Hickory Ground History
Sacred Foundations of Sovereignty
Before the desecration, for millennia before the Removal Treaty of 1832, the Muscogee (Creek) people inhabited most of what is now Alabama. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation was composed of Tribal Towns, including the Tribal Town site called Oce Vpofv by the Muscogee (Creek) people, and known as “Hickory Ground Tribal Town” by English speakers.
Hickory Ground is of major importance in the history of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Hickory Ground Tribal Town, and the United States. Hickory Ground was critical to the very formation of the United States. When European 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, including the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, whose sovereignty had previously been affirmed through treaties with 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.
Because Tribal Town affiliation is matrilineal, the current members of Hickory Ground Tribal Town in Oklahoma are the lineal descendants of the ancestors buried at the historic Hickory Ground in Wetumpka, Alabama.
A Tribal Town is led by its chief, or mekko. Mekko George Thompson is the Kosa Mekko of Hickory Ground, and has been since 1977. He is known as Kosa Mekko, or Coosa Chief, as Hickory Ground dates back to the first Tribal Town at the time of the beginnings, known as kosa or Coosa. The Coosa “Chiefdom” was documented by Hernando de soto in the 1540s.
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Where is Hickory Ground and What is There Now?
Hickory Ground is located on the east bank of the Coosa River, south of the present-day Wetumpka and approximately two miles north of Fort Toulouse.
Hickory Ground Tribal Town, like all Tribal Towns of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, contains a ceremonial ground (square ground), council house, plaza, burial sites, and individual graves containing human remains and funerary objects of the ancestors of the Plaintiffs. Hickory Ground has profound cultural and religious importance to the Plaintiffs.
What is Hickory Ground Now?
Hickory Ground is a state-registered archaeological site (1EE89) in Alabama and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hickory Ground was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, after the Alabama State Historic Commission applied for its placement on the Register because Alabama recognized the site’s unique and paramount cultural and historic significance. The part of Hickory Ground listed on the National Register of Historic Places and currently considered to be trust or reservation land is referred to herein as the “Hickory Ground Site.”
Timeline of Events
Precontact-1539
Coosa Chiefdom
1800s and earlier
Hickory Ground, located in what is now Wetumpka, Alabama, is part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s aboriginal homelands and historic treaty territory.
1812-1815
The Creek ancestors of present-day Poarch individuals betrayed the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and fought alongside Andrew Jackson against the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, committing many massacres against other citizens of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Because they fought alongside the United States and against the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Poarch’s ancestors were allowed to avoid removal on the Trail of Tears and remain living in Alabama on the condition that they relinquish their citizenship in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a condition they voluntarily accepted.
1836
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is violently and forcibly removed to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears.
1950s
The current day Poarch predecessors band together to ask the Indian Claims Commission to pay them for the lands the Muscogee (Creek) Nation lost to the United States when Poarch’s ancestors fought alongside Andrew Jackson. The Indian Claims Commission rejects their request.
1980
Poarch—then calling itself the “Creek Nation East of the Mississippi”—obtained a large part of the Hickory Ground site.
This purchase of Hickory Ground was free to Poarch, funded half by a federal preservation grant and half by a landowner donation of the parcel. In its application for federal funds, Poarch committed to saving the site from development and protecting it “without excavation.”
1984
Poarch—now going by Poarch Band of Creek Indians—obtains federal recognition, and for the first time ever, constitutes an Indian Tribe.
Early 2000s
Without notifying or consulting with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Poarch excavates human remains and funerary objects from over 57 Muscogee ancestors at Hickory Ground to make way for a $246 million casino resort called Wind Creek Wetumpka.
April 2012
Poarch secretly and unilaterally reburies remains at a site different from where they were disinterred, in violation of Muscogee culture and tradition.
2012
Poarch announces it will build a casino over the desecrated burial ground at Hickory Ground and in response, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Hickory Ground Tribal Town, and Mekko Thompson file the lawsuit, asking the federal courts to stop Poarch’s construction of the casino. The lawsuit filed is against several federal agencies, Poarch Band, Poarch Band officials, Poarch’s gaming enterprise, and the construction company that built the casino on top of the burial ground.
2013-2017
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All defendants file motions to dismiss the case.
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Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Hickory Ground, and Mekko Thompson file a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop construction.
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The defendants file a motion to quash discovery.
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The court does not rule on any substantive motions.
2018
The District Court stays the case so that the parties can try and negotiate a settlement.
2019
Settlement discussions fail, and Plaintiffs ask the Court for permission to file an amended complaint.
June 2019
Muscogee (Creek) Nation seeks court permission to amend their complaint, citing claims like outrage and unjust enrichment related to Poarch’s casino construction over sacred grounds.
2020
Court grants Plaintiffs permission to file Amended Complaint, and Plaintiffs file Second Amended Complaint. Defendants file various motions to dismiss.
March 2021
District Court grants Poarch’s motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity, concluding that Poarch Band and Poarch Band officials cannot be sued for their ongoing violations of federal law because they are immune from suit. The District Court dismisses all claims against other defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19. Plaintiffs file their Notice of Appeal.
2022
The case is once again stayed as the parties attempt to negotiate a settlement.
2023
Settlement negotiations fail and the parties briefs before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Early 2023
Poarch resumes construction at Hickory Ground despite objections from Muscogee (Creek) Nation, who demands they be permitted to undertake an inspection at the new construction site to safeguard cultural resources, leading to a standoff.
July 2023
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Mekko Thompson, and Hickory Ground Tribal Town file their opening brief in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
September 2024
On September 25, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals will hear Oral Arguments in the case.
October 2024
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the District Court’s ruling and reinstated the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s claims to stop the ongoing desecration of Hickory Ground, a sacred ceremonial and burial site within the Nation’s historical treaty territory and homelands.
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