Muscogee Nation Fights to Keep Wind Creek Casino ‘Grave Desecration’ Case Alive

Posted on: May 5, 2026, 05:44h. 

Last updated on: May 5, 2026, 05:45h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Muscogee Nation fights dismissal of lawsuit over sacred burial site
  • Tribe alleges ancestors’ remains disturbed during Alabama casino construction
  • Court battle centers on sovereignty, immunity, and protection of sacred land

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN) is pushing back against new efforts to dismiss its long-running lawsuit accusing a related tribe in Alabama of desecrating a sacred burial ground during the construction of a casino.

Muscogee Creek Nation, Hickory Ground, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Auburn University, tribal sovereignty, burial site dispute
The Wind Creek Casino, near Wetumpka, Ala., was built on a burial ground sacred to the Muscogee Nation, which alleges human remains and other artefacts were improperly removed during the construction of the venue. (Image: Wind Creek Casino)

The tribe has long alleged that in 2001 the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, along with archaeologists from Auburn University, improperly removed 57 sets of ancestral remains while building what became the Wind Creek Casino.

The site, known as Hickory Ground, near Wetumpka, Ala., served as the MCN’s final capital before the tribe was forcibly removed to Oklahoma in the 1830s under federal policy. The Poarch Creeks acquired the land in 1980 and later received federal recognition and sovereignty over it.

Move to Dismiss

In April, the Poarch Creeks and the university moved to dismiss, arguing the case is procedurally flawed and legally insufficient.

The Poarch Creeks say the complaint is vague and fails to state a valid claim or properly belong in federal court, while Auburn argues it is immune from suit as a state institution and that the claims against it fail as a matter of law.

In a statement accompanying the latest filing, an attorney for the MCN said: “Today’s filing responds to efforts to dismiss this case before it ever reaches the facts. At this stage, the court is not being asked to decide who is right. It is being asked whether this case should be heard at all.”

Mekko George Thompson of Hickory Ground Tribal Town added: “Hickory Ground fights so these events are prevented in the future. This case is about whether what was done there will ever be fully examined. Our ancestors deserve that. We deserve that.”

Fourteen-Year Case

The MCN filed suit in 2012 after the Poarch Creeks sought to expand their casino operations. The development proceeded, and Wind Creek opened in 2014.

In 2021, a lower court dismissed the case, finding the Poarch Creeks were shielded by sovereign immunity. But in October 2024, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that ruling.

The appelate panel directed the trial court to reconsider the complaint and stating that “tribal sovereignty is not a license to destroy the sacred places and graves of other sovereign Tribal nations.”

The MCN also argues the Poarch Creeks violated a legal commitment to protect and preserve the land when it acquired the site with the help of a historic preservation grant

The tribe further claims that the remains removed during construction, and artefacts buried with them. have been stored without proper care in containers at Auburn University.