In 1979, the Creek Nation changed its membership rules, requiring all members to prove descent to persons listed as "Indian by Blood" on the Dawes Rolls.
The treaty required the tribes to emancipate their slaves and to offer them citizenship in the Creek and other nations, eligible for voting rights and shares of annuities and land settlements.
The Dawes Act was part of a continuing effort to assimilate American Indians and directed the break-up of communal tribal lands and the allotment of 160-acre plots to individual households.
Beginning in 1898, the US officials created the Dawes Rolls to document the tribal members for such allotments; registrars quickly classified persons as "Indians by Blood," "Freedmen," or "Intermarried Whites."
Since the late 20th century, such designation as Freedmen has worked against many of their descendants as the Creek and other nations have tightened their rules for membership.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1979 reorganized the government and constitution based on the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936.
They expelled Creek Freedmen descendants who could not prove descent from such persons, despite the 1866 treaty, asserting their sovereign right to determine citizenship.