The
Muscogee (Creek) Nation is renewing a lawsuit that accuses the
Poarch Band of Creek Indians of desecrating sacred ground for a casino in Alabama.
The suit was initially filed in 2012,
Native journalist Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton reports in The Tulsa World. At issue is the Poarch Band's expansion of a gaming facility at the site of the
Hickory Ground, which was the last capital of the historic Creek Nation.
“We entrusted the Poarch Band to maintain that ground in perpetuity, because that is what they promised,” Muscogee Principal Chief James Floyd said in a
news release on Wednesday. “Not only did they not do that, they desecrated an extremely important cultural, historical and archaeological site, unearthing remains and sacred objects. They’ve shown no remorse.”
A new filing on Wednesday accuses the Poarch Band of violating numerous federal laws in carrying out the $246 million expansion project. Ancestral remains and artifacts were removed from Hickory Ground, a proposed
amended complaint alleges.
“The remains and cultural objects must be put back at peace in their original resting ground,” said Mekko George Thompson, who has served as the traditional chief of the Hickory Ground Tribal Town for more than four decades. “Our ancestors’ remains have been wrenched from their final resting places and removed. We’re not opposed to development, but a burial ground is no place for a casino.”
The expansion of the
Wind Creek Casino and Hotel Wetumpka was completed in 2013, after the lawsuit was originally filed. The facility is located on land held in trust for the Poarch Band.
“It deeply saddens us, as extended family to the Muscogee Nation, that they have taken this unwarranted action against us,” Chairwoman Stephanie A. Bryan told Yellowhammer News in response to the legal filing.
“We have attempted to preserve historical remains in a suitable manner,” Bryan said. “In that effort, we have had numerous conversations with the Muscogee Nation and Hickory Ground Town in an attempt to balance the historical interests with the current use of the property.”
The amended complaint also names officials at the
Department of the Interior as defendants. In doing so, it raises the contested claim that the Wetumpka site was "illegally" placed in trust.
A map, left, shows burial ground, structures and other features of interest at Hickory Ground. The image, right, shows the Wind Creek Wetumpka overlaid over some of those features. Both graphics are drawn from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's court filing.
According to the Muscogee Nation, the
U.S. Supreme Court
decision in
Carcieri v.
Salazar bars the Poarch Band from restoring its homelands
through the
land-into-trust process.
"Because Poarch was not under federal jurisdiction in 1934, the Secretary did not have authority to take the Hickory Ground Site into trust for Poarch," the document reads. "Thus, the trust transaction was unlawful,
ultra vires, and void
ab initio."
The state of Alabama made a similar claim in an unrelated lawsuit. But since the land was placed in trust in 1985, the
11th Circuit Court of
Appeals concluded that it was too late to challenge the acquisition under
Carcieri.
Also on Wednesday, the Muscogee Nation
filed a motion, asking the judge handling the case to accept the amended complaint. A ruling hasn't been made on the request.
Read More on the Story
Creek Nation alleges Alabama tribe, U.S. government violated law by removing ancestral remains
(The Tulsa World June 5, 2019)
Poarch Band of Creek Indians respond to ‘unwarranted’ Muscogee lawsuit — ‘It deeply saddens us’
(Yellowhammer News June 5, 2019)
The fight for Hickory Ground continues
(Mvskoke Media June 5, 2019)
Lawsuit renewed against Poarch Creek Indians of Alabama
(The Associated Press June 5, 2019)
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