TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons presented his case in a hearing of summary judgment Thursday calling for justice for Black Creek Indians. He states this group is not receiving the same benefits as the rest of the Muscogee Creek Tribe.
The packed courtroom at the Muscogee Creek Nation District Courthouse in Okmulgee allowed 15 people on each side while others waited outside, watching the hearing on their phones. It was a tense scene inside the small courtroom as each party presented their arguments, at times clashing over the evidence being presented.
“Can you imagine being a part of the United States of America and you wake up one morning and they say your citizenship has been revoked?" said Rhonda Grayson. the plaintiff in the case. "That is essentially what has happened to the Creek Freedman."
In court, Solomon-Simmons argued the tribe's treaty of 1866 provides black creeks all the same benefits as the rest of the tribe. But the defendants claim the plaintiffs have no standing to bring the case to this court and that this court doesn’t have the right to hear the case. They also say this is not an issue about race noting that Muscogee Nation has a diverse citizenship including African Americans.
“I appreciate our judge, I felt like she was fair today," Solomon-Simmons said following the hearing. "I felt like she understood what was going on in the courtroom and allowed us to present our case despite the nation's abstraction.”
While the courtroom was full and proceedings were going on, people were standing outside. We spoke to one woman who says she is a Black Creek descendant and she came in support of the plaintiffs.
“My ancestors are Chickasaw as well as Creek and Cherokee,” Sherri Lang said.
Lang kept spirits high outside the courthouse playing music, dancing, and hoping the judge rules in the Black Creeks' favor.
“Give us what belongs to us. It ain't something we made up or thought up," she said. "It belongs to us and I feel like it's more than right to give what belongs to the people. We are a tribe.”
The judge didn't make a ruling Thursday saying she’ll have a decision before the trial which is set to begin on April 4, 2023.
Muscogee Attorney General Geri Wisner released a statement Thursday following the hearing:
Muscogee (Creek) Special Judge Denette Mouser heard arguments today in the case of Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy vs. the Citizenship Board of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
The Plaintiffs' application for citizenship in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation has previously been denied by the Citizenship Board because petitioners did not meet constitutionally imposed eligibility standards that require demonstrating Creek ancestry by blood. As allowed by Muscogee (Creek) law, petitioners appealed the Board's decision for administrative review by the Muscogee (Creek) District Court.
The legal scope of today's hearing was narrowly confined to consideration of the Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment requesting a finding that the Citizenship Board had not acted consistent with Muscogee (Creek) law and administrative procedures in denying petitioners' application for citizenship.
After a nearly two-hour hearing that featured arguments from Plaintiffs’ attorneys and the Muscogee (Creek) Office of Attorney General, Judge Mouser stated that she would consider the arguments and issue a ruling at a later date.
"It is clear that the Citizenship Board followed the law in denying Plaintiffs’ applications for citizenship. The Muscogee (Creek) Constitution sets forth clear standards that make no provision for extending citizenship to non-Creek individuals," said Geri Wisner, Attorney General for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Addressing arguments that failure to enroll non-Creek individuals as citizens is discriminatory, Attorney General Wisner said, "Efforts to make this case about race are legally unfounded and morally reprehensible. Race is not a consideration in the citizenship process. Petitioners for citizenship are not asked to identify their race, only to validate their lineage as a Muscogee (Creek) person. This case is about lineage-based citizenship, and any assertion otherwise is blatantly false."
Pending the outcome of Judge Mouser's ruling on the motion for the summary judgment, the trial is scheduled to begin on April 4, 2023.
Solomon-Simmons hosted a solidarity gathering Wednesday for dozens of supporters — pointing to the Treaty of 1866 Article 2 as some of the best evidence in this case. He says the law is clear.
“Creeks of African descent are entitled to citizenship and all their benefits,” Solomon-Simmons said.
Solomon-Simmons said in 1979 the Creek Nation passed a new constitution that omitted the Creek Freedman.
“Healthcare, educational benefits, housing, cash stipends, everything that any other Creek citizen is entitled to, we should be entitled to because we are Creek,” he said. “We should not be treated as second-class or third-class individuals.”
Solomon-Simmons says there’s precedent with other tribes like the Seminoles and the Cherokees. He wants the judge to restore what he calls their rightful place.
"Right now, we’re just focused on getting our citizenship,” he said. “We just want what was ours and taken, stolen in 1979, given back to us.”
“We’re fighting for our citizenship rights,” said Rhonda Grayson. “We’re entitled to it.”
Grayson’s great-grandmother was an original enrollee of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
“Oftentimes you hear the story of the trail of tears, but you don’t hear the story of the people of African descent who are oftentimes omitted from history,” she said.
Grayson says she’s one of the descendants of Black Creeks, known as Creek Freedman, who were removed from the rolls in 1979 and haven’t been entitled to benefits for decades.
“They fought during the time of war side by side with the native American people only to be disenfranchised from the nation of their birth,” Grayson said.
Muscogee Nation spokesman Jason Salsman sent 2 News Oklahoma this response Wednesday before the hearing:
"Some have tried to make this issue about race, but it simply isn't. Race is not a factor in obtaining citizenship. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has a diverse citizenship representing many heritages, including African American, Spanish, Mexican, Asian, and many more. While many citizens proudly emphasize their diverse racial identities, our government does not distinguish citizens by any racial categorization such as “Black Creeks." Whatever else we may be, we are all direct descendants of Creek Indians and Creek by blood and recognized as Creek citizens. Period.
The matter before the Court is not a question of race. It’s a matter of determining whether our government is obligated by treaty to enroll individuals as citizens who are not Creek Indians and tomorrow’s hearing is just one step in the legal process."
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