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Muscogee Nation

The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation,[3] is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands. Official languages include Muscogee, Yuchi, Natchez, Alabama, and Koasati, with Muscogee retaining the largest number of speakers. They commonly refer to themselves as Este Mvskokvlke (pronounced [isti məskóɡəlɡi]). Historically, they were often referred to by European Americans as one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast.[4]

The Muscogee Nation
Este Mvskokvlke (Creek)
Location (red) in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
EstablishedAugust 7, 1856; 167 years ago (1856-08-07)
CapitalOkmulgee
Government
 • ChiefDavid Hill
Population
 • Total86,100
DemonymMuscogee
Time zoneUTC−06:00
 • Summer (DST)UTC−05:00 (CDT)
Websitewww.muscogeenation.com
Muscogee Nation
Flag
Seal of the Muscogee Nation
Total population
80,591[1]
Regions with significant populations
 United States ( Oklahoma)
Languages
English, Muscogee[2]
Related ethnic groups
other Muscogee people, Alabama, Hitchiti, Koasati, Natchez Nation, Shawnee, Seminole, and Yuchi

The Muscogee Nation is the largest of the federally recognized Muscogee tribes. The Muskogean-speaking Alabama, Koasati, Hitchiti, and Natchez people are also enrolled in this nation. Algonquian-speaking Shawnee[5] and Yuchi (language isolate) are also enrolled in the Muscogee Nation, although historically, the latter two groups were from different language families and cultures than the Muscogee.

Other federally recognized Muscogee groups include the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Kialegee Tribal Town, and Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of Oklahoma; the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama.

Jurisdiction edit

 
Boundaries of the Five Tribes

The Muscogee Nation is headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and serves as the seat of tribal government. The Muscogee Nation's Reservation status was affirmed in 2020 by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Sharp v. Murphy, which held that the allotted Muscogee Nation reservation in Oklahoma has not been disestablished and therefore retains jurisdiction over tribal citizens in Creek, Hughes, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, McIntosh, Muskogee, Tulsa, and Wagoner counties in Oklahoma.[6][7]

Government edit

 
Muscogee Nation Mound building. Seat of government for both Legislative and Judicial branches of government

The government of the Muscogee Nation is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. Okmulgee is the capital of the Muscogee Nation and also serves as the seat of government.[8]

 
Opothle Yahola: Muscogee Chief circa 1800s

Executive branch edit

The Executive branch is led by the Principal Chief, Second Chief, Tribal Administrator, and Secretary of the Nation. The Principal Chief and Second Chief are democratically elected every four years. Citizens cast ballots for both the Principal Chief and Second Chief as they are elected individually. The Principal Chief then chooses staff; some of which must be confirmed by the legislative branch known as The National Council. The current members of the executive branch are as follows:

  • David W. Hill, Principal Chief
  • Del Beaver, Second Chief

Legislative branch edit

The legislative branch is the National Council and consists of sixteen members elected to represent the 8 districts within the tribe's jurisdictional area. National Council representatives draft and sponsor the laws and resolutions of the Nation.[8] The eight districts include: Creek, Tulsa, Wagoner, Okfuskee, Muskogee, Okmulgee, McIntosh, and Tukvpvtce (Hughes).

Judicial branch edit

Under the inherent sovereign authority of the Mvskoke Nation, the Nation's citizens ratified the modern Mvskoke Nation Constitution on October 6, 1979. The Supreme Court was re-established by Article VII. The Court is vested with exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters that fall under Mvskoke jurisdiction and serves as the final interpretive authority on Mvskoke law. The Court consists of seven justices who serve six-year terms after nomination by the Principal Chief and confirmation by the National Council. Annually, the Court selects from its members a Chief Justice and Vice-Chief Justice. The Justices are as follows:[9]

  • Chief Justice Richard C. Lerblance
  • Vice-Chief Justice Amos McNac
  • Justice Andrew Adams III
  • Justice Montie R. Deer
  • Justice Leah Harjo-Ware
  • Justice Kathleen R Supernaw
  • Justice George Thompson Jr.

The Muscogee Nation also has its own Bar Association, referred to as the M(C)N Bar Association. The Board members include President Shelly Harrison, Vice President Clinton A. Wilson, and Secretary/Treasurer Greg Meier. The M(C)N Bar Association has Facebook and Twitter accounts for members to stay connected.[10]

Citizenship edit

In 2019, the total population of Muscogee citizens was 87,344. Oklahoma accounted for 65,070 of this population, with California accounting for 4,787 and Texas with some 4,466 citizens. Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the city most populated with citizens at 11,194. The population is split exactly in half, 50% of the citizens are female and 50% are male, with the age range of 18-54 dominating.[11] The criteria for Citizenship are to be Creek by Blood and trace back to a direct ancestor listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll by issuance of birth and/or death certificates. The Citizenship Board office is governed by a Citizenship Board consisting of five members. This office provides services to citizens of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma or to potential citizens in giving direction or assisting in the lineage verification process of the Muscogee people. The mission of this office is to verify the lineage of descendants of persons listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll. In doing so, research is involved in the whole aspect of attaining citizenship. The Director of the Citizenship Board is Nathan Wilson.[12]

A 2023 Muscogee court ruling found that descendants of black slaves held by Muscogee nation members can be granted citizenship in the nation.[13]

Services edit

 
Spc. Stacy R. Mull, an enrolled Muscogee person from Okemah, makes frybread at a powwow at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, 2004.

The Nation operates its own division of housing and issues vehicle license plates.[1] Their Division of Health contracts with Indian Health Services to maintain the Creek Nation Community Hospital and several community clinics, a vocational rehabilitation program, nutrition programs for children and the elderly, and programs dedicated to diabetes, tobacco prevention, and caregivers.[14]

The Muscogee Nation operates the Lighthorse Tribal Police Department, with 43 active employees.[15] The tribe has its own program for enforcing child support payments.

The Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative is sponsored by the nation. It educates and encourages tribal members to grow their own traditional foods for health, environmental sustainability, economic development, and sharing of knowledge and community between generations.[16]

The Muscogee Nation also operates a Communications Department that produces a twice-monthly newspaper, the Mvskoke News, and a weekly television show, the Native News Today.

Economic development edit

The tribe operates a budget in excess of $290 million, has more than 4,000 employees, and provides services within their jurisdiction.[17]

The tribe has both gaming (casino related) and non-gaming businesses. Non-gaming business ventures include both Muscogee Nation Business Enterprise[18] (MNBE) and Onefire.[19] MNBE and Onefire oversee economic development as well as investigating, planning, organizing and operating business ventures projects for the tribe related to non-gaming business.[1] Gaming enterprises consist of 9 stand alone casinos; the largest being River Spirit Casino Resort featuring Margaritaville in Tulsa. The revenue from both gaming and non-gaming business are reinvested to develop new businesses, as well as support the welfare of the tribe.

The Muscogee Nation also operates two travel plaza truck stops.

Civic institutions edit

 

The Creek National Capitol, also known as the Council House, was built in 1878 and is located on a landscaped city block in downtown Okmulgee. Exterior walls of the symmetrical Italianate building are constructed of rough-faced sandstone in a coarse ashlar pattern with paired brackets at the cornice. The building measures 100 by 80 feet with two identical entrances on both the north and south elevations. A bracketed porch with a balcony above covers each entrance and 6-over-6, double-hung sash windows line the exterior walls. The hipped roof is crowned with a square wooden cupola, which originally housed bells to call tribal leaders to meetings. The inside of the building is centrally divided by a stair hall, creating an east and west side. The stairs lead to a similarly divided second story. The House of Warriors had a large meeting room on the east side, while the House of Kings had a meeting room, referred to as the Supreme Court Room, on the west side. The capitol served as a meeting place for the legislative branches of the Muscogee Nation until 1907, when Oklahoma became a state. Tribal business in the capitol ended in 1908, when Congress authorized the possession of tribal lands, effectively ceasing tribal sovereignty. From the time of statehood to 1916, the Council House served as the Okmulgee County Courthouse. In 1926, Oklahoma Native Will Rogers visited Okmulgee to entertain a crowd of nearly 2,000. While doing so, he said that it was important to maintain buildings like the Creek National Capitol, since people were speculating on what they would use the Capitol for now that its legislative use had expired. His words had an impact, considering the building is still standing to this day. Since then, the building has served as a sheriff’s office, Boy Scout meeting room, and a YMCA. In 1961, the building was designated as a National Historic Landmark. By 1979, tribal sovereignty had been fully renewed and the Muscogee adopted a new constitution. The Creek Council House underwent a full restoration in 1989–1992 and reopened as a museum operated by the City of Okmulgee and the Creek Indian Memorial Association. In 2010, the Muscogee Nation purchased the building back from the City of Okmulgee for $3.2 million. It now serves as a museum of tribal history, which is open to the public and exhibits Native American History and culture.[20][21][22]

Tribal college edit

 
College of the Muscogee Nation

In 2004, the Muscogee Nation founded a tribal college in Okmulgee, the College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN), one of only 38 Tribal Colleges in the US. CMN is a two-year institution, offering associate degrees in Tribal Services, Police Science, Gaming, and Native American Studies. It offers Mvskoke language, Native American History, Tribal Government, and Indian Land Issue classes as well. The CMN offers financial aid through FAFSA and offers on-campus housing. For the spring trimester in 2018, individual student enrollment was 197. A needs assessment survey revealed that a majority of Muscogee citizens were interested in attending the tribal college. Of 386 tribal citizens from the 8 districts, 86% of those were interested in attending college responded that they would attend a tribal college. When asked if they had others in their family who were interested in attending a tribal college 25% of the survey sample responded yes.[23]

History edit

The nation includes the Muscogee people and descendants of their African-descended slaves[24] who were forced by the US government to relocate from their ancestral homes in the Southeast to Indian Territory in the 1830s, during the Trail of Tears. They signed another treaty with the federal government in 1856.[25]

During the American Civil War, the tribe split into two factions, one allied with the Confederacy and the other, under Opothleyahola, allied with the Union.[26] There were conflicts between pro-Confederate and pro-Union forces in the Indian Territory during the war. The pro-Confederate forces pursued the loyalists who were leaving to take refuge in Kansas. They fought at the Battle of Round Mountain, Battle of Chusto-Talasah, and Battle of Chustenahlah, resulting in 2,000 deaths among the 9,000 loyalists who were leaving.[27]

 
Muscogee beadwork

After defeating the Confederacy, the Union required new peace treaties with the Five Civilized Tribes, which had allied with that insurrection. The Treaty of 1866 required the Creek to abolish slavery within their territory and to grant tribal citizenship to those Creek Freedmen who chose to stay in the territory; this citizenship was to include voting rights and shares of annuities and land allotments.[28] If the Creek Freedmen moved out to United States territory, they would be granted United States citizenship, as were other emancipated African Americans.[29]

The Muscogee established a new government in 1866 and selected a new capital of Okmulgee. In 1867 they ratified a new constitution to incorporate elements of the new peace treaty, and their own desire for changes.[4]

They built their capitol building in 1867 and enlarged it in 1878. Today the Creek National Capitol is a National Historic Landmark. It now houses the Creek Council House Museum, as more space was needed for the government. During the prosperous final decades of the 19th century, when the tribe had autonomy and minimal interference from the federal government, the Nation built schools, churches, and public houses.[4]

At the turn of the century, Congress passed the 1898 Curtis Act, which dismantled tribal governments in another federal government attempt to assimilate the Native American people. The related Dawes Allotment Act required the break-up of communal tribal landholdings to allot land to individual households. This was intended to encourage adoption of the European-American style of subsistence farming and property ownership. It also was a means to extinguish Native American land claims and prepare for admitting Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory as a state, which took place in 1907.

The government declared that communal land remaining after allotments to existing households was "surplus". It was classified as excess and made available for sale to non-Natives. This resulted in the Muscogee and other tribes losing control over much of their former lands.

In the hasty process of registration, the Dawes Commission registered tribal members in three categories: they distinguished among "Creek by Blood" and "Creek Freedmen," a category where they listed anyone with visible African ancestry, regardless of their proportion of Muscogee ancestry; and "Intermarried Whites." The process was so confused that some members of the same families of Freedmen were classified into different groups. The 1906 Five Civilized Tribes Act (April 26, 1906) was passed by the US Congress in anticipation of approving statehood for Oklahoma in 1907. During this time, the Muscogee had lost more than 2 million acres (8,100 km2) to non-Native settlers and the US government.

Later, when Muscogee communities organized and set up governments under the 1936 Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, some former Muscogee tribal towns reorganized that were in former Indian Territory and the Southeast. Some descendants had remained there and preserved cultural continuity. Others reorganized and gained recognition later in the 20th century. The following Muscogee groups have gained federal recognition as tribes: the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Kialegee Tribal Town, and Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of Oklahoma; the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, and the Poarch Band of Creeks in Alabama.

The Muscogee Nation did not reorganize its government and regain federal recognition until 1970. This was an era of increasing Native American activism across the country. In 1979 the tribe ratified a new constitution that replaced the 1866 constitution.[4] The pivotal 1976 court case Harjo v. Kleppe helped end US federal paternalism. It ushered in an era of growing self-determination. Using the Dawes Rolls as a basis for determining membership of descendants, the Nation has enrolled more than 58,000 members, descendants of the allottees.

Muscogee Freedmen controversy edit

From 1981 to 2001, the Muscogee had membership rules that allowed applicants to use a variety of documentary sources to establish qualifications for membership.

In 1979 the Muscogee Nation Constitutional Convention voted to limit citizenship in the Nation to persons who could prove descent by blood, meaning that members had to be able to document direct descent from an ancestor listed on the Dawes Commission roll in the category of "Creek by Blood". Persons proving they are descended from persons listed as Creek by blood can become citizens of the Muscogee Nation. The 1893 registry was established to identify citizens of the nation at the time of allotment of communal lands and dissolution of the reservation system and tribal government.[30]

The 1979 vote on citizenship excluded descendants of persons recorded only as Creek Freedmen in the Dawes Rolls. This decision has been challenged in court by those descendants, according to the 1866 treaty[31] of "Creek Freedmen."[32][33]

The Freedmen were listed on the Dawes Rolls. Some descendants can prove by documentation in other registers that they had ancestors with Muscogee blood. The Freedmen had been listed on a separate register, regardless of their proportion of Muscogee ancestry. This classification did not acknowledge the unions and intermarriage that had taken place for years between the ethnic groups. Prior to the change in code, Muscogee Freedmen could use existing registers and the preponderance of evidence to establish qualification for citizenship, and were to be aided by the Citizenship Board. The Muscogee Freedmen have challenged their exclusion from citizenship in legal actions[34][35] which are pending.[36]

Notable Muscogee Nation people edit

Historic Muscogee people are listed in the Muscogee article.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c [1] Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Office. Retrieved 8 Mar 2017. (archived)
  2. ^ " (Mvskoke)", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed Dec. 22, 2009
  3. ^ The tribe has made clear that their official name remains the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and it is not wrong for someone to use the word "Creek"; but, the change to "Muscogee Nation" was made for advertising and marketing purposes. "The Muscogee Nation is dropping "Creek" from its name. Here's why". Michael Overall, Tulsa World, May 6, 2021. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Theodore Isham and Blue Clark. "Creek (Mvskoke)", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed Dec. 22, 2009
  5. ^ Innes, 393
  6. ^ Higgins, Tucker; Mangan, Dan (July 9, 2020). "Supreme Court says eastern half of Oklahoma is Native American land". CNBC. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  7. ^
  8. ^ a b "MCN Governmental Branches." Muscogee Nation. 2008 (retrieved 22 Dec 2009)
  9. ^ "Creek Supreme Court"
  10. ^ "M(C)N Bar Association"
  11. ^ "Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Facts and Stats"
  12. ^ "Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship"
  13. ^ "Muscogee Nation judge rules in favor of citizenship for slave descendant". Law. NPR. Associated Press. September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  14. ^ "Division of Health", Muscogee (Creek) Nation. (retrieved 28 Dec 2009)
  15. ^ "Lighthorse Tribal Police." Muscogee (Creek) Nation. (retrieved 28 Dec 2009)
  16. ^ "About MFSI." Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative. (retrieved 28 Dec 2009)
  17. ^ "Quick Facts" (PDF). Mvskoke Tourism & Recreation. March 8, 2017.
  18. ^ "MNBE". MNBE. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  19. ^ "Onefire Holdings | Tulsa, Oklahoma". onefireholding.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  20. ^ "Creek Council House Museum." Attractions in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. (retrieved 22 Dec 2009)
  21. ^ Clifton Adcock, "Creeks ask to buy Council House: The U.S. sold it out from under them to the city of Okmulgee in 1919. It's now a museum.", Tulsa World, March 18, 2010.
  22. ^ [2]"Creek National Capitol" (Retrieved 20 Feb 2021)
  23. ^ College of the Muscogee Nation "FAQ". (retrieved 20 Feb 2021)
  24. ^ Congressional Edition - United States. Congress - 1888 Exhibit E. State of Indian Territory, County of Creek Nation : Before me, ... Sarah Davis (her x mark).
  25. ^ "The Fourteenth Creek Treaty", concluded at Washington, D. C., on the 7th of August, 1856, was one of the most important in the history of the Creek. The names of the Creek delegates who signed it: Tuckabatchee Minco, Echo Harjo, Chilly McIntosh and Daniel N. McIntosh (sons of chief William McIntosh, who was executed in 1825 for signing the Treaty of Indian Springs), Benjamin Marshall, and George W. Stidham. These names continue to be prominent in the Creek Nation. Their descendants are among the leaders of the present generation of Creek. This treaty is an attempted summary of all former treaties, canceling many old provisions that seemed to have outlived their usefulness and adjusting many disputes which had arisen during the preceding decade. Chronicles of Oklahoma
  26. ^ Morton, Ohland (March 1931). . Oklahoma Historical Society. Chronicles of Oklahoma. p. 25. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  27. ^ Creek Indians in the American Civil War
  28. ^ 1870 Loyal Creek abstract - Creek Treaty - Article IV provides how the losses of the loyal Creeks are to be ascertained ... and a roll of the names of all soldiers that enlisted in the Federal army, loyal refugee Indians ...
  29. ^ Note: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and American Indians: The Amendment was intended to give citizenship to African-American former slaves and not to Indians, who were considered to have independent sovereignty and citizenship within the territories of their reservations. Government agencies (the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Interior), and the courts (state, federal, and, ultimately, the Supreme Court) consistently held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not confer citizenship on Indians. Under the Constitution, and the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution, Indian tribes were classified as "domestic dependent nations," and therefore, Indians were tribal citizens, not United States citizens.
  30. ^ Sessional indexes to the Annals of Congress: Register of Debates in Congress ... By United States Historical Documents: 1914 Reference, Creek Nation: to Investigate relative to duplicate and fraudulent enrollments in (see Ы. J. Res. 3SS>. 329.b
  31. ^ McKay v Cambell The negro and his descendants never had been considered a part of the free inhabitants ... McKay v. Campbell. 2 7 was another case in which an opinion was given on the clause in ... II. Status and Disabilities - INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND .Doe v. Avaline, 8 Ind., 6. The term "mestizo" signifies the issue of a negro and an Indian. Miller v. Dawson .... Osborn, 2 Fed., 58; 6 Sawy., 406; McKay v. Campbell, 16 Fed. Cas., No. 8840 ...
  32. ^ United States Courts of Appeals reports: Cases adjudged ..Circuit Courts of Appeals, Samuel Appleton Blatchford - 1895 - Law reports, digests, etc Cases adjudged in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. v. ... J. P. Davison, one of Julia's children, was appointed administrator of her ... Caldwell, Circuit Judge, after stating the DAVISON v. GIBSON. 363.
  33. ^ DAVISON V. WALKER.. of J. P. Davison, guardian of Sally McIntosh v. said Walker, involving the N. Q ...
  34. ^ IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION. FILED. Ron Graham,. OKMULGEE DISTRICT. Plaintiff,. ) v. 1. ) Muscogee (Creek) Nation. ) Citizenship Board,. ) ) Defendant. ) and. Fred Johnson, ...
  35. ^ Muscogee Creek Nation Official Tribal Website: Freedmen descendants want their own tribe
  36. ^ MASON et al v. SALAZAR et al :: Justia Dockets & Filings Apr 27, 2012 – ... al v. SALAZAR et al - Justia Federal Dockets and Filings. ... KELVIN MASON, JAMES MASON, NATALEE MILLER and GRANT PERRYMAN ...
  37. ^ "Grant-Lee Phillips." September 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine The Ark. Retrieved September 23, 2013.

References edit

  • Innes, Pamela. "Creek in the West." William C. Sturtevant, editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 14, Southeast. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.
  • Associate Justice Richard C. Lerblance - Descendants of Elijah Hermogene Lerblance

External links edit

  • The Muscogee Nation, official website
  • Mvskoke Etlvlwv Nakcokv Mvhakv Svhvlwecvt (College of the Muscogee Nation)
  • Muscogee Nation District Court
  • "Creek (Mvskoke)," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
  • Muscogee (Creek) Indian Territory Project, OK/ITGenWeb Project.

muscogee, nation, muscogee, creek, nation, federally, recognized, native, american, tribe, based, state, oklahoma, nation, descends, from, historic, muscogee, confederacy, large, group, indigenous, peoples, southeastern, woodlands, official, languages, include. The Muscogee Nation or Muscogee Creek Nation 3 is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U S state of Oklahoma The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy a large group of indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Official languages include Muscogee Yuchi Natchez Alabama and Koasati with Muscogee retaining the largest number of speakers They commonly refer to themselves as Este Mvskokvlke pronounced isti meskoɡelɡi Historically they were often referred to by European Americans as one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast 4 The Muscogee Nation Este Mvskokvlke Creek Indian reservationFlagSealLocation red in the U S state of OklahomaEstablishedAugust 7 1856 167 years ago 1856 08 07 CapitalOkmulgeeGovernment ChiefDavid HillPopulation Total86 100DemonymMuscogeeTime zoneUTC 06 00 Summer DST UTC 05 00 CDT Websitewww wbr muscogeenation wbr comMuscogee NationFlagSeal of the Muscogee NationTotal population80 591 1 Regions with significant populations United States Oklahoma LanguagesEnglish Muscogee 2 Related ethnic groupsother Muscogee people Alabama Hitchiti Koasati Natchez Nation Shawnee Seminole and YuchiThe Muscogee Nation is the largest of the federally recognized Muscogee tribes The Muskogean speaking Alabama Koasati Hitchiti and Natchez people are also enrolled in this nation Algonquian speaking Shawnee 5 and Yuchi language isolate are also enrolled in the Muscogee Nation although historically the latter two groups were from different language families and cultures than the Muscogee Other federally recognized Muscogee groups include the Alabama Quassarte Tribal Town Kialegee Tribal Town and Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of Oklahoma the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama Contents 1 Jurisdiction 2 Government 2 1 Executive branch 2 2 Legislative branch 2 3 Judicial branch 3 Citizenship 4 Services 5 Economic development 6 Civic institutions 7 Tribal college 8 History 9 Muscogee Freedmen controversy 10 Notable Muscogee Nation people 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 External linksJurisdiction edit nbsp Boundaries of the Five TribesThe Muscogee Nation is headquartered in Okmulgee Oklahoma and serves as the seat of tribal government The Muscogee Nation s Reservation status was affirmed in 2020 by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Sharp v Murphy which held that the allotted Muscogee Nation reservation in Oklahoma has not been disestablished and therefore retains jurisdiction over tribal citizens in Creek Hughes Okfuskee Okmulgee McIntosh Muskogee Tulsa and Wagoner counties in Oklahoma 6 7 Government edit nbsp Muscogee Nation Mound building Seat of government for both Legislative and Judicial branches of governmentThe government of the Muscogee Nation is divided into three branches executive legislative and judicial Okmulgee is the capital of the Muscogee Nation and also serves as the seat of government 8 nbsp Opothle Yahola Muscogee Chief circa 1800sExecutive branch edit The Executive branch is led by the Principal Chief Second Chief Tribal Administrator and Secretary of the Nation The Principal Chief and Second Chief are democratically elected every four years Citizens cast ballots for both the Principal Chief and Second Chief as they are elected individually The Principal Chief then chooses staff some of which must be confirmed by the legislative branch known as The National Council The current members of the executive branch are as follows David W Hill Principal Chief Del Beaver Second ChiefLegislative branch edit The legislative branch is the National Council and consists of sixteen members elected to represent the 8 districts within the tribe s jurisdictional area National Council representatives draft and sponsor the laws and resolutions of the Nation 8 The eight districts include Creek Tulsa Wagoner Okfuskee Muskogee Okmulgee McIntosh and Tukvpvtce Hughes Judicial branch edit Under the inherent sovereign authority of the Mvskoke Nation the Nation s citizens ratified the modern Mvskoke Nation Constitution on October 6 1979 The Supreme Court was re established by Article VII The Court is vested with exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters that fall under Mvskoke jurisdiction and serves as the final interpretive authority on Mvskoke law The Court consists of seven justices who serve six year terms after nomination by the Principal Chief and confirmation by the National Council Annually the Court selects from its members a Chief Justice and Vice Chief Justice The Justices are as follows 9 Chief Justice Richard C Lerblance Vice Chief Justice Amos McNac Justice Andrew Adams III Justice Montie R Deer Justice Leah Harjo Ware Justice Kathleen R Supernaw Justice George Thompson Jr The Muscogee Nation also has its own Bar Association referred to as the M C N Bar Association The Board members include President Shelly Harrison Vice President Clinton A Wilson and Secretary Treasurer Greg Meier The M C N Bar Association has Facebook and Twitter accounts for members to stay connected 10 Citizenship editIn 2019 the total population of Muscogee citizens was 87 344 Oklahoma accounted for 65 070 of this population with California accounting for 4 787 and Texas with some 4 466 citizens Tulsa Oklahoma was the city most populated with citizens at 11 194 The population is split exactly in half 50 of the citizens are female and 50 are male with the age range of 18 54 dominating 11 The criteria for Citizenship are to be Creek by Blood and trace back to a direct ancestor listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll by issuance of birth and or death certificates The Citizenship Board office is governed by a Citizenship Board consisting of five members This office provides services to citizens of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma or to potential citizens in giving direction or assisting in the lineage verification process of the Muscogee people The mission of this office is to verify the lineage of descendants of persons listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll In doing so research is involved in the whole aspect of attaining citizenship The Director of the Citizenship Board is Nathan Wilson 12 A 2023 Muscogee court ruling found that descendants of black slaves held by Muscogee nation members can be granted citizenship in the nation 13 Services edit nbsp Spc Stacy R Mull an enrolled Muscogee person from Okemah makes frybread at a powwow at Camp Taqaddum Iraq 2004 The Nation operates its own division of housing and issues vehicle license plates 1 Their Division of Health contracts with Indian Health Services to maintain the Creek Nation Community Hospital and several community clinics a vocational rehabilitation program nutrition programs for children and the elderly and programs dedicated to diabetes tobacco prevention and caregivers 14 The Muscogee Nation operates the Lighthorse Tribal Police Department with 43 active employees 15 The tribe has its own program for enforcing child support payments The Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative is sponsored by the nation It educates and encourages tribal members to grow their own traditional foods for health environmental sustainability economic development and sharing of knowledge and community between generations 16 The Muscogee Nation also operates a Communications Department that produces a twice monthly newspaper the Mvskoke News and a weekly television show the Native News Today Economic development editThe tribe operates a budget in excess of 290 million has more than 4 000 employees and provides services within their jurisdiction 17 The tribe has both gaming casino related and non gaming businesses Non gaming business ventures include both Muscogee Nation Business Enterprise 18 MNBE and Onefire 19 MNBE and Onefire oversee economic development as well as investigating planning organizing and operating business ventures projects for the tribe related to non gaming business 1 Gaming enterprises consist of 9 stand alone casinos the largest being River Spirit Casino Resort featuring Margaritaville in Tulsa The revenue from both gaming and non gaming business are reinvested to develop new businesses as well as support the welfare of the tribe The Muscogee Nation also operates two travel plaza truck stops Civic institutions editFurther information Creek National Capitol nbsp The Creek National Capitol also known as the Council House was built in 1878 and is located on a landscaped city block in downtown Okmulgee Exterior walls of the symmetrical Italianate building are constructed of rough faced sandstone in a coarse ashlar pattern with paired brackets at the cornice The building measures 100 by 80 feet with two identical entrances on both the north and south elevations A bracketed porch with a balcony above covers each entrance and 6 over 6 double hung sash windows line the exterior walls The hipped roof is crowned with a square wooden cupola which originally housed bells to call tribal leaders to meetings The inside of the building is centrally divided by a stair hall creating an east and west side The stairs lead to a similarly divided second story The House of Warriors had a large meeting room on the east side while the House of Kings had a meeting room referred to as the Supreme Court Room on the west side The capitol served as a meeting place for the legislative branches of the Muscogee Nation until 1907 when Oklahoma became a state Tribal business in the capitol ended in 1908 when Congress authorized the possession of tribal lands effectively ceasing tribal sovereignty From the time of statehood to 1916 the Council House served as the Okmulgee County Courthouse In 1926 Oklahoma Native Will Rogers visited Okmulgee to entertain a crowd of nearly 2 000 While doing so he said that it was important to maintain buildings like the Creek National Capitol since people were speculating on what they would use the Capitol for now that its legislative use had expired His words had an impact considering the building is still standing to this day Since then the building has served as a sheriff s office Boy Scout meeting room and a YMCA In 1961 the building was designated as a National Historic Landmark By 1979 tribal sovereignty had been fully renewed and the Muscogee adopted a new constitution The Creek Council House underwent a full restoration in 1989 1992 and reopened as a museum operated by the City of Okmulgee and the Creek Indian Memorial Association In 2010 the Muscogee Nation purchased the building back from the City of Okmulgee for 3 2 million It now serves as a museum of tribal history which is open to the public and exhibits Native American History and culture 20 21 22 Tribal college edit nbsp College of the Muscogee NationIn 2004 the Muscogee Nation founded a tribal college in Okmulgee the College of the Muscogee Nation CMN one of only 38 Tribal Colleges in the US CMN is a two year institution offering associate degrees in Tribal Services Police Science Gaming and Native American Studies It offers Mvskoke language Native American History Tribal Government and Indian Land Issue classes as well The CMN offers financial aid through FAFSA and offers on campus housing For the spring trimester in 2018 individual student enrollment was 197 A needs assessment survey revealed that a majority of Muscogee citizens were interested in attending the tribal college Of 386 tribal citizens from the 8 districts 86 of those were interested in attending college responded that they would attend a tribal college When asked if they had others in their family who were interested in attending a tribal college 25 of the survey sample responded yes 23 History editThe nation includes the Muscogee people and descendants of their African descended slaves 24 who were forced by the US government to relocate from their ancestral homes in the Southeast to Indian Territory in the 1830s during the Trail of Tears They signed another treaty with the federal government in 1856 25 During the American Civil War the tribe split into two factions one allied with the Confederacy and the other under Opothleyahola allied with the Union 26 There were conflicts between pro Confederate and pro Union forces in the Indian Territory during the war The pro Confederate forces pursued the loyalists who were leaving to take refuge in Kansas They fought at the Battle of Round Mountain Battle of Chusto Talasah and Battle of Chustenahlah resulting in 2 000 deaths among the 9 000 loyalists who were leaving 27 nbsp Muscogee beadworkAfter defeating the Confederacy the Union required new peace treaties with the Five Civilized Tribes which had allied with that insurrection The Treaty of 1866 required the Creek to abolish slavery within their territory and to grant tribal citizenship to those Creek Freedmen who chose to stay in the territory this citizenship was to include voting rights and shares of annuities and land allotments 28 If the Creek Freedmen moved out to United States territory they would be granted United States citizenship as were other emancipated African Americans 29 The Muscogee established a new government in 1866 and selected a new capital of Okmulgee In 1867 they ratified a new constitution to incorporate elements of the new peace treaty and their own desire for changes 4 They built their capitol building in 1867 and enlarged it in 1878 Today the Creek National Capitol is a National Historic Landmark It now houses the Creek Council House Museum as more space was needed for the government During the prosperous final decades of the 19th century when the tribe had autonomy and minimal interference from the federal government the Nation built schools churches and public houses 4 At the turn of the century Congress passed the 1898 Curtis Act which dismantled tribal governments in another federal government attempt to assimilate the Native American people The related Dawes Allotment Act required the break up of communal tribal landholdings to allot land to individual households This was intended to encourage adoption of the European American style of subsistence farming and property ownership It also was a means to extinguish Native American land claims and prepare for admitting Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory as a state which took place in 1907 The government declared that communal land remaining after allotments to existing households was surplus It was classified as excess and made available for sale to non Natives This resulted in the Muscogee and other tribes losing control over much of their former lands In the hasty process of registration the Dawes Commission registered tribal members in three categories they distinguished among Creek by Blood and Creek Freedmen a category where they listed anyone with visible African ancestry regardless of their proportion of Muscogee ancestry and Intermarried Whites The process was so confused that some members of the same families of Freedmen were classified into different groups The 1906 Five Civilized Tribes Act April 26 1906 was passed by the US Congress in anticipation of approving statehood for Oklahoma in 1907 During this time the Muscogee had lost more than 2 million acres 8 100 km2 to non Native settlers and the US government Later when Muscogee communities organized and set up governments under the 1936 Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act some former Muscogee tribal towns reorganized that were in former Indian Territory and the Southeast Some descendants had remained there and preserved cultural continuity Others reorganized and gained recognition later in the 20th century The following Muscogee groups have gained federal recognition as tribes the Alabama Quassarte Tribal Town Kialegee Tribal Town and Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of Oklahoma the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas and the Poarch Band of Creeks in Alabama The Muscogee Nation did not reorganize its government and regain federal recognition until 1970 This was an era of increasing Native American activism across the country In 1979 the tribe ratified a new constitution that replaced the 1866 constitution 4 The pivotal 1976 court case Harjo v Kleppe helped end US federal paternalism It ushered in an era of growing self determination Using the Dawes Rolls as a basis for determining membership of descendants the Nation has enrolled more than 58 000 members descendants of the allottees Muscogee Freedmen controversy editFrom 1981 to 2001 the Muscogee had membership rules that allowed applicants to use a variety of documentary sources to establish qualifications for membership In 1979 the Muscogee Nation Constitutional Convention voted to limit citizenship in the Nation to persons who could prove descent by blood meaning that members had to be able to document direct descent from an ancestor listed on the Dawes Commission roll in the category of Creek by Blood Persons proving they are descended from persons listed as Creek by blood can become citizens of the Muscogee Nation The 1893 registry was established to identify citizens of the nation at the time of allotment of communal lands and dissolution of the reservation system and tribal government 30 The 1979 vote on citizenship excluded descendants of persons recorded only as Creek Freedmen in the Dawes Rolls This decision has been challenged in court by those descendants according to the 1866 treaty 31 of Creek Freedmen 32 33 The Freedmen were listed on the Dawes Rolls Some descendants can prove by documentation in other registers that they had ancestors with Muscogee blood The Freedmen had been listed on a separate register regardless of their proportion of Muscogee ancestry This classification did not acknowledge the unions and intermarriage that had taken place for years between the ethnic groups Prior to the change in code Muscogee Freedmen could use existing registers and the preponderance of evidence to establish qualification for citizenship and were to be aided by the Citizenship Board The Muscogee Freedmen have challenged their exclusion from citizenship in legal actions 34 35 which are pending 36 Notable Muscogee Nation people editHistoric Muscogee people are listed in the Muscogee article Fred Beaver 1911 1980 Muscogee Seminole painter and muralist R Perry Beaver 1938 2014 principal chief football coach Acee Blue Eagle 1909 1959 actor artist author and educator Ernest Childers 1918 2005 lieutenant colonel in the U S Army during World War II and the first Native American to be awarded a Medal of Honor during that war Eddie Chuculate b 1972 Muscogee Cherokee journalist and fiction writer Helen Chupco 1919 2004 Methodist missionary and tribal councilwoman for 23 years Fred S Clinton 1874 1955 surgeon Shelly Crow 1948 2011 first woman to serve in the executive branch of the National Council as Second Chief Sarah Deer b 1972 lawyer professor of law and MacArthur Fellow Jennifer Foerster poet and professor Thomas Gilcrease 1890 1962 oilman founder of the Gilcrease Museum Chitto Harjo 1846 1911 orator veteran and traditionalist leader of the Crazy Snake Rebellion Joy Harjo b 1959 poet and jazz musician first Native American United States Poet Laureate Joan Hill 1930 2020 painter Isparhecher 1829 1902 political activist traditionalist leader Jack Jacobs 1919 1974 football player Lauren J King b 1982 attorney William Harjo LoneFight b 1966 author President of Native American Services languages and cultural activist Louis Oliver 1904 1991 poet Jim Pepper 1941 1992 Muscogee Kaw jazz musician Grant Lee Phillips born 1963 alternative Americana singer songwriter and founder songwriter of Grant Lee Buffalon 37 Pleasant Porter 1840 1907 Principal Chief from 1899 to 1907 Alexander Posey 1873 1908 poet humorist journalist and politician Allie P Reynolds 1917 1994 professional baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees businessman Will Sampson 1933 1987 film actor noted for performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest 1978 Cynthia Leitich Smith born 1967 children s book author noted for Jingle Dancer Dana Tiger b 1961 artist Johnny Tiger Jr 1940 2015 painter and sculptor Tommy Warren 1917 1968 Major League Baseball professional athlete France Winddance Twine born 1960 professor of sociology at the University of California Santa Barbara Micah Ian Wright born 1969 writer videogame designer graphic novelist and film director citation needed See also editStella Mason unknown 1918 she was subject to a known lawsuit highlighting a pattern of abuse against freedmen among the Five Civilized Tribes Muscogee Muscogee language Muscogee mythology Crazy Snake Rebellion Green Corn ceremony Ocmulgee National Monument Stomp danceNotes edit a b c 1 Muscogee Creek Nation Citizenship Office Retrieved 8 Mar 2017 archived Mvskoke Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Accessed Dec 22 2009 The tribe has made clear that their official name remains the Muscogee Creek Nation and it is not wrong for someone to use the word Creek but the change to Muscogee Nation was made for advertising and marketing purposes The Muscogee Nation is dropping Creek from its name Here s why Michael Overall Tulsa World May 6 2021 May 6 2021 Retrieved May 6 2021 a b c d Theodore Isham and Blue Clark Creek Mvskoke Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Accessed Dec 22 2009 Innes 393 Higgins Tucker Mangan Dan July 9 2020 Supreme Court says eastern half of Oklahoma is Native American land CNBC Retrieved July 9 2020 2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Dictionary a b MCN Governmental Branches Muscogee Nation 2008 retrieved 22 Dec 2009 Creek Supreme Court M C N Bar Association Muscogee Creek Nation Citizenship Facts and Stats Muscogee Creek Nation Citizenship Muscogee Nation judge rules in favor of citizenship for slave descendant Law NPR Associated Press September 28 2023 Retrieved September 30 2023 Division of Health Muscogee Creek Nation retrieved 28 Dec 2009 Lighthorse Tribal Police Muscogee Creek Nation retrieved 28 Dec 2009 About MFSI Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative retrieved 28 Dec 2009 Quick Facts PDF Mvskoke Tourism amp Recreation March 8 2017 MNBE MNBE Retrieved March 8 2017 Onefire Holdings Tulsa Oklahoma onefireholding com Retrieved March 8 2017 Creek Council House Museum Attractions in Okmulgee Oklahoma retrieved 22 Dec 2009 Clifton Adcock Creeks ask to buy Council House The U S sold it out from under them to the city of Okmulgee in 1919 It s now a museum Tulsa World March 18 2010 2 Creek National Capitol Retrieved 20 Feb 2021 College of the Muscogee Nation FAQ retrieved 20 Feb 2021 Congressional Edition United States Congress 1888 Exhibit E State of Indian Territory County of Creek Nation Before me Sarah Davis her x mark The Fourteenth Creek Treaty concluded at Washington D C on the 7th of August 1856 was one of the most important in the history of the Creek The names of the Creek delegates who signed it Tuckabatchee Minco Echo Harjo Chilly McIntosh and Daniel N McIntosh sons of chief William McIntosh who was executed in 1825 for signing the Treaty of Indian Springs Benjamin Marshall and George W Stidham These names continue to be prominent in the Creek Nation Their descendants are among the leaders of the present generation of Creek This treaty is an attempted summary of all former treaties canceling many old provisions that seemed to have outlived their usefulness and adjusting many disputes which had arisen during the preceding decade Chronicles of Oklahoma Morton Ohland March 1931 Early History of the Creek Indians Oklahoma Historical Society Chronicles of Oklahoma p 25 Archived from the original on January 21 2016 Retrieved September 20 2015 Creek Indians in the American Civil War 1870 Loyal Creek abstract Creek Treaty Article IV provides how the losses of the loyal Creeks are to be ascertained and a roll of the names of all soldiers that enlisted in the Federal army loyal refugee Indians Note Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and American Indians The Amendment was intended to give citizenship to African American former slaves and not to Indians who were considered to have independent sovereignty and citizenship within the territories of their reservations Government agencies the Bureau of Indian Affairs the Department of the Interior and the courts state federal and ultimately the Supreme Court consistently held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not confer citizenship on Indians Under the Constitution and the Supreme Court s interpretation of the Constitution Indian tribes were classified as domestic dependent nations and therefore Indians were tribal citizens not United States citizens Sessional indexes to the Annals of Congress Register of Debates in Congress By United States Historical Documents 1914 Reference Creek Nation to Investigate relative to duplicate and fraudulent enrollments in see Y J Res 3SS gt 329 b McKay v Cambell The negro and his descendants never had been considered a part of the free inhabitants McKay v Campbell 2 7 was another case in which an opinion was given on the clause in II Status and Disabilities INDIAN AFFAIRS LAWS AND Doe v Avaline 8 Ind 6 The term mestizo signifies the issue of a negro and an Indian Miller v Dawson Osborn 2 Fed 58 6 Sawy 406 McKay v Campbell 16 Fed Cas No 8840 United States Courts of Appeals reports Cases adjudged Circuit Courts of Appeals Samuel Appleton Blatchford 1895 Law reports digests etc Cases adjudged in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals v J P Davison one of Julia s children was appointed administrator of her Caldwell Circuit Judge after stating the DAVISON v GIBSON 363 DAVISON V WALKER of J P Davison guardian of Sally McIntosh v said Walker involving the N Q IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE MUSCOGEE CREEK NATION FILED Ron Graham OKMULGEE DISTRICT Plaintiff v 1 Muscogee Creek Nation Citizenship Board Defendant and Fred Johnson Muscogee Creek Nation Official Tribal Website Freedmen descendants want their own tribe MASON et al v SALAZAR et al Justia Dockets amp Filings Apr 27 2012 al v SALAZAR et al Justia Federal Dockets and Filings KELVIN MASON JAMES MASON NATALEE MILLER and GRANT PERRYMAN Grant Lee Phillips Archived September 26 2013 at the Wayback Machine The Ark Retrieved September 23 2013 References editInnes Pamela Creek in the West William C Sturtevant editor Handbook of North American Indians Volume 14 Southeast Washington DC Smithsonian Institution 2004 ISBN 0 16 072300 0 Associate Justice Richard C Lerblance Descendants of Elijah Hermogene LerblanceExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muscogee The Muscogee Nation official website Mvskoke Etlvlwv Nakcokv Mvhakv Svhvlwecvt College of the Muscogee Nation Muscogee Nation District Court Creek Mvskoke Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Muscogee Creek Indian Territory Project OK ITGenWeb Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muscogee Nation amp oldid 1194318673, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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