State Ex Rel. Juvenile Department v. Charles

Mother appeals an order that found her child, Jade Ann, age 8, to be within the jurisdiction of the court. The court made the child a ward and directed that she be transferred to Alaska to be placed in the physical custody of her paternal aunt. The child’s father, Dean Charles, is a Tlingit Indian; consequently, she is an Indian as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 25 USC §§ 1901-1963, and that act applies to this proceeding.

Mother has two other children who were also made wards of the court. They are not Indian children, and mother has also appealed the order as to them. State…