Represented, and not represented, below
Every appeal from a district court case opens with a case appeal statement, which says among other things whether the appellant had retained counsel below. His December 2015 statement for the custody case says he was represented by retained counsel in the district court; his June 2017 statement for the same case says he was not.
The two sides, quoted
"Appellant was represented by retained counsel in the district court proceedings."
Case Appeal Statement, NSC No. 69341, December 3, 2015
"Appellant was not being represented by retained counsel in the district court proceedings."
Case Appeal Statement, NSC No. 73469, June 2017 (Notice of Appeal packet filed July 17, 2017, p. 4), for the same district court case
Context. A Clerk-prepared Case Appeal Statement filed June 29, 2017 in the same docket states the opposite.