In re H.C. CA3

Filed 3/14/13 In re H.C. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Siskiyou) ----

In re H. C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

SISKIYOU COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES C071803 DEPARTMENT, (Super. Ct. No. Plaintiff and Respondent, SCSCJVSQ1151147)

v.

J. C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant J.C., father of the minor, appeals from juvenile court orders terminating parental rights and freeing the minor for adoption. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 395.)1 Father claims it was error for the juvenile court to rule that the Indian Child Welfare Act

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

1

(ICWA) did not apply, because notice of the proceeding was not sent to the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana. The record establishes that the minor did not have Indian heritage with a federally recognized tribe. Accordingly, ICWA notice was not required. We will affirm the juvenile court’s orders. 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.” However, the social worker spoke with father’s maternal grandmother and she indicated “she is not aware of any Native American heritage for [father].” The social worker also spoke with the minor’s paternal grandfather, who reported that his family was descended from “Blackfoot Indians in Canada” and that father’s mother was descended from Aztec people in Mexico. The minor’s paternal