Amidst a significant legal battle, descendants of Black individuals once enslaved by a Native American tribe seek recognition of their rights through federal court intervention. Two individuals, Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy, have initiated legal proceedings to compel the Muscogee Nation to honor a prior court ruling granting them tribal citizenship.
The lawsuit targets Principal Chief David Hill and the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board, asserting their non-compliance with an 1866 treaty. This treaty, established between the tribe and the U.S. government, mandates the recognition of Black Creek Freedmen as citizens, a directive reinforced by the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court in its 2025 ruling.
Grayson and Kennedy’s initial applications for citizenship were denied in 2019 due to their inability to trace direct lineage to tribal ancestors. However, the court has since affirmed their right to citizenship, a decision that remains unenforced. This delay has, according to the lawsuit, deprived them of essential rights, including voting and full participation in tribal affairs.
In a move to delay further action, Chief Hill halted the issuance of citizenship cards last August, pending constitutional revisions. The Muscogee Nation is headquartered in Okmulgee, approximately 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the Muscogee Nation indicated that the complaint had not yet been formally received. The Nation emphasized the autonomy of its legal and governance systems, stating, “Federal law and precedent is clear that matters of Muscogee Nation law and governance are to be addressed through the Nation’s own governmental institutions.”
The statement continued, “We are committed to ensuring that the Muscogee Nation’s Constitution and laws are followed fairly and consistently. Getting policies right is always more important than getting them done quickly. Anything less would undermine the integrity of our governmental processes and the rights of our citizens.”
Historically, the Muscogee Nation is one of five Oklahoma tribes that engaged in slavery. The 1866 treaty abolished this practice and extended citizenship to former slaves. However, a 1979 constitutional amendment limited membership to those with documented Muscogee ancestry on the Dawes Rolls, a federal census of tribal members from the early 1900s. The rolls categorized individuals separately as Muscogee or Freedmen.
The 2025 court decision mandates the application of the 1866 treaty to all eligible descendants, potentially opening citizenship to thousands who lack direct Muscogee ancestry. Damario Solomon-Simmons, a lawyer for Grayson and Kennedy, estimates the Black Creek population in the U.S. to be around 100,000.
Precedents set by legal victories against the Seminole and Cherokee Nations, which now recognize Freedmen descendants as citizens, bolster this case. “Every day of non-compliance is another day that Black Creek Freedman are denied our birthright and our very identity as citizens,” asserted Grayson, who leads the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band.
Grayson further highlighted the broader implications of this struggle, stating, “The fight is bigger than every one of us. It belongs to every Black Creek Freedman descendant who has carried this history, protected these stories and refused to let our identity be dismissed or diminished.”
