OKMULGEE, Okla. — A Muscogee Nation district court judge ruled in favor of two Freedmen descendants seeking tribal citizenship.
This is a story 2 News has been following since the beginning.
A new ruling reversed the decision by the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board that denied Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy's application for citizenship in 2019. They're both Creek Freedmen descendants who say the Creek treaty of 1866 grants them citizenship in the tribe.
This spring, 2 News Oklahoma was in the courtroom when witnesses from the Muscogee Creek Nation Citizenship Board testified that while reviewing citizenship applications, they view the Muscogee Creek Nation Constitution as the final law that only allows citizenship by blood.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the treaty supersedes the Constitution.
On Sept. 27 — nearly six months after the trial ended — the judge ruled in favor of the two Freedmen's descendants, reversing the decision and sending it back to the citizenship board for reconsideration of Grayson and Kennedy’s applications.
In the ruling, the judge wrote, “This court finds the acts of the defendants in this matter have been contrary to the law and unsupported by the relevant and substantial evidence presented by each plaintiff.”
The attorney general for the Muscogee Creek Nation sent a statement that said she disagreed with the ruling.
- Previous coverage >>> Creek Freedman citizenship case moves forward
"We will immediately be appealing this case to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court. The MCN constitution, which we are duty-bound to follow, makes no provisions for citizenship for non-creek individuals," said MCN Attorney General Geri Wisner.
Damario Solomon-Simmons, attorney for the two Freedmen's descendants, released a statement, "It’s with profound emotion and deep-rooted ancestral pride that we announce the triumphant outcome in our long-fought case for Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy, Black Creek freedmen, who faced an unjust denial of their rights to tribal citizenship. Today’s decision by the highly decorated Muscogee (Creek) Nation District Court Denise Mouser affirms that Article II of the Creak Treaty of 1866 is the “supreme law of the land” and guarantees that Creek Freedmen and their Descendants, regardless of their “blood” status, “shall have and enjoy all the rights and privileges of native citizens” of the MCN. Creek Treaty of 1866, Art. 2, June 14, 1866, 14 Stat. 785, 1866 WL 18777 (hereinafter “Treaty of 1866”) and MCN does not have the right to discriminate against Creeks of African descent."
He goes on to say, "This case was about upholding the legacy of my fourth great-grandfather, Cow-Tom, as one of the five people to sign the Treaty and ensured Article 2 of the Treaty of 1866 that guaranteed Creeks of African Descent full citizenship. The tribal court's decision will reinstate the rightful citizenship rights of Black Creek Freedmen today, and for future generations."
On Oct. 2, the MCN Supreme Court issued a stay in the decision, which will essentially hold off enforcing the decision until the Court can review and rule on the appeal, Principal Chief David Hill said on Facebook.
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