Black members of Oklahoma Native American tribe file federal lawsuit to gain citizenship rights
The lawsuit says tribal leaders have ignored a 2025 court order and withheld cards from applicants who could open citizenship to thousands more descendants.
- On Thursday, July 23, Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of Oklahoma demanding the Muscogee Nation issue citizenship cards as ordered by the tribe's supreme court last year.
- The lawsuit alleges Principal Chief David Hill and the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board violated an 1866 treaty by ignoring a July 2025 Muscogee Nation Supreme Court ruling that recognized citizenship rights for Black Creek Freedmen descendants.
- Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons noted approximately 100,000 people could be eligible for citizenship, while Grayson, president of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band, called the 47-year wait "horrific."
- Muscogee Nation officials stated they are committed to ensuring constitutional laws are followed fairly, with a spokesperson asserting "getting policies right is always more important than getting them done quickly."
- Similar legal challenges compelled the Cherokee Nation and the Seminole Nation to grant citizenship to Freedmen descendants; with more than 4,000 applications filed since the 2025 decision, this case seeks to enforce the court's order.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Black Creek Freedmen Sue Chief David Hill Over Unissued Citizenship Cards
OKLAHOMA CITY — Creek Freedmen descendants Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill, the Nation’s Citizenship Board and its individual members. The lawsuit was filed exactly one year after the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the board acted “contrary to law” by […] The post Black Creek Freedmen Sue Chief David Hill Over Unissued Citizenship…
Black members of Native American tribe file lawsuit to gain citizenship - Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group
By COREY WILLIAMS Contributing Writer OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – Two descendants of Black people once enslaved by a Native American tribe are asking a federal court in Oklahoma to force tribal leaders to issue them citizenship cards as ordered a year ago by a tribal court. A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City on behalf of Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy names Principal Chief David Hill and the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Boa…
Associated Press News
Black members of Oklahoma Native American tribe file federal lawsuit to gain citizenship rights
Two descendants of Black people once enslaved by a Native American tribe are asking a federal court in Oklahoma to force tribal leaders to issue them citizenship cards as ordered a year ago by a tribal court.
Grayson and Kennedy file in federal court - MVSKOKE Media
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rhonda Grayson and Jeffery Kennedy filed a civil suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on July, 23. The suit seeks injunctive relief against Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill and members of the MCN Citizenship Board. In addition, the suit asks the federal court to recognize the MCN Supreme Court decision in Citizenship Board v. Grayson and to issue a declaratory judgment …
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