Kaw Nation v. Springer

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant, Kaw Nation, appeals the dismissal of its complaint from federal district court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The tribe attempted to bring suit in district court against its former officials and other individuals under a federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1163, but failed to establish that a private cause of action existed under the statute. On appeal, the tribe reasserts its argument for a private civil cause of action in the criminal statute, and proffers for the first time an alternate basis of jurisdiction in the Native American…