A Department’s compliance with the express ICWA notice requirements will not suffice if the appellate record also reveals the Department possessed identifying Indian heritage information which it did not share with one of more tribes of which the dependent child could be a member. Here, the Department made the requisite documentary showing of its compliance with ICWA with several tribes. However, the Department did not provide Indian heritage information it had regarding the minors to the Picayne Rancheria and the Navajo Nation. The opportunity for a tribe to investigate means little if the Department does not provide the available Indian heritage information it possesses. Therefore remand was required to conduct further proceedings regarding the ICWA.
Case Summaries