Four men are in court in Alabama this morning over charges that they trespassed at the casino owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Three of the defendants are members of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma. The tribe sent a delegation of about 40 people to show support for the men, who were arrested while protesting the $246 million expansion of the Wind Creek Wetumpka at Hickory Ground, a historic and sacred burial site. "These charges are a smokescreen to divert attention away from the desecration of Hickory Ground,” Wayland Gray, who is one of the defendants, said in a press release. “The issue is respect for ancestors, and the precedent this case sets for all Native people trying to protect sacred land and burials." The Poarch Band has defended its right to protect the casino site and the burial site. Get the Story:
Hickory Ground Sacred Land Activists to Appear in Court Tuesday (Indian Country Today 6/17)
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