Poarch Band of Creek Indians
Desecration at Hickory Ground.
History of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PBCI) is allegedly made of individuals who descended from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as it existed in the early 1800s. During the early 1800s, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was principally located in what is now known as the state of Alabama, and was made up of several independent groups called tribal towns.
In the early 1800s, several white settlers married Muscogee (Creek) women and settled in a small geographic area known as Tensaw, located in southwest Alabama. When the United States government removed the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from Alabama in the 1830s, many of those living at the Tensaw settlement chose not to remain with the Nation. As the Indian Claims Commission put it, these “remaining members of the [Muscogee (Creek) Nation] abandoned all tribal organization and became United States citizens.”
Thus, the descendants of the Creek individuals who stayed in Alabama “maintained no tribal organization” and simply existed as “unorganized descendants” until the Indian Claims Commission proceedings arose in the 1950s. McGhee v. Creek Nation, 122 Ct. Cl. 380, 385, 388, 391 (1952), cert. denied, 344 U.S. 856 (1952).
The Indian Claims Commission proceedings presented an opportunity for the unorganized descendants in Alabama to obtain compensation for lands ceded by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1814, a time when their Creek ancestors located in Tensaw were still considered part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The facts suggest that the unorganized descendants attempted to create a tribal organization solely for the purpose of monetary gain. The Indian Claims Commission observed in 1952 that the “Creek Nation East of the Mississippi” (which later rebranded itself as the “Poarch Band of Creek Indians”) was a “recently formed tribal organization.”
The BIA granted recognition to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in 1984. See Memorandum from Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs to Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs entitled “Recommendation and summary of evidence for proposed finding for Federal acknowledgment of the Poarch Band of Creeks of Alabama pursuant to 25 C.F.R. 83” (Dec. 29, 1983).
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PBCI’s Acquisition of Hickory Ground in 1980
PBCI obtained the Hickory Ground site in 1980 with $165,000 in federal preservation grant funds and a $165,000 donation from the landowner. In the same year, pursuant to standard terms of federal preservation grant awards, a protective covenant was placed on the property for 20 years. PBCI had never occupied Hickory Ground prior to 1980.
PBCI stated that its purpose in acquiring the Hickory Ground Site was to preserve the historic property for the benefit of all Creek Indians, including the “existing Hickory Ground tribal town in Oklahoma,” and to preserve the Site “without excavation.”
In its application for the $165,000 federal preservation grant to purchase the Hickory Ground Site, PBCI stated that “Hickory Ground (site no. 1-Ee-89) is of major importance in the history of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It has supplied many of the important leaders in Creek history.
Hickory Ground was involved in nearly all the major historic events in the southeast before the removal of Creeks from Alabama in 1836,” including significant battles fought by Andrew Jackson.
In the section of its Federal Preservation Grant Application titled “The Use Of The Land,” PBCI unequivocally represented and promised that “The property will serve as a valuable resource for cultural enrichment of Creek people… The Creek people in Oklahoma pride in heritage and ties to original homeland can only be enhanced. There is still an existing Hickory Ground tribal town in Oklahoma. They will be pleased to know their home in Alabama is being preserved… The Hickory Ground site will continue to enhance their understanding of their history, without excavation.”
PBCI's Role in the Desecration of Hickory Ground
When PBCI acquired the Hickory Ground site with federal preservation funds in 1980, a 20-year protective covenant was imposed that prevented development on the property. The 20-year protective covenant expired in July 2000. The year before the covenant expired, PBCI requested that the National Park Service delegate historic preservation responsibilities to PBCI on “all lands within the exterior boundaries of [PBCI’s] Reservation,” which included the Hickory Ground Site. The National Park Service agreed.
From approximately 2001 to approximately 2011, PBCI caused a significant portion of the Hickory Ground Site to be destroyed to make way for its second casino resort (PBCI already had one in Atmore). Specifically, at PBCI’s direction, archaeologists affiliated with Auburn University conducted a phase III excavation of the Hickory Ground Site. At the time PBCI directed this excavation to take place, it knew—from prior archaeological surveys it commissioned—that “well defined and undisturbed cultural remains,” including human burials, were abundant at the Hickory Ground site.
PBCI removed at least 57 sets of human remains along with their associated funerary objects during the phase III excavation. Over 7,000 archaeological features, representing historic and ancient Muscogee (Creek) buildings, houses, ceremonial locations, and other sacred locations, were recorded during the excavation. Because not all cultural items are removed during a phase III excavation and before construction, the construction at Hickory Ground likely destroyed many cultural items forever.
Numerous artifacts were removed from the site, and have been stored in a manner that caused, and is continuing to cause, further damage to the items. Some cultural items, including human remains, are still in storage.
PBCI did not consult with, or obtain consent from, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Hickory Ground Tribal Town, or Mekko Thompson before commencing the phase III excavation at Hickory Ground. PBCI first notified the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of the phase III excavation in 2006. By that time, some human remains from the Hickory Ground Site had already been exhumed.
Beginning in 2006, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Hickory Ground Tribal Town engaged in a years-long effort to persuade Poarch not to excavate and desecrate the remains of our ancestors and other cultural items and to return any cultural items already excavated from Hickory Ground to their original resting place. This effort eventually failed in 2011.
In 2012, after the excavations were completed, PBCI hurriedly reburied most of those remains and objects away from their final resting places. PBCI purposefully provided late notice of the planned reburial to Mekko Thompson and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in order to exclude them from the process. At no point did anyone from the Nation agree to reinterment away from the remains’ and associated funerary objects’ original resting place.
On July 11, 2012, PBCI announced plans to construct a $246 million casino resort on Hickory Ground. PBCI moved forward with casino construction in October 2012, issuing a press release stating that “we are being faced with demands to remove ancestral remains that have already been reinterred… We cannot change the fact that remains were found and removed. Those remains are now reinterred and we cannot support disturbing those remains again… [N]o one cares more about the sanctity of our land… than we do.”
Hickory Ground remains a symbol of the resilience and enduring cultural heritage of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Its history reflects the broader narrative of Native American struggles, from early European contact and to forced removal and contemporary efforts to preserve sacred sites. The ongoing efforts to protect Hickory Ground underscore the importance of honoring and respecting indigenous history and cultural heritage. How we care for the burial grounds of our loved ones says a lot about the values we hold true today. When Native burial grounds are destroyed and disrespected, their descendants suffer greatly.
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