Colo. Appellate Court Remands ICWA Domicile Case Back to Trial Court

Here is the opinion in In re the Parental Responsibilities of S.M.J.C.

An excerpt:

In this allocation of parental rights proceeding, the Oglala Sioux Tribe (the Tribe), acting through the Oglala Nation Tiospaye Resource Advocacy Center (ONTRAC), appeals from the order denying its motion to dismiss the proceeding pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1911(a), or, in the alternative, transfer the proceeding to the Tribe’s tribal court pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1911(b). We conclude that the record does not support the trial court’s finding that the child had been abandoned, and thus, the record does not support the court’s determination that the child’s domicile was that of his caregiver rather than that of his custodial parent. Accordingly, we vacate the order and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.