Descendants of freed slaves have tried to gain citizenship in their tribes for years, well before this case ever came to light.
Jeffrey Kennedy is one of a number of people fighting the battle. Now, he remembers the people who aren’t alive to see the ruling.
Kennedy said he was humbled "by those that did not come with us on this long, arduous journey. This is basically our trail of tears."
In her ruling on Sept. 27, Judge Denette Mouser laid out the historical background of this case.
She illustrated slavery within Native American communities did not always look like the slavery of the Deep South. Often, she said, clans would adopt their slaves, and once freed, those slaves would become known as "Creek Freedman."
"You never hear those stories of people of African descent who also traveled, so it was important to me because my ancestors also traveled the Trail of Tears. They suffered the same death. They suffered the same loss," said Rhonda Grayson, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
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The question of the Freedmen's Citizenship dates back to the mid-1860s. President Andrew Johnson sent a delegation to Arkansas for negotiations with the tribes. In their agreement with the Creeks, Article II gave the Freedmen the right to citizenship in the nation.
156 years later, Judge Mouser used that treaty as the foundation for her ruling.
"Every Native American Nation in this country should be happy and applauding this decision. It protects every Native American’s treaty because it says treaties are sanctified. They are the supreme law of the land," said Damario Solomon-Simmons.
Simmons served as lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, giving the history its due but also looking at the here and now.
"And when the Creek Nation gave each citizen $4,500 during COVID and the Creek Freedman received zero? That won’t happen again," Simmons said.
Grayson and Kennedy plan to apply for citizenship in the Creek Nation on Friday. Then, their attorney will ask Chief David Hill for a meeting.
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He said he hopes the Chief will take the meeting and move forward on a path to reconciliation.
There are similar cases involving the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. Simmons believes Choctaw Freedmen have a clear and similar path to citizenship.
As for the Chickasaws, he’s thinking it might be a little murkier. He suggested Congressional action as a path for their citizenship.
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