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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 7-421 / 07-0648 Filed July 12, 2007

IN THE INTEREST OF K.K., M.K., S.K., and A.K., Minor Children, SAC AND FOX TRIBE OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN IOWA, Intervenor, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Tama County, Fae Hoover-Grinde, District Associate Judge.

The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa appeal the district court's refusal to transfer jurisdiction to the tribe. AFFIRMED.

Patrick Wilson of Wilson Law Office, Marshalltown, for intervenor appellant. Nancy L. Burk, Toledo, for mother. Fred Stiefel, Victor, for father. John Daufeldt of Daufeldt Law Firm, P.L.C., Conroy, for appellee father. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Bruce Kempkes, Assistant Attorney General, and Brent D. Heeren, County Attorney, for appellee State. John Livingston, Gladbrook, for minor children.

Considered by Mahan, P.J., and Eisenhauer and Baker, JJ.

2 MAHAN, P.J. The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa appeal the district court's refusal to transfer jurisdiction to the tribal court. The Tribe argues the district court erred in analyzing whether the mother, Lorinda, would be appointed counsel in her child custody case. We affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings Lorinda and Chad are the parents of M.K. and K.K., born in December 1994 and June 1997, respectively. Chad, K.K., and M.K. are all enrolled

members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. Lorinda and Dean are the parents of A.K. and S.K, born in July 1999 and February 2002, respectively. Dean is an enrolled member of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the

Mississippi in Iowa. A.K. and S.K. are eligible for enrollment in the Tribe. In September 2006 Lorinda was found unconscious after having a seizure. She was taken to a medical facility for testing. She placed all four children in Chad's care and requested police accompany him to her home to get some of the children's things. The police found the home unfit for human habitation. The children were removed by emergency order and placed with Chad. Child-inneed-of-assistance (CINA) proceedings were instituted on behalf of all the children. The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa intervened. On

October 30, 2006, the Tribe filed a motion to have the case transferred to the Sac and Fox Tribal Court. Chad joined in the motion. Lorinda, however, resisted. She argued she had been determined indigent and could not secure legal representation for herself before the tribal court. She did, however, have an

3 appointed attorney before the state court. The district court, analyzing Sac and Fox Tribal Code section 5-4201(b), determined Lorinda did not have a right to counsel in the tribal court similar to her right pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.113 (2005). As a result, the district court denied the Tribe's motion to

transfer. The Tribe appeals. II. Standard of Review We review CINA adjudications de novo. In re D.D., 653 N.W.2d 359, 361 (Iowa 2002). Here, Iowa law must be modified by the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). In re B.M., 532 N.W.2d 504, 506 (Iowa Ct. App. 1995). This case, however, does not involve the merits of the CINA adjudication itself. Instead, it is concerned with the statutory provisions by which we transfer CINA cases to a tribal court. Therefore, we review the district court's

interpretation of that statute for errors at law. Reilly v. Anderson, 727 N.W.2d 102, 105 (Iowa 2006). III. Merits According to Iowa Code section 232B.5(10) Unless either of an Indian child's parents objects, in any child custody proceeding involving an Indian child who is not domiciled or residing within the jurisdiction of the Indian child's tribe, the court shall transfer the proceeding to the jurisdiction of the Indian child's tribe . . . ." Iowa Code

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