An appeals court on Wednesday heard arguments in a long-running dispute between two federally recognized tribes over one’s construction of a casino on Alabama land that the other says is a sacred site. The dispute involves land, known as Hickory Ground. The land was home to the Muscogee Nation before removal to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
embers of the Muscogee Nation stand outside the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Robyn Soweka Sr., of Hickory Ground Tribal Town, right, describes a tribal challenge issued to the Poarch Band, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Wetumoka, Ala. At left is George Thompson, who is the Mekko, a ceremonial leader, of Hickory Ground in the Muscogee Nation. The Wind Creek Casino and Hotel is seen on Feb. 25, 2024, in Wetumpka, Ala.
“Hickory Ground is sacred,” Mary Kathryn Nagle, an attorney representing the Muscogee Nation told the three-judge panel. The Muscogee officials asked the appellate court to reinstate their claims that tribal and federal officials and the university that did an archeological work at the site violated The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and other federal laws.
“We firmly believe that protecting tribal sovereignty is at the heart of this case,” Reeves said in a statement after court. “The idea that any entity, most especially another tribe, would be allowed to assume control over land it does not own is antithetical to tribal sovereignty and American values.”U.S.
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