In re H.C. CA3

BACKGROUND

Our recitation of the background is limited to the circumstances relevant to the contention on appeal. The Siskiyou County Human Services Department (Department) took the minor into protective custody on August 9, 2011. At the subsequent detention hearing, mother testified she was not aware that she had any Native American or Indian heritage. Father testified he was “not sure” if he had any Native American or Indian heritage, adding, “I don’t have any idea at all.” The minor’s paternal grandfather said at the detention hearing that father’s maternal grandmother had a father who was Indian and Spanish and a mother who was Indian and French. The minor’s paternal grandfather did not know with which tribe father’s maternal grandmother was associated, but the minor’s paternal grandfather provided the name, address and contact information for father’s maternal grandmother. The minor’s paternal grandfather gave no indication that there was any Indian ancestry on his side of the family. According to the social worker’s six-month review report, father said his mother has Aztec heritage and his father (the minor’s paternal grandfather) is descended from the “Blackfoot Tribe.”…