The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma recently sent a letter to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley asking him to never negotiate or sign a Class III gaming compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, headquartered in Atmore, Alabama, near the Florida border. Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger said the Poarch Creeks’ 6 million expansion project at the Wind Creek Casino in Wetumpka was built at the Hickory Ground, a sacred Muscogee (Creek) Nation burial and ceremonial site listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. During the excavation process, 57 sets of human remains were unearthed and reburied.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation filed a federal lawsuit in December 2012 to stop construction and remove the property’s federal trust status. However, the casino addition opened in 2013 and the litigation is still pending.
Tiger wrote to Bentley, “The Poarch Band’s desecration of Hickory Ground is inconsistent with our values and likewise should be admonished by the people of Alabama. A gaming compact with the Poarch Band would implicitly ratify that desecration and fraud, because the revenues paid to your state would come from a casino built on our historical site, ceremonial grounds and ancestors’ burial grounds.”
Tiger stated his tribe has questioned the Poarch Creek’s handling of remains and artifacts uncovered there, but the Poarch Creeks said they have complied with all applicable federal laws and have been respectful throughout the land development process.
The letter was sent after Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh introduced legislation approving a state lottery and four racinos as a way to help close the state’s staggering budget gap. In the letter, Tiger said a gaming compact with the tribe would sanction the desecration of the site.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation sued the Poarch Creeks and the Obama administration to stop development of the site, but despite dozens of motions and filings since 2012, the judge in the case has not issued a decision.
Additionally, the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs a held hearing May 14, at which Brenda Golden, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation policy analyst and self-governance officer said the Wetumpka site was not properly placed into trust for the Poarch Band.
