Appeals court hears arguments in fight between 2 tribes over Alabama casino built on ‘sacred’ land

ATLANTA (AP) — An appeals court on Wednesday heard arguments in a long-running dispute between two federally recognized tribes over one’s construction of a casino on Alabama land that the other says is a sacred site. The dispute involves land, known as Hickory Ground. The land was home to the Muscogee Nation before removal to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. The site is now owned by Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a separate tribal nation that shares ancestry. The Muscogee Nation argued that the Alabama tribal officials broke a legal promise to protect the site and excavated the remains of 57 Muscogee ancestors to build a casino. The Poarch Band, which maintains their work preserved much of Hickory Ground, depicted the case as an attack on their sovereignty.