time, mother reported she had Blackfeet and/or Cherokee ancestry and father reported he may have Indian heritage but did not know with what tribe. The Agency completed an ICWA-030 form and noticed the Blackfeet tribe, the three Cherokee tribes, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). On September 13, 2017, the juvenile court found ICWA did not apply. Thereafter, on August 15, 2018, the Cherokee Nation2 sent a letter to the Agency reporting that it had examined the tribal records and neither the minor nor his

2 Although it is sometimes known…