*In their ongoing pursuit for recognition of tribal citizenship rights, the Black Creeks have taken their legal battle to new heights, submitting a fresh brief before the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs, Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy, call on the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court to confront the issue of selective enforcement of treaty obligations and denying fundamental rights to descendants of Freedmen, TAG 24 reports.
The Muscogee Creek Freedmen were of African descent and resided among the Muscogee Creek Nation in various capacities: some were enslaved by Creek members, others lived as free individuals, and others were recorded as interracial Creeks, per TAG 24.
The Creek Treaty of 1866 stipulated that Freedmen and their descendants were entitled to “have and enjoy all the rights of native citizens.” However, citizenship rights and benefits were revoked from Blacks with the adoption of a new constitution by the Muscogee Creek Nation in 1979. This sparked a legal battle that persists to this day.
In September, Muscogee Nation District Judge Denette Mouser ruled in favor of Grayson and Kennedy, who filed a lawsuit against the tribe’s citizenship board for denying their membership. However, Muscogee authorities appealed the decision and successfully obtained a stay on the ruling.
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“We’re now before the Muscogee Supreme Court, urging the Nation’s highest court to face its history, follow the rule of law, and advance toward a future that embraces the principles of inclusion and justice enshrined in the Treaty of 1866,” attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said in a statement, per TAG 24.
“We have fought a long, hard fight for justice, and now we’re asking the Supreme Court to do the right thing and affirm the district court’s just and lawful decision upholding our rights under the 1866 Treaty, which has been the law for more than 150 years,” said Kennedy.
“Our fates are now in the hands of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court,” added Grayson.
“We are hopeful that the Nation’s high court will find it in their hearts to do what is right, which is to end the racially discriminatory and illegal exclusion of Creek Freedmen like myself and my co-plaintiff, Mr. Kennedy from citizenship in the [Muscogee Creek Nation], reaffirm the Treaty of 1866, and reopen the citizenship rolls for Creeks of African descent who are entitled to citizenship pursuant to the Treaty.”
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