As used in this article 1.2, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. (1) Active efforts means efforts that are affirmative, active, thorough, timely, and intended to maintain or reunite an Indian child with the Indian child's family by providing remedial services and rehabilitative programs. Active efforts require more than a referral to a service and must be conducted in partnership with the Indian child, the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian, extended family members, and the tribe.

2. (2)

   1. (a) Child custody proceeding means a child custody proceeding within the court's jurisdiction and includes:

      1. (I) Foster care placements, including any action removing an Indian child from the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in a foster home or institution, or the home of a guardian or conservator when the Indian parent or Indian custodian cannot have the Indian child returned upon demand but parental rights have not been terminated, including, but not limited to, a hearing held pursuant to section 19-3-405, 19-3-507, 19-3-508, or 19-3-702;
      2. (II) Termination of parental rights, including any action resulting in the termination of the parent-child relationship;
      3. (III) Pre-adoptive placement, including the temporary placement of an Indian child in a foster home or institution after the termination of parental rights but prior to or in lieu of adoptive placement;
      4. (IV) Adoptive placement, including the permanent placement of an Indian child for adoption and any action resulting in a final decree of adoption;
      5. (V) A parentage determination; and
      6. (VI) Guardianship or allocation of parental responsibilities to a nonparent, including an action taken in a probate or domestic relations case removing an Indian child from the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in the home of a guardian, conservator, or nonparent when the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian cannot have the Indian child returned upon demand but parental rights have not been terminated.
   2. (b) An action that may culminate in one of the outcomes described in subsection (2)(a) of this section is a separate child custody proceeding from an action that may culminate in a different one of the outcomes. There may be several child custody proceedings involving an Indian child, and within each child custody proceeding, there may be several separate hearings.

   3. (c) Child custody proceeding does not include:

      1. (I) A proceeding for the custody or support of, or parenting time with, an Indian child that is solely between two parents;
      2. (II) An emergency proceeding as described in section 19-1.2-110; or
      3. (III) A delinquency proceeding other than those based solely on a status offense.
3. (3) Court means a district court, juvenile court, or probate court that is presiding over a child custody proceeding.
4. (4) Custody or continued custody means having legal or physical custody, or both, of an Indian child pursuant to applicable tribal law, tribal custom, or state law. An individual has custody of an Indian child if the individual is the Indian child's parent, if the individual has physical custody through an arrangement with the Indian child's parent outside of the involvement of a child welfare or child placement agency, or if the individual has legal custody of the Indian child pursuant to applicable tribal law, tribal custom, or state law.

5. (5)

   1. (a) Domicile means the place an individual regards as home, where the individual intends to remain, or to which, if absent, the individual intends to return.

   2. (b) An Indian child's domicile, in order of priority, is the domicile of:

      1. (I) The Indian child's parents or, if the Indian child's parents do not have the same domicile, the Indian child's parent who has physical custody of the Indian child;
      2. (II) The Indian child's Indian custodian; or
      3. (III) The Indian child's guardian.
6. (6) Due diligence means the earnest endeavor of the court and the petitioning or filing party to investigate the basis for a party's or other individual's assertion that a child may be an Indian child, as described in section 19-1.2-107.
7. (7) Emergency proceeding means any court action that involves the emergency removal or emergency placement of an Indian child, including removal pursuant to section 19-1.2-110, 19-1.2-123, 19-3-405, 14-10-129 (4), or 15-14-204 (5) with or without a protective custody order, or a temporary shelter care proceeding pursuant to section 19-3-401 or 19-3-403.

8. (8)

   1. (a) Extended family member has the same meaning as given in the tribal law or tribal custom of the Indian child's tribe.
   2. (b) If the meaning of extended family member cannot be determined pursuant to subsection (8)(a) of this section, extended family member means an individual who has attained eighteen years of age and who is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, first or second cousin, godparent, stepparent, or stepgrandparent, or as determined by the Indian child's tribe member. Even following termination of a marriage, a godparent, stepparent, or stepgrandparent is considered an extended family member.
9. (9) Indian means an individual who is a member of an Indian tribe or who is an Alaska Native and a member of a regional corporation, as defined in the federal Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. sec. 1606.

10. (10) Indian child means an unmarried individual who has not attained eighteen years of age and:

    1. (a) Is a member or citizen of an Indian tribe; or
    2. (b) Is eligible for membership or citizenship in an Indian tribe as determined by that Indian tribe in writing or orally on the record and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.
11. (11) Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 or ICWA means the federal law found at 25 U.S.C. sec. 1901 et seq. and its implementing regulations.
12. (12) Indian custodian means an Indian, other than the Indian child's parent, who has been granted legal custody or guardianship of the Indian child pursuant to tribal law, tribal custom, or state law, or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the Indian child's parent outside the involvement of a child welfare or child placement agency.
13. (13) Indian organization means a group, association, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians or with a majority of Indian members.
14. (14) Indian tribe or tribe means an Indian tribe, clan, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians federally recognized as eligible for the services provided to Indians by the United States secretary of the interior because of their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village as defined in the federal Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. sec. 1602 (c).
15. (15) Member or membership means a determination by an Indian tribe through its tribal law or tribal custom that an individual is a member or citizen of that Indian tribe.

16. (16) Parent means:

    1. (a) A biological parent of an Indian child, except for an unwed father whose parentage has not been acknowledged or established pursuant to section 19-1.2-105, the Uniform Parentage Act, article 4 of this title 19, or tribal law;
    2. (b) An individual who has lawfully adopted an Indian child, including an adoption made pursuant to tribal law or tribal custom; or
    3. (c) A parent whose parentage has been acknowledged or established pursuant to section 19-1.2-105, the Uniform Parentage Act, article 4 of this title 19, or tribal law.
17. (17) Party or parties means a party to a child custody proceeding.
18. (18) Reason to know means that a court or a petitioning or filing party has reason to know that a child is an Indian child, as described in section 19-1.2-107.

19. (19) Reservation means:

    1. (a) Indian country, as defined in 18 U.S.C. sec. 1151, and any lands not covered pursuant to that section and title that are held by the United States in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individual or held by an Indian tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States against alienation; or
    2. (b) For the Southern Ute Indian reservation, those lands include any lands confirmed pursuant to Pub.L. 98-290 and any other land subsequently placed in trust by the United States for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's benefit.
20. (20) Termination of parental rights includes the termination of parental rights pursuant to section 19-3-604 or the termination of parental rights resulting from an adoption proceeding pursuant to section 19-5-101, 19-5-105.5, or 19-5-105.7.
21. (21) Tribal court means a court with jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings that is either a court of Indian offenses, a court established and operated under the law or custom of an Indian tribe, or any other administrative body of a tribe that is vested with authority over Indian child custody proceedings.
22. (22) Tribal customary adoption means the adoption of an Indian child by and through tribal law or tribal custom of the Indian child's tribe and that may be effected without the termination of parental rights.

Source: L. 2025: Entire article added, (HB 25-1204), ch. 338, p. 1784, § 2, effective August 6.