OKMULGEE, Okla. — Now that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court has solidified its ruling in favor of granting citizenship to descendants of Muscogee Freedmen, an outreach effort to help eligible people apply for it ramps up.
One application education event came on Aug. 21 inside Okmulgee's St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church.
- Previous coverage >>> MCN Supreme Court denies rehearing, upholds Freedmen citizenship
"There's a lot of folks who have lots of questions. They're excited about it," President of Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band Rhonda Grayson told 2 News. "We're just ready to take our rightful place into the tribe."
Meetings like this one and another planned Aug. 23 in Oklahoma City are designed to reawaken heritage - in the legal sense.
"It's not like, you know, we are 'outsiders'," Reanna King said. "This is something that's ours by birth."
King attended the meeting with her sister, Sherri Lang.
WATCH: MCN Freedmen groups help others apply for citizenship after Supreme Court ruling
"We knew (getting to apply for citizenship) would be history. I knew that. I knew it would be big before (the court case) got big," Lang said.
Kiara Jones organizes genealogy events for Freedmen descendants in Okmulgee County, and told 2 News the rulings have brought relief after years of frustration.
"If you did intermarry and have children, they were automatically labeled as Freedmen, and (Muscogee Nation) would not acknowledge that blood quantum," Jones said. "I am someone who is on our proof of death and heirship form, we have those blood quantums present. And so, even though you always hear, 'Why are we letting these people in who are not our blood?' Some of the Freedmen are Muscogee by blood as well. Learning the history will help us unify and accept one another."
Grayson, who is also one of two plaintiffs in the historic legal battle, added that anyone curious if they're eligible for citizenship can also reach out to the non-profit.
"We're not looking for a handout," Grayson said. "We just want to reclaim our birthright back into the nation of our ancestors' birth (and) back into the nation of our birth."
Those who have recently applied for citizenship told 2 News they haven't yet gotten a clear answer from the nation on an expected wait time for receiving their MCN documents.
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