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.
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43 Articles
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.
Two Black Members of Oklahoma Native American Tribe File Lawsuit to Force Tribal Leaders to Issue Them Citizenship Cards
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 Thursday 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 Board as defendants. Read more at AP News
Muscogee Freedmen Take Tribal Citizenship Fight to Federal Court
Two members of the Muscogee Nation who are descended from Black people once enslaved by the tribe are taking legal action in federal court in Oklahoma after waiting for their citizenship cards. Filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, the lawsuit was brought by Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy. The Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board and Principal Chief David Hill are named as defendants. The lawsuit claims that the chief and …
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