[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4637 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4637

 To sever United States Government relations with the Creek Nation of 
Oklahoma until such time as the Creek Nation of Oklahoma restores full 
Tribal citizenship to the Creek Freedmen disenfranchised in the October 
6, 1979, Creek Nation vote and fulfills all its treaty obligations with 
      the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2021

Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To sever United States Government relations with the Creek Nation of 
Oklahoma until such time as the Creek Nation of Oklahoma restores full 
Tribal citizenship to the Creek Freedmen disenfranchised in the October 
6, 1979, Creek Nation vote and fulfills all its treaty obligations with 
      the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Historically, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (``Creek 
        Nation'') were comprised of a confederacy of separate towns, 
        Tribes, and peoples. Each town was a complete governmental unit 
        in and of itself. Among those peoples were the Yamassee or 
        Jamassi, who were reported to have emigrated from Africa prior 
        to the European discovery of America.
            (2) As colonists and eventually nonindigenous Americans 
        began to inhabit this area, these new residents sought to 
        ``civilize the Creek Indian''. In the ensuing decades, the 
        United States continuously and repeatedly attempted to impose, 
        often by force, its customs, economy, religion, and political 
        structure on indigenous groups such as the Creek Nation.
            (3) One American custom adopted by some Creek Nation 
        citizens was the plantation economy and the reliance on chattel 
        African slavery as a labor force. Along with enslaved Africans 
        who were owned by Creek Nation citizens, there were also Creek 
        Nation citizens of African descent and free Blacks openly 
        living as full citizens of the Creek Nation.
            (4) In the 1830s, citizens of the Creek Nation were 
        forcibly removed from their lands in the southeastern United 
        States and forced to migrate to Indian Territory (present day 
        Oklahoma) along a route known as the Trail of Tears. Among 
        those persons forced to migrate were--
                    (A) African individuals who were enslaved by 
                citizens of the Creek Nation;
                    (B) Creek Nation citizens of ``African descent'';
                    (C) free ``Africans'' living as citizens of the 
                Creek Nation; and
                    (D) ``mixed blood'' Creek Nation citizens now known 
                as the ``Black Creeks'' or ``Creek Freedmen''.
            (5) Citizens of the Creek Nation were removed primarily by 
        their traditional Tribal ``town'', and it was the town 
        ``Micos'' or chiefs who kept the Tribal rolls. This allowed 
        Creek Nation citizens who survived the journey to reestablish 
        their traditional towns in Indian Territory.
            (6) Removal was carried out by the military, and 
        approximately 24,000 Creek Nation citizens were forced to 
        travel to Indian Territory on foot or by riverboats. Due to 
        poor planning, organization, and indifference by the Federal 
        Government, thousands of Creek Nation citizens died on the way 
        to Indian Territory due to exposure, starvation, and disease.
            (7) Even after removal to Indian Territory, some Creek 
        Nation citizens continued to hold slaves until the Creek Treaty 
        of 1866 abolished slavery in the Creek Nation.
            (8) In 1861, a faction of the Creek Nation known as 
        ``Southern Creeks'' executed a treaty with the Confederate 
        States of America, severing its relations with the United 
        States Government. Members of the Southern Creeks held 
        positions in the Congress and military of the Confederate 
        States of America and waged war against the United States 
        during the Civil War. Other Creeks, known as the ``Loyal 
        Creeks'', who generally resisted cultural assimilation, 
        provided supplies, men, and support for the Union. A contingent 
        of Loyal Creeks, which included a substantial ``Black'' Creek 
        component, left their homes in Oklahoma and moved to Kansas to 
        flee Southern Creek soldiers and their Confederate allies.
            (9) The Battle of Honey Springs was a major battle that 
        occurred in Indian Territory during the Civil War, and Loyal 
        Creeks, including ``Black'' Creeks, valiantly fought against 
        the Confederacy and their allies.
            (10) In 1865, as the Civil War ended, President Andrew 
        Johnson designated a commission to travel to Fort Smith, 
        Arkansas, to convene a council for the purpose of negotiating a 
        new treaty with the Creek Nation.
            (11) The members of that commission declared that a treaty 
        with the United States ``must'' contain certain stipulations, 
        including that ``the institution of slavery, which has existed 
        among several of the Tribes, must be forthwith abolished, and 
        measures taken for the unconditional emancipation of all 
        persons held in bondage, and for their incorporation into the 
        Tribes on an equal footing with the original members, or 
        suitably provided for.''.
            (12) The Creek Nation's 5-person delegation included both 
        leaders of the Loyal Creeks and Southern Creeks. One of the 
        members of the Loyal Creek delegation was an African Creek 
        named Cow Tom.
            (13) The Creek Treaty of 1866 negotiations occurred between 
        1865 and 1866, first in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and then in 
        Washington, DC. It was in Washington, DC, where the Treaty was 
        signed and upon the signing of the 1866 Treaty the United 
        States reestablished official relations with the Creek Nation.
            (14) The Creek Treaty of 1866 became the foundational legal 
        document of the Creek Nation and established the Creek Nation 
        as it is known today.
            (15) The Creek Treaty of 1866 declared that the Black 
        Creeks, also known as ``Creek Freedmen'', were to be made 
        citizens of the Creek Nation and to have all the rights of 
        other Creek citizens.
            (16) Article II of the Creek Treaty of 1866 provides in 
        pertinent part:
                    ``[I]nasmuch as there are among the Creek many 
                persons of African descent . . . it is stipulated that 
                hereafter these persons, lawfully residing in said 
                Creek country, under their laws and usages, or who have 
                been thus residing in said country, and may return 
                within one year from the ratification of this treaty, 
                and their descendants and such others of the same race 
                as may be permitted by the laws of said Nation to 
                settle within the limits of the jurisdiction of the 
                Creek Nation as citizens [thereof], shall have and 
                enjoy all the rights and privileges of native citizens, 
                including an equal interest in the soil and national 
                funds; and the laws of said Nation shall be equally 
                binding upon and give equal protection to all such 
                persons . . .''.
            (17) Virtually identical clauses relating to the 
        citizenship of individuals of African descent within the 
        Seminole and Cherokee Nations were negotiated, agreed upon, and 
        added to the respective Seminole and Cherokee Treaties of 1866.
            (18) Shortly after executing the Treaty of 1866, the Creek 
        Nation reorganized their constitutional structure, and in 1867, 
        it created a new and expansive constitution which recognized 
        and affirmed the full citizenship rights of Black Creeks.
            (19) The 1867 Constitution did not discriminate against 
        Creeks of African descent, Free Black, or Creek Freedmen 
        citizens of the Creek Nation.
            (20) In fact, upon ratifying the 1867 Constitution, the 
        Creek Nation reconstituted its 44 traditional ``towns'' and 
        voluntarily created 3 additional towns (``Freedmen Towns'') so 
        the Freedmen would have equal representation in the Creek 
        Nation's National Council.
            (21) Also, in 1867, the Creek Nation gathered at the 
        request of Federal Indian Agent J.W. Dunn (``Dunn'') to 
        identify and list the individual members of the Creek Nation.
            (22) As a result of that gathering, Dunn compiled a roll of 
        the Creek Nation's citizens, which came to be known as the 
        ``Dunn Roll''. Listed on the Dunn Roll were all of the Creek 
        Nation's then-gathered citizens, which encompassed Creek Nation 
        citizens with African ancestry, including Native Africans, Free 
        Africans, and newly emancipated, formerly enslaved Creek 
        Freedmen.
            (23) Many Creek Nation citizens were forced to leave Creek 
        Nation territory during the Civil War because of the violence 
        or for various other reasons. The Treaty of 1866 gave Creek 
        Nation citizens until July 15, 1867, to return to Creek 
        territory in order to be included on the Dunn Roll. However, 
        Dunn completed his roll 5 months early and sent it to 
        Washington, DC, in February 1867.
            (24) As a result, the Creek Nation created a Post-Civil War 
        Citizenship Commission to review the applications of people who 
        claimed they were Creek Nation citizens who should have been 
        included on the Dunn Roll. The Creek Nation Post-Civil War 
        Citizenship Commission reviewed several thousand applications, 
        and admitted over 1,700 individuals and their descendants 
        between 1867 and 1895. Numerous Native Africans, Free Blacks, 
        and newly emancipated Freedmen were among the 1,700 individuals 
        granted full citizenship by the Creek Nation Post-War 
        Citizenship Commission.
            (25) In the decade after the Treaty of 1866 was enacted, 
        individuals of African descent (Native Africans, Free Africans, 
        and formerly enslaved African/Freedmen) worked with all other 
        Creek Nation citizens to attempt to rebuild the Creek Nation.
            (26) However, many of the Confederate-aligned Upper/
        Southern Creeks refused to respect Creek Freedmen citizenship 
        rights. In fact, on October 1, 1877, the Upper/Southern actions 
        were rebuked by then Creek Nation Principal Chief Ward Coachman 
        during his address to the Creek National Council:
                    ``. . . [A]nd inasmuch as there are Freedmen among 
                us, whose rights under the treaty of 1866, have not by 
                some been recognized, and in consequence thereof have 
                been discouraged, are not improving or advancing as 
                they might do; and the treaty relative thereto being so 
                plain that no one can mistake or misunderstand it. I 
                allude particularly to those known as the McGilvery or 
                McGilbrey Freedmen whom we know belonged to our own 
                people, were here within our country when the treaty 
                was made and have remained among us ever since. I would 
                recommend if necessary that some action be had 
                recognizing the rights of all who under the treaty are 
                entitled to citizenship and equal rights and privileges 
                with us.''.
            (27) Between 1867 and 1895, the Creek Nation created 
        numerous rolls of its citizens. None of these rolls created by 
        the Creek Nation contained or listed blood quantum, or singled 
        out Creeks of African descent, ``Free Black'' Creek Citizens, 
        or former enslaved Africans who were emancipated and accepted 
        as Creek citizens pursuant to the Treaty of 1866.
            (28) Between 1866 and 1906, Creeks of African descent were 
        an essential part of the Creek Nation community, as evidenced 
        by their service in important and high positions in the Creek 
        Nation's government and other areas of Creek life.
            (29) In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act of 1887 
        (``Dawes Act'').
            (30) The stated purpose of the Dawes Act was to prepare 
        Indian Territory for statehood. To this end, the Dawes Act 
        authorized the transfer of most of the land owned corporately 
        by the Creek Nation to individual Tribal citizens.
            (31) After the passing of the Dawes Act, Congress created 
        the Dawes Commission in 1893. Congress tasked the Dawes 
        Commission with identifying all Creek citizens eligible for 
        land allotment in what would come to be known as the ``Dawes 
        Rolls''.
            (32) Congress then passed the Curtis Act of June 28, 1898 
        (30 Stat. 495) (``Curtis Act''), directing the Dawes Commission 
        to create 2 lists of citizens of the Creek Nation who would be 
        eligible for land allotment, which became the following:
                    (A) The ``Creek Nation Creek Roll'', which was 
                purportedly composed only of Creek Nation citizens with 
                Creek blood.
                    (B) The ``Creek Nation Freedmen Roll'', which was 
                purportedly composed only of Creek Nation citizens who 
                were formerly enslaved Africans and devoid of any Creek 
                blood.
            (33) The Dawes Commission, motivated by racism, used race 
        and Creek Nation citizens' physical appearance to segregate 
        Creeks of African Descent ``Creek Freedmen''. The ``true'' 
        Creeks, in the Dawes Commission's estimation, were listed on 
        the Creek Roll (also known as the ``Blood Roll''). The Creek 
        Freedmen (individuals of African descent, regardless of whether 
        they or their ancestors were previously enslaved in the Creek 
        Nation) were listed on the Creek Nation Freedmen Roll.
            (34) The Dawes Commission employed the hypodescent rule, by 
        which any individual with ``one drop'' of ``Black blood'' was 
        to be considered Black and therefore belonged on the Creek 
        Nation Freedmen Roll.
            (35) The Dawes Commission therefore enrolled many Creeks of 
        African descent on the Creek Freedmen Roll, regardless of 
        whether they or their ancestors were ever enslaved in the Creek 
        Nation or of how much ``Creek blood'' they actually possessed.
            (36) The Dawes Commission separated families by enrolling 
        full siblings with different blood degrees and enrolling some 
        family members on the Creek Nation Blood Roll and others on the 
        Creek Freedmen Roll. The blood degree or blood quantum was 
        originally to be used only for land allotment purposes.
            (37) Therefore, once the Dawes Rolls closed on March 4, 
        1907, Creek citizens enrolled on the Freedmen Roll and their 
        descendants, in perpetuity, would always carry the ugly badge 
        of slavery, regardless of whether they or their ancestors were 
        ever enslaved, and forever legally be known as Creek Freedmen.
            (38) In 1970, Congress passed the ``Principal Chiefs Act'' 
        requiring the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Creek 
        Nations to obtain approval for their voting laws for selection 
        of each nation's Principal Chief. The Department of the 
        Interior drafted a policy stating that it was not necessary 
        that each of these groups has identical or similar regulations, 
        but that 3 conditions are deemed fundamental to the democratic 
        selection of a principal Tribal official. One of the three 
        conditions stipulated by the Department was that voter 
        qualifications of the Creeks must be broad enough to include 
        the enrolled Creek Freedmen citizens.
            (39) On or about August 18, 1975, the Creek Nation, through 
        its National Council, submitted to the Department of the 
        Interior a draft constitution (``Draft Constitution'') that, 
        among other things, contained express provisions that--
                    (A) stripped individuals on the 1906 Creek Freedmen 
                Rolls and their then-living lineal descendants of their 
                Creek citizenship; and
                    (B) prevented the unborn lineal descendants of 
                individuals who were enrolled on the 1906 Creek 
                Freedmen Rolls from becoming citizens of the Creek 
                Nation.
            (40) Before the Creek Nation submitted the Draft 
        Constitution to the Department of the Interior, the Creek 
        Nation did not seek, obtain, or allow any input from Creek 
        Freedmen or individuals representing Creek Freedmen interests.
            (41) Minutes from the Creek Nation's October 29, 1977, 
        National Council meeting reveal that one of the express goals 
        of the Draft Constitution was to strip Freedmen and Creek 
        Freedmen descendants of their Creek citizenship and rights. The 
        minutes state the following:
                    ``When you go back to the old [1867] Constitution, 
                you are licked before you start; because it doesn't 
                talk about Indians, it talks about CITIZENS of the 
                CREEK NATION. When you got down to the Allotment time, 
                there were more that was non-Indians or half-blood or 
                less, who outnumbered the full blood, all of these 
                totaled about 11,000, and there were only 18,000 on the 
                entire Roll; so, there was only 9,000 above One-half 
                blood. That's the reason, they lost control; the 
                FULLBLOOD lost control. That's what we're fighting, 
                this blood quantum, trying to get back and let the 
                people control because under the old Constitution, 
                you've lost before you ever started. There were three 
                FREEDMAN bands that would outnumber you today as 
                citizens. So, if we want to keep the INDIAN in control, 
                we've got to take a good look at this thing and get us 
                a Constitution that will keep the Creek Indian in 
                Control.''.
            (42) On October 6, 1979, the Creek Nation held an election 
        to formally adopt the 1979 Constitution and replace the 1867 
        Constitution.
            (43) Section 503 of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act (25 
        U.S.C. 5203), in effect since 1979, required the participation 
        of at least 30 percent of ``those entitled'' to vote, or the 
        results of the election are invalid.
            (44) The total number of ``entitled'' voters that Creek 
        officials identified prior to the 1979 constitutional 
        referendum did not include Creek Freedmen in an apparent effort 
        to meet OIWA election requirements. Creek Freedmen and their 
        descendants were denied the right to vote on the 1979 
        Constitution and therefore did not vote on the 1979 
        constitution.
            (45) Upon the dubious ratification of the 1979 
        Constitution, the Creek Nation illegally declared that all 
        Freedmen were not entitled to Creek citizenship and would no 
        longer be recognized as nor allowed to be citizens of the Creek 
        Nation.
            (46) Thousands of Creek Freedmen descendants have been 
        denied their Creek citizenship rights in a bold violation of 
        the Treaty of 1866.
            (47) In violation of the Treaty of 1866, the 13th Amendment 
        to the United States Constitution, the Principal Chiefs Act of 
        1970, and the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, Creek Freedmen have 
        been illegally barred from participating, as voters and 
        candidates, in every Creek election from 1979 through the 
        present.
            (48) Currently, the Creek Nation operates under a Principal 
        Chief elected in violation of the 1970 Principal Chiefs Act and 
        Treaty of 1866, and a National Council constituted without 
        Creek Freedmen representatives, in violation of the Treaty of 
        1866.
            (49) Since 1979, thousands of Creek Freedmen have 
        continuously attempted to assert and regain their full 
        citizenship rights by formally applying for Creek citizenship 
        only to be completely ignored or summarily rebuffed. Oftentimes 
        Freedmen applicants would be informed of their denial via a 
        form letter from the Creek Nation, which would include some 
        version of the following language, taken from a May 31, 2002, 
        letter from the Creek Nation to a Creek Freedman applicant:
                    ``We are returning your letter and any other 
                documents submitted for enrollment into the Muscogee 
                (Creek) Nation because in checking the Dawes Commission 
                Rolls, your ancestors were enrolled on the Creek 
                Freedmen Rolls. If you will note from the copy you 
                submitted there is no blood quantum listed because they 
                are not Creek by Blood. When slavery was abolished 
                following the Civil War, Treaties were negotiated with 
                the Five-Civilized Tribes; the Choctaw, Cherokee, 
                Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. The treaties 
                conferred citizenship in the Tribes on the negroes who 
                had been held in slavery by the Tribes. Such citizens 
                were referred as `Freedmen'.''.
            (50) A Creek Freedmen Indians or African/Black Creek 
        Indians association was organized and continues to work to 
        preserve the unique identity of members of the Muscogee Creek 
        Indian Freedmen Band Association, and to protect the history, 
        legacy, rights, and dignity of the thousands of Creek Freedmen 
        Indians.
            (51) Beginning in 2004, 2 Creek Freedmen litigated the 
        issue of Creek Freedmen citizenship within the Creek Nation 
        court in Johnson and Graham v. Muscogee (Creek) Nation of 
        Oklahoma Citizenship Board, CV 2003-54.
            (52) The Creek Freedmen contended that they and all Creek 
        Freedmen were eligible for citizenship in the Creek Nation 
        pursuant to the Treaty of 1866, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation 
        Constitution, and the Creek Nation Citizenship Code.
            (53) In its March 27, 2006, opinion, the Creek Nation 
        District Court declined to reach the substantive issues related 
        to the Treaty of 1866. Instead, the court found that the 
        Citizenship Board did not follow Creek Nation law, which 
        mandated that the Citizenship Board process the citizenship 
        applications of the Creek Freedmen.
            (54) On or about April 13, 2006, the Citizenship Board 
        refused to comply with the Creek Nation's District Court order 
        to process the Creek Freedmen's citizenship applications. On 
        November 2, 2007, the Creek Nation Supreme Court unanimously 
        reversed the district court decision and refused to rule on the 
        applicability of the citizenship provisions of the Treaty of 
        1866.
            (55) The manner in which the Creek Nation is conducting the 
        relationship between the United States and the Tribal entity is 
        not in the best interest of the United States Government or the 
        citizens of the Creek Nation, and violates existing treaties 
        and laws governing the relationship between the United States 
        Government and the Creek Nation.
            (56) The Creek Nation's current refusal to recognize the 
        citizenship rights of Creek Freedmen and to deny to Creek 
        Freedmen all rights, privileges, protections, and benefits 
        arising from citizenship in the Creek Nation equally and on the 
        same basis as all other Creek Nation citizens, including, 
        without limitation, the right to vote in Creek Nation 
        elections, the right to run for and hold Creek Nation office, 
        and the right to receive funds and benefits available to all 
        others is in violation of the treaty rights extended to the 
        Creek Freedmen in a treaty agreement between the United States 
        and the Creek Nation in the 1866 Treaty and the 13th Amendment 
        to the United States Constitution.
            (57) The Creek Treaty of 1866 guarantees the Creek Freedmen 
        the right to full and equal citizenship in the Creek Nation.
            (58) The Creek Freedmen are legally indistinguishable from 
        other citizens of the Creek Nation pursuant to the Creek Treaty 
        of 1866.
            (59) As equal citizens of the Creek Nation, the Creek 
        Freedmen descendants are entitled to all rights, privileges, 
        protections, and benefits arising from citizenship in the Creek 
        Nation equally and on the same basis as all other Creek Nation 
        citizens, including, without limitation, the right to vote in 
        Creek Nation elections, the right to run for and hold Creek 
        Nation office, and the right to receive funds and benefits 
        available to Creek Nation citizens.
            (60) No Federal statute or superseding treaty has modified 
        the Creek Freedmen descendants' citizenship rights as granted 
        in the Creek Treaty of 1866.
            (61) No amendment to the Creek Nation Constitution has 
        modified nor could modify the citizenship rights of Creek 
        Freedmen, because those rights are derived from the Creek 
        Treaty of 1866 and not the Creek Nation Constitution.
            (62) There has been no Act of Congress expressing any 
        intent to abrogate Article 2 of the Creek Treaty of 1866.
            (63) The Creek Treaty of 1866 is a bilateral agreement 
        negotiated and signed by two sovereign entities utilizing their 
        executive and legislative governmental powers. The validity of 
        the agreement has not been contested by the Creek Nation. The 
        Treaty of 1866 is the supreme law of the land regarding the 
        citizenship rights of Creek Freedmen.
            (64) The Department of the Interior is obligated to protect 
        the Creek Freedmen descendants and to refuse to recognize the 
        Creek Nation's government until such time as the Creek Nation 
        affirms and restores Creek Freedmen citizenship rights. By 
        continuing to recognize the Creek Nation and its government, 
        elected and formed under the illegal 1979 Constitution, the 
        Department of the Interior has violated and continues to 
        violate its own precedent and policy, and has breached and 
        continues to breach its responsibility to the Freedmen 
        descendants pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty of 1866.
            (65) The Creek Nation has received and continues to receive 
        Federal funding distributed by the Department of the Interior 
        for the benefit of individual Creek Nation citizens. The 
        Department of the Interior has knowledge that the Creek Nation 
        distributes funds under these Federal programs in a 
        discriminatory manner by excluding Creek Freedmen from 
        participation in and receipt of the benefits of the programs by 
        virtue of their status as Creek Freedmen.

SEC. 2. SEVERANCE OF RELATIONS WITH THE CREEK NATION.

    (a) In General.--The United States hereby severs all relations with 
the Creek Nation, including all financial obligations or otherwise, 
until such time as the Creek Nation meets all of its treaty obligations 
and other Federal statutory obligations (including all obligations 
under the Treaty of 1866, the Principal Chiefs Act, holding elections 
for Tribal leaders that are in compliance with the Act, and has 
restored the rights of all Creek Freedmen disenfranchised from the 
Creek Nation), as determined by a final certification under subsection 
(d).
    (b) Compliance With the Requirements of the Act.--The Secretary 
shall coordinate with all departments and agencies of the Federal 
Government to ensure that every effort is being made by the Federal 
Government to comply with this Act.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Federal agencies.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 
        until the final certification under subsection (d), all 
        departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall submit 
        a report to the Secretary describing--
                    (A) all Federal programs under their jurisdiction 
                that provide financial assistance and other services to 
                the Creek Nation; and
                    (B) the efforts undertaken by the department or 
                agency to comply with the requirements of this Act.
            (2) Status reports.--Until the Secretary certifies to 
        Congress that the Creek Nation is in compliance with its treaty 
        obligations, the Secretary shall submit monthly public reports 
        to Congress on the status of the Federal Government's efforts 
        to ensure that all departments and agencies of the Federal 
        Government are in compliance with the requirements of this Act.
            (3) Other freedman indians.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        issue a public report to Congress on the status of Freedmen in 
        the Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations of 
        Oklahoma. The report shall address whether each of those Indian 
        Tribes is in compliance with all treaty obligations and Federal 
        laws with respect to its Freedmen members, the level of 
        participation of its Freedmen members in Tribal leadership 
        positions, Tribal benefits received by its Freedmen members, 
        and previous or current efforts on the part of those Indian 
        Tribes to disenfranchise its Freedmen members.
    (d) Congressional Certification.--After the Secretary has certified 
to Congress that the Creek Nation is in full compliance with all its 
treaty obligations and Congress approves the Secretary's certification 
by a vote taken on a concurrent resolution certifying that the Creek 
Nation is in full compliance with its treaty obligations, the final 
certification of the Creek Nation's treaty compliance shall take 
effect.

SEC. 3. SUSPENSION OF RIGHT TO CONDUCT GAMING OPERATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Creek Nation's authority to conduct gaming 
regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and to administer any 
funds from such gaming are suspended until such time that the Creek 
Nation is in compliance with all treaty and other obligations with the 
United States by a final certification under section 2(d).
    (b) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the National Indian Gaming Commission shall submit a 
report to Congress detailing the actions that have been taken to 
enforce subsection (a).

SEC. 4. NONCOMPLIANCE.

    (a) Recertification.--If, after a certification under section 2(d), 
the Secretary certifies to Congress that the Creek Nation is not in 
full compliance with its treaty obligations or Federal statutes that 
govern its relations with the Federal Government, the provisions of 
section 2(a) through (c) shall apply until Congress recertifies full 
compliance under section 2(d).
    (b) Private Action.--Any Creek Freedmen shall have a private right 
to bring actions for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or monetary 
damages against the Creek Nation of Oklahoma, officials of the Creek 
Nation of Oklahoma, or Federal officials for noncompliance with this 
Act or for violations of the terms of the Treaty of 1866, the 13th 
Amendment to the United States Constitution, or the Indian Civil Rights 
Act of 1968. The appropriate Federal courts shall have exclusive 
jurisdiction over actions brought under this subsection.

SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

    (a) AG Finding.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue a finding on 
whether the Federal civil rights of the Creek Freedmen have been 
violated by the Creek Nation, the Department of the Interior, or both.
    (b) Private Right of Action.--Any Freedmen may bring a private 
right of action in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel the 
Attorney General to investigate Federal civil rights violations and 
provide a determination of whether a violation has occurred within 180 
days of submitting a complaint to a court describing the violation in 
writing.

SEC. 6. GAO REPORT ON EXPENDITURE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    On October 1 of each year, the Government Accountability Office 
shall issue a public report to Congress on the following:
            (1) For each of the 5 fiscal years ending immediately 
        before the report, the Creek Nation's expenditure of all 
        Federal funds.
            (2) An analysis of Federal funds allocated by the Creek 
        Nation's leadership for its member benefits and services and 
        for administrative and other purposes.
            (3) A determination of whether or not the Creek Nation is 
        in full compliance with all Federal regulations and laws 
        regarding the management and disbursement of Federal funds.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Creek nation.--The term ``Creek Nation'' means the 
        Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma.
            (2) Creek freedmen, freedmen, and black creeks.--The terms 
        ``Creek Freedmen'', ``Freedmen'', and ``Black Creeks'' means 
        individuals who can trace their ancestry to individuals listed 
        on the 1906 Dawes Commission Rolls for the Creek Freedmen.
            (3) Other freedman indians.--The term ``Other Freedmen 
        Indians'' means individuals who can trace their ancestry to the 
        1906 Dawes Commission Rolls who are members of the Choctaw, 
        Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
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