Muscogee Creek pursue claims on lands around Alabama casino

The Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma took a step towards pursuing its claims for Hickory Ground, the tribe’s historic town and ceremonial ground in Alabama, which has long been under the control of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and is now the site of a casino.

“The desecration of Hickory Ground is not a historical issue—it is happening right now,” said Principal Chief David Hill in a press release Thursday. “Every day that this destruction continues, it further harms our ancestors and our culture.

On Wednesday the Muscogee Creek Nation filed a motion to submit a new complaint in the long-running case. The lawsuit demands that the casino be destroyed and that the Poarch return remains of at least 57 ancestors the Muscogee Creek allege were removed to build the casino.

A lower court dismissed the suit, but the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived it, directing the trial judge this time to consider arguments on a “claim by claim” basis about whether the Poarch Band of Creek Indians are protected by sovereign immunity in their claims to the land and its artifacts at the site of a casino they operate.

Both tribes say they have a historical tie to the Hickory Ground site. The Muscogee Creek claim that the Poarch Creek, distant relatives, are from an area farther South in Atmore, Alabama.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are Creek people from that area, and we have respected our ancestors,” RaeLynn Butler, Secretary of Culture and Humanities at the Muscogee Nation, told AL.com in September, before the arguments before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She said the Poarch tribe has tried to work with the Muscogee Creek for a resolution. “The demand to tear the building down and put the ancestors back in place is unreasonable.”

The amended complaint will pursue accountability against the Poarch, Auburn University and the Federal Government for what the Muscogee argue is a violation of federal laws, according to the tribe.

Mary Kathryn Nagle, legal counsel for the Muscogee Creek, said in a statement Thursday that the motion will ask the court to consider updated claims, “which reflect not only the historical desecration but also the ongoing harms at Hickory Ground,” she said.