In a historic verdict, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation judge in Oklahoma has ruled in favor of granting citizenship to descendants of Black slaves, known as Freedmen. This could make it possible for hundreds of others in a similar position to seek tribal citizenship.

District Judge Denette Mouser, based in the tribe’s headquarters in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, overturned the citizenship board’s decision and ordered them to reconsider applications in line with the 1866 treaty, allowing descendants listed on the Creek Freedmen Roll eligibility for tribal citizenship.

The ruling on Sept. 27 was in favor of two Black Muscogee Nation freedmen, Rhonda Grayson and Jeff Kennedy, who had sued the tribe’s citizenship board for denying their applications.

Mouser reversed the board’s decision and ordered it to reconsider the applications in accordance with the tribe’s Treaty of 1866, which provides that descendants of those listed on the Creek Freedmen Roll are eligible for tribal citizenship, The Associated Press reported.

“Having weighed all the facts and evidence presented by the parties, this court finds the acts of the Defendant in this matter have been contrary to the law and unsupported by the relevant and substantial evidence…,” Muscogee Nation District Judge Denette Mouser stated in her ruling, Black Wall St. Times reported.

“This case was about upholding the legacy of my fourth great-grandfather, Cow-Tom, as one of the five people to sign the Treaty and ensured Article 2 of the Treaty of 1866 that guaranteed Creeks of African Descent full citizenship,” Solomon-Simmons stated. “The tribal court’s decision will reinstate the rightful citizenship rights of Black Creek Freedmen today, and for future generations.”

It has been a years-long struggle by the Muscogee Freedmen for recognition and rights that were denied when they were cast out by the nation in 1979.

“It’s important to me because it’s my birthright,” Freedmen plaintiff Rhonda Grayson told Muscogee Nation District Judge Denette Mouser during the April trial.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, one of the Five Tribes, entered into a treaty with the U.S. government in 1866, which mandated the granting of full citizenship to their formerly enslaved kin. However, subsequent discriminatory actions, notably the creation of a separate Freedmen Roll, denied generations of Black Creek Freedmen recognition and access to tribal resources.

The recent court ruling means that the Muscogee Nation–and most likely other tribes–can not unilaterally rewrite citizenship requirements.

Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen (Photo: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=658615702977798&set=pcb.658612242978144&locale=hi_IN)