Update: 4 arrested for attempting ceremony at sacred site

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WETUMPKA, Ala. – Four men were arrested Friday afternoon for trespassing after trying to lead a prayer service at a controversial casino expansion project.

Along with several citizens of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, members of the Hickory Ground Tribal Town in Oklahoma, part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, traveled to the expansion site of the Wind Creek Casino to conduct a ceremony in honor of their ancestors who were once buried there.  The group had requested the construction be halted a day to allow the group to conduct the prayer ceremony without interruption, but was denied by Poarch Band officials. The four were arrested after they walked onto the casino property.

Hickory Ground Tribal Town members Mike Harjo and Michael Deo, along with a Cherokee man who only publicly identified himself as “Maggot,” were released from the Elmore County, Ala., jail by 4:30 p.m. Friday.

A fourth protestor, Hickory Ground Tribal Town member Wayland Gray, was detained due to additional allegations from Poarch Band officials that he made terrorist threats against the facility and its management. He is being held on a $30,000 bond.

Brendan Ludwick, legal counsel for the tribal town, said any charges filed against the four men would be challenged under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

The group was also turned away from the property Thursday afternoon by tribal police officers and a representative from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“It is mind-boggling that they are alleging these charges against someone who was praying for his excavated ancestors at a ceremonial ground,” Ludwick said. “They are attempting to use their influence over the local government to punish Wayland, but they are only going to bring greater awareness to the sacred lands and religious freedom issues there.

The casino construction project has come under fire from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, along with traditionalists in Alabama, for its potential desecration of a pre-removal sacred site and burial ground. A federal lawsuit to stop the $246 million expansion is pending in the Middle District of Alabama.

A representative for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians said they could not suspend the construction or allow the group onto the site due to safety issues and the ongoing litigation.

WETUMPKA, Ala. – Four Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizens were arrested Friday for trespassing after trying to lead a prayer service at a controversial casino expansion project.

Along with several citizens of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, members of the Hickory Ground Tribal Town in Oklahoma, part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, traveled to the expansion site of the PBCI's Wind Creek Casino to conduct a ceremony in honor of their ancestors who were once buried there.  The group had requested the construction be halted a day to allow the group to conduct the prayer ceremony without interruption but was denied. The four were arrested after they walked onto the casino property.

Three of the four arrested protestors were released from the Elmore County, Ala., jail by 4:30 p.m. Friday. A fourth protestor, Hickory Ground Tribal Town member Wayland Gray, was detained due to additional allegations that he made threats on the facility.

The group was also turned away from the property Thursday afternoon by tribal police officers and a representative from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“We traveled here from Oklahoma to perform a peaceful ceremony for our ancestors,” Gray said. “Their remains may be excavated, but their spirits remain.”

The casino construction project has come under fire from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, along with traditionalists in Alabama, for its potential desecration of a pre-removal sacred site and burial ground. A federal lawsuit to stop the $246 million expansion is pending in the Middle District of Alabama.

A representative for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians said they could not suspend the construction or allow the group onto the site due to safety issues and the ongoing litigation.

WETUMPKA, Ala. – Several peaceful protestors were turned away from a controversial casino expansion site Thursday.

Along with several citizens of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, members of the Hickory Ground Tribal Town in Oklahoma, part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, traveled to the expansion site of the Wind Creek Casino to conduct a ceremony in honor of their ancestors who were once buried there.  Despite their request that construction be suspended for a day, the group was turned away from the property by tribal police officers and a representative from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“We traveled here from Oklahoma to perform a peaceful ceremony for our ancestors,” Hickory Ground Tribal Town member Wayland Gray said. “Their remains may be excavated, but their spirits remain.”

The casino construction project has come under fire from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, along with traditionalists in Alabama, for its potential desecration of a pre-removal sacred site and burial ground. A federal lawsuit to stop the $246 million expansion is pending in the Middle District of Alabama.

A representative for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians said they could not suspend the construction or allow the group onto the site due to safety issues and the ongoing litigation.

PHOTO COURTESY SAVE HICKORY GROUND