OKMULGEE, Okla. — After a year of delays-- Rhonda Grayson and Jeffery Kennedy are being heard in court in their long fight for citizenship rights for Creek Freedmen descendants.
Previous Coverage>>>The fight to get citizenship for Creek Freedman took attorneys to the Muscogee Creek Nation Supreme Court
The Muscogee Nation Supreme Court will hear oral arguments. The case, brought by Grayson and Kennedy, two descendants of Freedmen, is seeking to regain tribal citizenship. They say they're promised full rights under the Treaty of 1866.
Their attorney, Damario Solomon-Simmons, said they will show the treaty is the foundation of evidence.
“You’re going to see in each step they ignored that, in each step, they were contrary to the law that governs this state, and that’s what we’re going to prove,” Solomon-Simmons said.
In 2023, District Muscogee Nation Judge Denette Mouser said the treaty must be honored in full. The treaty judge Mouser is using a portion of the Treaty of 1866 that states,
All the rights and privileges of native citizens, regardless of race or color.
Kennedy and Grayson released a joint statement:
“We are descendants of Creek Freedmen and rightful citizens under the Treaty of 1866. We look forward to tomorrow’s hearing and to the day our citizenship is fully recognized and restored.”
Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill appealed that decision.
2 News anchor Naomi Keitt is going to be there - and share what happens.
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