Court Opinion

ID: 9852126
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:24:54.069003+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:22.914065
License: Public Domain

GORDON, Justice
(specially concurring):
I concur in the result reached by the majority. I cannot, however, concur in their reasoning because I read the majority opinion to say there is no jurisdiction concurrent in the White Mountain Apache Tribal Court. A holding which necessarily implies exclusive jurisdiction in the state courts would be contrary to established case law and, in fact, is not supported by the decisions cited by the majority.
I would reverse and remand in the particular circumstances of this case because I believe the trial court’s summary denial of jurisdiction was an abuse of discretion. I would require the trial court on remand either to accept jurisdiction or to articulate grounds for denying jurisdiction.
There is concurrent jurisdiction in the tribal and state courts when a petition for severance and/or adoption is brought and the parties include non-Indians, enrolled tribal members, and reservation Indian residents (as here). I recognize a jurisdictional determination in these circumstances will frequently necessitate a partial review of the case on its merits. Where facts concerning severance are not in dispute and no colorable issue is raised regarding “whether *89the state action infringed on the right of reservation Indians to make their own laws and be ruled by them,” Fisher v. Dist. Court of Sixteenth Jud. Dist., 424 U.S. 382, 386, 96 S.Ct. 943, 946, 47 L.Ed.2d 106, 110 (1976), quoting Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217, 220, 79 S.Ct. 269, 271, 3 L.Ed.2d 251 (1959), the trial court may properly accept jurisdiction. Where, however, there are factual disputes or issues raised concerning tribal law, membership rights and the like, the trial court should defer a decision as to jurisdiction while making a further inquiry. It is the court’s task to decide where jurisdiction best lies — where the factual determination would best be made.
Often the tribal court’s insight into tribal cultural values and way of life will make it the best forum for such a determination. Although we are not social scientists, as judges we must be aware of the fact that acts which mean one thing in our culture may have a very different meaning in another culture. What I might see as circumstances implying abandonment may well be culturally-prescribed parental behavior in another social structure. A child left in a grandparent’s care for an apparently lengthy period may, in fact, be in a normal period of training for adult tribal responsibility. Further, we most recognize the economic circumstances of Indians in our State may sometimes require Indian parents to seek employment off the reservation and even to temporarily relinquish care of their children to those in a more fortunate financial position.
In deciding whether the exercise of state court jurisdiction will improperly interfere with the tribe’s right to govern itself and relationships between its members, two recent decisions are helpful: Wakefield v. Little Light, 276 Md. 333, 347 A.2d 228 (1975); Wisconsin Potowatomies v. Houston, 393 F.Supp. 719 (D.W.Mich., 1973). These two opinions discuss underlying policy issues and provide practical guidelines for decisions.
If I read the majority opinion correctly, it says that the tribal court has no jurisdiction, not even concurrent, when the Indian child who is the subject of a severance petition is living off the reservation. If this is so, I foresee problems when due process and equal protection issues, as well as issues of Indian sovereignty, are raised in an Indian child custody case decided in a state court.