United States Tenth Circuit

An Indian tribe was an indispensable party with respect to claims alleging wrongful exclusion from assistance programs, and the district court correctly ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood claim because Plaintiffs failed to show exhaustion of administrative remedies.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/10/2003
• Published 09/10/2003

Judges

• HARTZ, Circuit Judge., Before MURPHY, BALDOCK and HARTZ, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Franklin B. Velie of Salans Hertzfeld Heilbronn Christy & Viener, New York, N.Y. (Mark H. Goldey of Salans Hertzfeld Heilbronn Christy & Viener, New York, NY;  Jonathan T. Velie and William B. Velie of Velie & Velie, Norman, OK, with him on the briefs), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Aaron P. Avila, Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC (Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General;  Robert G. McCambell, United States Attorney, Arvo Q. Mikkanen, Assistant United States Attorney, Oklahoma City, OK;  John A. Bryson, Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC;  Susan K. Ehlen, Charles R. Babst Jr., United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Tulsa, OK, of counsel, with him on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees.