Hickory Ground Desecration Detailed Fact Sheet and Chronology Hickory Ground has been occupied since around 8,000 B.C, according to archeologists. It is a place of great historic, spiritual, and governmental importance for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It was the last capital of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation prior to removal. It was a center of tribal culture and the final resting place of many Mekkos (chiefs) and other ancestors. Hickory Ground was also critical to the very formation of the United States. When international nations questioned the sovereignty of the newly born United States, President George Washington lent legitimacy to the nascent country by signing treaties with Indian Nations, whose sovereignty had previously been affirmed through treaties with France, Spain, and England. Thus, in 1790, nearly two centuries before Poarch was recognized as a tribe, President George Washington executed a treaty with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The head of the Muscogee treaty delegation was from Hickory Ground. Removal and re-establishment 1830s The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is forcibly removed from its historic homelands in the Southeast and forced to walk the Trail of Tears to modern-day Oklahoma. Various individual Creek Indians remain behind in Alabama, renouncing their tribal citizenship. The survivors of the Trail of Tears build new homes in Indian Territory. They establish a new Hickory Ground near Henryetta, Oklahoma, to carry on its role as the political and spiritual center of the traditional Hickory Ground community. 1840s-1940s After the forcible removal of the southeastern tribes in the 1830s, there were no remaining tribes in Alabama. The few individuals who chose to renounce their tribal citizenship did not maintain any group organizational structure. 1950s-1970s Some of these people began to identify themselves first as the “Perdido Friendly Creek Indian Band of Alabama and Northwest Florida Indians” and later as “Creek Nation East of the Mississippi.” This group admitted that it was “newly formed” as of 1951, that it had not retained a general tribal organization, and that it had no treaty dealings with the federal government. The 1980s: Hickory Ground Sold 1980 Poarch, then calling itself the “Creek Nation East of the Mississippi” applies for, and obtains, a federal historical preservation grant to acquire Hickory Ground and save it from development, “without excavation.” A protective covenant accompanies the grant award, preventing development on the site for 20 years. 1984 The Bureau of Indian Affairs grants federal recognition to Poarch. The Bureau included Hickory Ground in Poarch’s initial reservation lands, despite the fact that Poarch had no tribal connection to the site and that Poarch’s other reservation lands are clustered 135 miles away in Atmore, where Poarch claims to have historically resided. 1986-88 Archaeologists examine Hickory Ground and warn Poarch that “[d]ue to the historical significance of Hickory Ground, avoidance of any possible future construction activities is recommended.” 1990s: The Federal Government Delegates Historic Preservation Authority to Poarch 1999 The year prior to expiration of the protective covenant at Hickory Ground, Poarch issues a policy stating that “Under no circumstances are the burials on the Poarch Creek Indians Reservations, or lands under their control, to be excavated, nor are they to be subjected to any examination or testing.” Poarch successfully requests that the federal government delegate historic preservation responsibilities to the tribe. 2000s: Casino Development at Hickory Ground 2000s Without notifying the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs issues permits allowing Poarch to excavate at Hickory Ground. The permits require advance consultation with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Without consulting with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Poarch excavates human remains and funerary objects from over 57 Muscogee ancestors at Hickory Ground. The remains and artifacts were not properly stored or maintained. The ultimate whereabouts of many artifacts are still unknown. 2012 Poarch secretly and unilaterally rebury remains at a site different from where they were disinterred. Poarch then announce a massive $246 million casino and luxury resort hotel expansion project, sited directly on top of where the remains of the disinterred ancestors were originally buried. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation files a federal lawsuit to stop the construction of the casino, alleging that Poarch and the federal government violated the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and other laws. Dec 2013 Poarch hold a grand opening for the completed Wind Creek Casino Wetumpka, which lies directly over the once peaceful final resting place of the very people whose ancestry Poarch claim. 2014 Mekko George Thompson testifies on Hickory Ground to the US House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. He asks that the subcommittee direct the Interior Inspector General to open an investigation into what happened at Hickory Ground. April 2015 The Muscogee (Creek) Nation presents testimony to the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Affairs. The testimony addresses failure to safeguard against groups such as Poarch desecrating other tribes’ sacred places. The Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes joins this opposition. 2017 – 2018 Muscogee (Creek) representatives attempt to reach a resolution with Poarch, but are unsuccessful. 2019 Today, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, consisting of more than 87,000 enrolled citizens, continues to fight for justice for Hickory Ground. .