Last Thursday, could mark a turning point in Native American History after 43 years. A Hearing about Black Creeks claims to Native Citizenship. More specifically, the Hearing will address the long-running Demands of the Descendants of Black People who were enslaved by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, that they be granted Tribal Citizenship and corresponding Rights.
Following the Civil War, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was required to accept as Citizens the People of African Descent it had once Enslaved. But a 1979 change to the Tribe’s Constitution defined Citizenship “by blood.” As a result, Black Creeks and their Descendants, known as Freedmen, were effectively Expelled.
Damario Solomon-Simmons, a Civil Rights Attorney representing the Two Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit, said he feels confident that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation District Court will decide in his favor. A Descendant of Black Creeks, Solomon-Simmons has been involved in the Citizenship battle for years. In 2018, he filed a Federal Lawsuit, but it was dismissed. His grandmother was a Plaintiff, but she died in 2019.
Solomon-Simmons filed a petition in March 2020, and says that the Tribe’s 1979 Decision was “completely racist” and “erroneous.” “It’s 100 percent anti-Black discrimination,” he said. “They’re telling you that if you’re Black and/or (had) enslaved (ancestors), you can’t be a member of our nation.” Solomon-Simmons said the Constitution not only strips Black Creeks of their Citizenship, it also prevents them from securing the benefits given to Tribal Members: Health Care, Education,Hhousing, Scholarships, Cash Assistance, and more.
Officials from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation insist the Tribe’s Citizenship Requirements have nothing to do with Race. Spokesman Jason Salsman said in an email, that the Nation’s Citizenship is diverse, and includes Black Americans, Spanish People, Mexicans, and Asians.
But he noted that the Tribe has a “traumatic history” with People who aren’t Creek by Blood and that this is a “challenging issue” for many Citizens. “I can’t speak for the leaders of 43 years ago when this decision took place,” Salsman said. “But it should hardly be surprising that a nation like ours that has endured attempts at extermination, removal and other unjust federal policies enforced by outsiders would seek a constitution that requires Creek Indian ancestry and blood lineage among its citizens and leaders.”
He added, “The matter before the Court is not a question of race but rather to determine whether our government is obligated by treaty to enroll individuals as citizens who are not Creek Indians.”
David Hill, the Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, underscored in an April 2021 Letter the knottiness of this History, and the significance of confronting it. “The question of the enrollment status of the descendants of Creek Freedmen is an extremely complex one,” he wrote, “born in an era when African Americans and Native Americans alike faced traumatic injustices at the hands of the US government. … As good leaders, it is important for us to listen, acknowledge and openly engage with our communities and our citizens. When these issues arise, they are opportunities that allow us to reconsider if our policies are still reflective of who we are as a Nation.”
Black Creeks have reason to be hopeful about their cause, which isn’t unique. Just last year, the Cherokee Nation jettisoned from its Constitution language that defined Citizenship purely by Blood. “The Cherokee Nation’s actions have brought this longstanding issue to a close and have importantly fulfilled their obligations to the Cherokee Freedmen,” Deb Haaland, the First Native American Cabinet Secretary, said in a May 2021 Statement. “We encourage other Tribes to take similar steps to meet their moral and legal obligations to the Freedmen.”
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