In the Matter of a Minor Child (L.J.Y. v. T.T.)

L.J.Y., a woman who was a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and T.T., a man who was a member of the Fort Mojave Tribe (the tribe), had a child who was also a member of the tribe. T.T. filed a petition in the Fort Mojave Tribal Court (tribal court) asking for custody to be taken from L.J.Y. and given to T.T. The petition did not allege abuse or neglect, but alleged that T.T. filed the petition for the welfare and safety of the child and that L.J.Y. had caused undue hardship to the child and T.T. At trial, the tribal court proceeded as if the tribe had filed a neglect petition against L.J.Y. and permitted T.T. and his mother to testify about L.J.Y.’s negligence. Without permitting L.J.Y. to be heard, the tribal court ordered the child to be removed from L.J.Y.’s custody. An employee of the Fort Mojave Social Services Department appeared and spontaneously recommended that the child be placed with T.T.’s mother and father. The tribal court announced that the Indian Child Welfare Act applied to the matter and entered a temporary custody order placing the child with T.T.’s mother and father, though none of the parties had so moved the court and the court did not make a finding in the best interests of the child. The father appealed. The child was still in the custody of T.T.’s mother and father when the matter reached the Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals for the Fort Mojave Tribe.