In re L.D., 414 P.3d 768

In 2013 the Department removed 2-year-old L.D. after abuse allegations; Mother and L.D.'s half-sister A.O. are enrolled Chippewa Cree members; L.D. and Father were not enrolled.
The State initially treated the case as potentially governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), notified the Tribe, and the parties and court recognized L.D.'s ICWA status was undetermined.
Mother entered and largely complied with a treatment plan; the Department repeatedly extended temporary custody while investigating.
The Tribe did not respond to notices and the Department did not obtain a formal, written tribal determination of L.D.'s membership or eligibility.
After earlier proceedings, the State later asserted L.D. was not an Indian child; the court accepted the parties' stipulation and proceeded under non-ICWA termination standards and terminated Mother’s parental rights.
The Montana Supreme Court reversed, holding the court and Department should have obtained a conclusive tribal determination before terminating parental rights where there was reason to believe the child may be an Indian child.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court could proceed to terminate Mother's parental rights without a conclusive tribal determination of L.D.'s status under ICWA	State/Department: Tribe did not intervene or respond; parents believed L.D. was not eligible; parties agreed ICWA did not apply, so court could proceed under state law	Mother: Court had "reason to believe" L.D. may be an Indian child; tribe— not parents or court—must make conclusive membership/eligibility determination; parent cannot waive ICWA	Reversed: Court abused discretion. Where there is reason to believe a child may be Indian, the court/agency must obtain a conclusive tribal determination before proceeding to termination under non-ICWA standards; remand for tribal determination and further proceedings

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 (1989) (ICWA’s purpose to protect tribal interests and continuity of Indian families)
In re D.B., 168 P.3d 691 (Mont. 2007) (standard of review for termination and requirement for statutory findings)
In re A.G., 109 P.3d 756 (Mont. 2005) (tribal determination of membership is conclusive; courts may not substitute their own determination when reason exists to believe child may be Indian)
In re Riffle, 902 P.2d 542 (Mont. 1995) (tribal determinations of membership and eligibility are conclusive)