In Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Poarch Band of Creek Indians, (MD AL, March 15, 2021), the Creek Nation– an Indian tribe that was forced into Oklahoma in the 1830’s from its original location in Alabama– sued the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PBCI) as well as federal officials over a casino and hotel which PCBI built on land in Alabama that contained ceremonial grounds and burial sites that once belonged to the Creek Nation. The court held that the claims against PCBI and its officials are barred because of sovereign immunity. Because the tribe or its officials are an indispensable party to the litigation, the other defendants were also dismissed. The court added:
A narrower suit seeking more limited relief–such as the return of the bodies and funerary objects buried at Hickory Ground to the descendants of the deceased–may not trigger the same sovereign interests that preclude this litigation from proceeding, particularly if such a suit were directed at specific tribal officials responsible for PBCI’s ongoing control of those bodies and artifacts.