Descendants of Black people enslaved by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation are demanding postponement of an upcoming tribal election until they are approved for citizenship.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney who represents Creek Freedmen descendants and is a descendant himself, said Muscogee Principal Chief David Hill and the tribe’s citizenship board are denying Black Creeks their fundamental rights.
“This is nothing but anti-Black racism,” Solomon-Simmons said.
The Creek Freedmen submitted two requests to the tribe’s highest court on Monday: one to hold Chief Hill and the citizenship board in contempt, the other to postpone a special election set for May 30 asking citizens to amend the tribe’s constitution.
“We did not want to do that,” Solomon-Simmons said of the latter request. “They have forced us to make this filing.”
In 2025, the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court ruled unanimously – after two justices recused themselves – that Creek Freedmen descendants should be granted tribal citizenship under an 1866 treaty, striking the tribe’s “by blood” requirements for citizenship eligibility. The case was brought by Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy after their applications for citizenship were denied.
“There are an estimated 4,000 Creeks – Freedmen descendants – who have submitted their applications,” Solomon-Simmons said, “and yet, they’ve been denied citizenship.”
In a statement, the Muscogee Nation said “We understand that this is an emotional issue for many people. However, impatience cannot supersede the critical work of ensuring that the Nation establishes fair, transparent, and consistent standards before moving forward.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling slashed any “by blood” mandate in the Muscogee Nation’s constitution, meaning other regulations could be affected, such as the requirement that those running for office within the nation be at least one-quarter Muscogee by blood.
Muscogee Nation leaders have repeatedly claimed the Supreme Court’s ruling was not clear enough for them to design new regulations. In a video statement following the July ruling, Chief Hill said the court “left many questions unanswered.” Hill also characterized the issue of Freedmen citizenship as “polarizing” among current Muscogee citizens.
The Muscogee Nation currently has at least 100,000 enrolled citizens.
According to a December report from the Government Accountability Office, it’s estimated that there are between 146,400 and 395,400 Freedmen descendants of all Five Tribes (Muscogee, Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole and Chickasaw).
The Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board provided a status report to the court on December 5, stating they had not received enough clarity from Chief Hill or the Muscogee National Council to green-light Freedmen citizenship requests.
In court documents, the Freedmen descendants described the board’s report as “vague at best.”
The May 30 special election puts constitutional amendments before eligible Muscogee citizens, including a clause that would mandate the chief appoint special alternate justices to the Supreme Court if any were to recuse, ensuring seven justices hear any given case.
Solomon-Simmons threatened to go to U.S. federal court if the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court did not provide the requested relief in time.
“That is not our desire; we want to work this out within our own nation,” he said.
