Muscogee Creek Freedmen file lawsuit to restore citizenship

Thursday, July 26, 2018  

The Freedmen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation are suing the Trump administration and the leader of their tribe in order to assert their citizenship rights.

The Freedmen were promised citizenship in the Creek Treaty of 1866, the complaint reads. But the tribe has failed to abide by the government-to-government agreement, and the Department of the Interior has done nothing about it, the descendants of former slaves said.

"The so-called Creek Freedmen continue to be denied basic rights of citizenship including but not limited to their right to vote, right to hold office, and right to be recognized for who they are: Creek Indians by birthright, heritage, history, and culture," the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band said in a press release on Tuesday.

The July 20 complaint names Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Chief James Floyd of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as defendants. It was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., where precedent in a case involving the Cherokee Nation has opened up tribal leaders to Freedmen lawsuits.

The Muscogee Creek Freedmen held a press conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday to discuss their case.

Read More on the Story:
Suit filed in U.S. District Court regarding MCN Freedman (Mvskoke Media July 24, 2018)
Muscogee Creek Indians file lawsuit, demanding Creek citizenship restored (KJRH July 26, 2018)