Black members of Oklahoma Native American tribe file federal lawsuit to gain citizenship rights

Two Black descendants of enslaved people, Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy, are suing the Muscogee Nation to enforce a 2025 tribal court ruling that ordered citizenship cards under an 1866 treaty. Tribal leaders, including Principal Chief David Hill, have refused to issue the cards, citing constitutional changes, despite the court affirming the plaintiffs' entitlement to citizenship as Freedmen descendants.