1. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Historically, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation ( Creek Nation ) were comprised of a confederacy of separate towns, Tribes, and peoples. Each town was a complete governmental unit in and of itself. Among those peoples were the Yamassee or Jamassi, who were reported to have emigrated from Africa prior to the European discovery of America. (2) As colonists and eventually nonindigenous Americans began to inhabit this area, these new residents sought to civilize the Creek Indian . In the ensuing decades, the United States continuously and repeatedly attempted to impose, often by force, its customs, economy, religion, and political structure on indigenous groups such as the Creek Nation. (3) One American custom adopted by some Creek Nation citizens was the plantation economy and the reliance on chattel African slavery as a labor force. Along with enslaved Africans who were owned by Creek Nation citizens, there were also Creek Nation citizens of African descent and free Blacks openly living as full citizens of the Creek Nation. (4) In the 1830s, citizens of the Creek Nation were forcibly removed from their lands in the southeastern United States and forced to migrate to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) along a route known as the Trail of Tears. Among those persons forced to migrate were— (A) African individuals who were enslaved by citizens of the Creek Nation; (B) Creek Nation citizens of African descent ; (C) free Africans living as citizens of the Creek Nation