Turtle Talk

Here is the opinion:

In re Warsinski

An excerpt:

Here, the only evidence that the child had any tribal membership was the testimony of a DHS worker who stated that respondent once mentioned that she had recently  discovered that she had Native American heritage. Respondent herself did not provide any testimony as to any Native American heritage on her part or on the part of the child. Indeed, the statement made to the DHS worker was entirely unsubstantiated. As such, it was not sufficiently reliable information of the child’s Indian heritage to trigger the requirements of the ICWA.