OKMULGEE – The legal battle between the Freedmen descendents and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Board continues to play out in the MCN Supreme Court. In an order filed on Nov. 13, the MCN Supreme Court directed the Citizenship Board to submit monthly reports on the status of compliance with the court’s order granting Grayson and Kennedy citizenship. This was in response to a renewed motion for contempt filed on Oct. 14.
As previously reported, on July 23 the MCN Supreme Court ordered the Citizenship Board to grant Grayson and Kennedy’s citizenship pursuant to the Treaty of 1866. This order was followed by a motion for contempt filed by Grayson and Kennedy on Aug. 27 after the Citizenship Board failed to grant their citizenship. The MCN Supreme Court ruled that the Citizenship Board had not been given a reasonable amount of time to institute the changes necessary to grant Grayson and Kennedy citizenship and denied the motion for contempt. MCN Principal Chief David Hill issued executive order 25-05 on August 28, which directed MCN departments to prepare for review any changes needed to comply with the court’s order. The motion for contempt was then renewed by Grayson and Kennedy on Oct. 14.
The first status report is due on Dec. 5 and must contain any proposed amendments to MCN policies and procedures or MCN Code, as well as what actions have been taken to institute the amendments. The report is also required to contain any proposed changes to the Citizenship Board’s policies and procedures and their estimated completion time.
The Citizenship Board is also required to list any proposed administrative rules that have been published in the Muscogee Nation News, filed with the MCN National Council Secretary or the MCN District Court Clerk. The order requires that the report contain summary explanations of any proposed amendments, procedural changes, and/or “questions of national significance” that bar the issuance of citizenship documents. The report must also include an estimated time until these issues are resolved and justification for any timeframes listed.
According to the order:
“To be clear, the Court anticipates this initial status report to cover ALL areas in which the Appellant believes amendments to the Nation’s code, internal policies and procedures, or any other area are required. Failure to provide complete information in this status report, or, in the future to claim that additional areas must be addressed, without good cause shown for the failure to include those items in this status report, will be taken into consideration, both with respect to future status report requirements, and with respect to this Court’s consideration of the Respondents’ Renewed Motion for Contempt.”
The order outlines that the Court will issue a new due date and set of report requirements following the filing of the initial report.
