Black members of Oklahoma Native American tribe file federal lawsuit to gain citizenship rights
Summary
Two Black descendants of people once enslaved by the Muscogee Nation tribe have sued the tribe's leaders in federal court to force them to give the descendants citizenship cards. The tribe’s Supreme Court ruled last year that the descendants have the right to citizenship under an 1866 treaty, but the tribe’s leaders have not yet issued the cards.Key Facts
- Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City to get citizenship cards from the Muscogee Nation.
- The tribe's Principal Chief David Hill and Citizenship Board are named as defendants for not issuing the cards.
- An 1866 treaty between the U.S. and the tribe abolished slavery and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people.
- The Muscogee Nation Supreme Court ruled in July 2025 that Black Creek Freedmen descendants are entitled to tribal citizenship.
- The Citizenship Board had denied applications because applicants could not prove descent from Muscogee by blood on the Dawes Rolls, an old tribal census.
- In August 2025, the principal chief blocked the Citizenship Board from issuing cards while the tribal constitution is reconsidered.
- Other Oklahoma tribes like the Seminole and Cherokee have granted citizenship to Freedmen descendants after similar legal rulings.
- There are about 100,000 Black Creek Freedmen descendants across the U.S. who could gain citizenship rights from this ruling.
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