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WASHINGTON D.C. -  Today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13), wrote a letter to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Assistant Secretary, Scott Davis, and Department of the Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, urging the department reconsider a decision to deny federal recognition for Georgia’s Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe. The letter further calls on the BIA to reexamine its rigid criteria for federal recognition which often overlooks the historical disruptions and forced assimilation that fractured many tribal communities.

“Georgia’s Native American communities have been a vital part of our state’s history for well over 1,000 years,” said Congressman David Scott. “Despite their undeniable legacy and obtaining state recognition from the General Assembly, the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe continue to face systemic barriers to gaining federal recognition. These barriers are rooted in centuries of marginalization and a refusal by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to recognize how some tribes were forced to hide their ancestry in order to remain in their homelands. It’s time for the BIA to correct this historical injustice while ensuring future petitions are reviewed with greater transparency, respect, and cultural understanding.”

“I commend Congressman David Scott for championing the voices of Georgia’s Native communities and calling for a fair review of federal acknowledgment for the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe—two tribes already recognized by the state of Georgia,” said Chairman Nealie McCormick. “His support brings vital attention to these communities, which have preserved their heritage, culture, and identity despite generations of hardship. Acknowledgment at the federal level is a meaningful step toward justice, fairness, and greater opportunity for these tribes.”

“I'm thrilled at the prospect of having our State-Recognized Tribes be reconsidered for Federal Recognition,” said Council Chair Bennett. “It is my opinion that the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and the Lower Muscogee Creek have endured almost two centuries of abuse at the hand of the Federal Government over the events that took place in Georgia in the 1830s.  Georgia passed laws that made it impossible to remain in the State if you admitted heritage.  We have kept our Tribes together, we have maintained our identity, and we have suffered greatly in many ways because of it. There is a massive amount of history in the State of Georgia, which we have, in many instances, held onto by a thread due to a lack of monetary means. It is our hope that we will be able to maintain our Heritage and our Traditions by means of Federal Recognition.”

The federal recognition process for Native American tribes is critical for signaling that the U.S. government acknowledges a tribe as a sovereign entity with the right to self-govern. Federal recognition establishes a government-to-government relationship, similar to how the U.S. interacts with foreign nations. It allows tribes to access funding for Indian Health services, housing, education, jobs and economic development, and vital cultural preservation.

The BIA’s decision to deny federal recognition to the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe have imposed real-world consequences for these tribes. Decades of denials have relied on a strict administrative criterion that failed to consider the disruptions of traditional governance and loss of records caused by generations of forced assimilation and exclusion.

Read Letter HERE.

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