Sponsors (12)
The bill secures trust land, strengthens tribal roles and protections and establishes Ocmulgee Mounds as a National Park — improving conservation, services, and tribal partnership — while concentrating some decision-making authority in the Secretary, creating administrative and jurisdictional complexities, and limiting certain local economic options (notably gaming and local tax base).
Muscogee (Creek) Nation: 133.88 acres placed into trust, expanding tribal land and jurisdictional control and making the acreage eligible for federal services and tribal programs (housing, health, infrastructure).
Indigenous tribal communities: formal consultation, partnership, and co-management opportunities to protect traditional cultural and religious sites at Ocmulgee, giving tribes a clearer role in park determinations and stewardship.
Public/local communities: creation of an official Ocmulgee Mounds National Park unit that protects cultural resources and expands recreation and tourism opportunities for nearby rural and local communities.
Indigenous tribes and tribal communities: limiting the definition of 'Indian tribe' to those the Secretary determines are culturally affiliated could exclude historically connected tribes who disagree with the Secretary's finding, reducing their formal rights to consultation or benefits.
Indigenous tribes, the State, and the Department: giving the Secretary decisive authority to determine tribal affiliation centralizes power and may prompt disputes or litigation over who qualifies for rights or agreements.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation and tribal-lands-residents: the statute's prohibition on class II and III gaming on the trust acreage blocks potential casino-related revenue opportunities the Nation might otherwise develop.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Renames the park as Ocmulgee Mounds National Park, affirms tribal consultation and protections, authorizes cooperative agreements, and places ~133.88 acres of Muscogee (Creek) Nation land into trust while banning Class II/III gaming there.
Official title: To redesignate the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as the "Ocmulgee Mounds National Park", and for other purposes.
Introduced June 24, 2026 by Austin Scott · Last progress June 24, 2026
Redesignates the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as "Ocmulgee Mounds National Park," updates map custody and technical corrections, and makes it an official unit of the National Park System administered under applicable law. It requires tribal consultation, preserves State fish and wildlife authority, authorizes cooperative agreements with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and other affiliated tribes, and directs the Secretary of the Interior to take about 133.88 acres of Muscogee (Creek) Nation fee land into trust while explicitly prohibiting Class II and III gaming on that land. The bill also defines key terms, allows fishing consistent with State and Federal law subject to limited Secretary restrictions for safety or resource protection, and directs efforts to increase tribal employment at the park and protect tribal access to traditional cultural and religious sites along the Ocmulgee River Corridor.