Black members of Oklahoma’s Muscogee Nation file a federal lawsuit seeking recognition of tribal citizenship rights, according to multiple reports. The lawsuit is filed in federal court in Oklahoma and targets Principal Chief David Hill and the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board. The plaintiffs are described as two descendants of Black people who were enslaved by the tribe. They ask the court to compel tribal officials to issue them citizenship cards.
Several outlets report that the request follows an earlier decision by a tribal court issued about a year earlier. In that prior ruling, the tribal court ordered tribal leaders to provide the plaintiffs with citizenship cards. The federal lawsuit alleges that the defendants have not complied with that order and seeks court intervention to enforce the citizenship-related relief.
The sources agree on the core elements: the plaintiffs’ described ancestry and history, the federal forum in Oklahoma, the named tribal defendants, and the remedy sought—issuance of citizenship cards in line with the earlier tribal court directive.
