History
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.
Where is Hickory Ground, and what is there?
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.”
History of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians 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). The Muscogee (Creek) Nation wrote a letter in support. It is unclear whether much research was done by the Nation at the time it extended this support.
Poarch’s Acquisition of Hickory Ground in 1980
Poarch 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. Poarch had never occupied Hickory Ground prior to 1980.
Poarch 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, Poarch 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,” Poarch 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.”
The Desecration of Hickory Ground
The Poarch’s Role in the Desecration of Hickory Ground
When Poarch 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, Poarch requested that the National Park Service delegate historic preservation responsibilities to Poarch on “all lands within the exterior boundaries of [Poarch’s] Reservation,” which included the Hickory Ground Site. The National Park Service agreed.
From approximately 2001 to approximately 2011, Poarch caused a significant portion of the Hickory Ground Site to be destroyed to make way for its second casino resort (Poarch already had one in Atmore). Specifically, at Poarch’s direction, archaeologists affiliated with Auburn University conducted a phase III excavation of the Hickory Ground Site. At the time Poarch 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.
Poarch 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.
Poarch 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. Poarch 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, Poarch hurriedly reburied most of those remains and objects away from their final resting places. Poarch 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, Poarch announced plans to construct a $246 million casino resort on Hickory Ground. Poarch 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.
Auburn University’s Role in the Desecration of Hickory Ground
Auburn University has played an unfortunate role in the desecration of Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground). In 2001, at Poarch’s direction, archeologists from Auburn University conducted a Phase III excavation at Hickory Ground, despite the fact that the archeological surveys Poarch conducted from 1988 to 1993 revealed that no portion of Hickory Ground was without cultural resources and that the entire site contained Indian burials.
To undertake its excavation activities starting in 2001, Auburn was required to obtain a permit under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). Records in this case indicate that Auburn did not obtain this permit until 2003, two years after Auburn commenced excavating Mekko Thompson’s relatives and cultural resources at Poarch’s request.
This permit required Auburn to consult with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Mekko Thompson before removing any single human remains or cultural resource. It was absolutely illegal for Auburn to remove Mekko Thompson’s relatives from their final resting place without first consulting with Mekko Thompson and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, as required by ARPA and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
What then transpired continues to shock the moral consciousness and cause the Mvskoke people of Hickory Ground Tribal Town significant trauma. Auburn’s archeologists removed at least, if not more than 57 of Mekko Thompson’s and other Hickory Ground members’ relatives from their graves. Auburn put their remains in plastic bags, buckets, and storage bins. Many were transported to Auburn University, where they remain today, kept in deplorable conditions that have led to the buildup of mold on the human remains illegally removed from Hickory Ground. Auburn also allowed Poarch to take possession of some of the remains of Mekko Thompson’s relatives, and Auburn has allowed them to remain in trash bags in a garden shed on Poarch’s casino property, despite the fact that doing so is a direction violation of NAGPRA.
Further, no later than six weeks after the excavation concluded, ARPA required Auburn to submit to Muscogee (Creek) Nation a full Phase III inventory report documenting precisely how many human remains Auburn had excavated, along with any and all associated funerary objects. Twenty years later, Auburn still refuses to send this report to the Nation and Mekko Thompson.
Because the Mvskoke relatives that Poarch and Auburn illegally dug up are the direct ancestors of Mekko Thompson and the members of Hickory Ground Tribal Town today—located on the Mvskoke Reservation in Oklahoma—NAGPRA requires Auburn (and Poarch) to repatriate all of Mekko Thompson’s relatives to him, so he can rebury them in accordance with Mvskoke religion, culture, law, and tradition. Auburn University, however, has failed to make this happen. The ongoing storage of Mvskoke relatives in plastic bins and trash bags causes the Mvskoke people of Hickory Ground significant trauma and heartache. The Nation, along with Mekko Thompson and Hickory Ground Tribal Town, filed the current lawsuit against Auburn, asking the federal courts to require Auburn to comply with NAGPRA and return Mekko Thompson’s relatives to him. Should Auburn choose to do the right thing, it does not need to wait for a federal court to tell the university what to do. Auburn could return Mekko Thompson’s relatives right now, if they choose to do so.
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
- All defendants file motions to dismiss the case.
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Hickory Ground, and Mekko Thompson file a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop construction.
- The defendants file a motion to quash discovery.
- 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.
