.In re April S. , 467 P.3d 1091, 1096 (Alaska 2020).Kyle S. v. State, Dep't of Health & Soc. Servs., Off. of Child.’s Servs. , 309 P.3d 1262, 1267 (Alaska 2013)
Justice Winfree further observed "that determining culture to be 'plainly irrelevant' based on testimony of an expert with absolutely no cultural knowledge may rest on hopelessly circular logic." 467 P.3d 1091 (Alaska 2020). Id. at 1093.
Cissy A., 513 P.3d at 1008, 1010-11. Id. at 1012 (citing In re April S., 467 P.3d 1091, 1099 (Alaska 2020)). Id. at 1012, 1014.
We also held that any exception to the requirement of cultural testimony is "very limited." Id. at 1010 (quoting In re April S., 467 P.3d 1091, 1099 (Alaska 2020)). Orin asserts that there was inadequate evidence for the court to determine that the children would suffer serious harm if returned to his care.
We declined to address this issue in Matter of April S. , when the parties had agreed that § 1912(e) ’s requirement for removal findings applied and we assumed, without deciding, that that was the case. 467 P.3d 1091, 1096-97 (Alaska 2020). Given that no party raised this issue before the superior court, and because the issue was not identified as a point on appeal and was raised only through Hanson's appellee brief, the argument and record related to this question are sparse and we decline to further address it here.
Ensuring a child's connection to familial culture and heritage can sometimes be essential to reducing harm, such as when a child is navigating grief or a mental illness and the lack of visitation risks stripping the child of critical cultural connections and practices. See, e.g., In re Matter of April S., 467 P.3d 1091, 1099-1100, 1100 n.2 (Alaska 2020) (Winfree, J., concurring) (describing the importance of cultural connections to the emotional well-being of Alaskan Native children); Melissa Tehee, Royleen J. Ross, Charlotte McCloskey & Iva Grey Wolf, Trauma-Informed, Culturally Relevant Psychological Responses in Cases of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Peoples, 69 Dep't of Just. J. Fed. L. & Prac. 251, 254-59 (2021) (discussing the importance of cultural connection for individuals dealing with trauma).
Ensuring a child's connection to familial culture and heritage can sometimes be essential to reducing harm, such as when a child is navigating grief or a mental illness and the lack of visitation risks stripping the child of critical cultural connections and practices. See, e.g., In re Matter of April S., 467 P.3d 1091, 1099-1100, 1100 n.2 (Alaska 2020) (Winfree, J., concurring) (describing the importance of cultural connections to the emotional well-being of Alaskan Native children); Melissa Tehee, Royleen J. Ross, Charlotte McCloskey & Iva Grey Wolf, Trauma-Informed, Culturally Relevant Psychological Responses in Cases of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Peoples, 69 DEP'T OF JUST. J. FED. L. & PRAC. 251, 254-59 (2021) (discussing the importance of cultural connection for individuals dealing with trauma). ¶ 32