Hickory Ground, also known as Otciapofa (or Odshiapofa, Ocheopofau, and Ocheubofau)[2][3] is an historic Upper Muscogee Creek tribal town and an archaeological site in Elmore County, Alabama, United States, near Wetumpka.

[8][13] Through the efforts of the Alabama Historical Commission and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the site was acquired in early 1980 through matching funds of $165,000 from the United States Department of the Interior and tax break incentives for the previous owner.

[12] The July 2012 announcement of a $246 million expansion to create a 20-story hotel and casino at the site caused further outcry from the Muscogee Creek Nation and the threat of legal action.

"It is unfortunate that neither the issue nor our response to it was portrayed accurately, but we understand that these centuries-old wounds are deep and the hurt that resulted from tribes being forcibly removed from the Southeast still remains.

"[20] On October 12, 2012, the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, including the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations, unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts to halt the desecration of Hickory Ground.

The lawsuit alleges that the excavation of Muscogee Creek human remains and funerary objects from Hickory Ground violated the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and other federal laws.

On May 14, 2015, Poarch Creek Chief Legal Officer Lori Stinson testified before the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs and responded to misleading allegations on the issue of Hickory Ground.

Stinson commented that the decisions to develop Hickory Ground for tribal economic endeavors were prompted by other legal and political problems regarding the sovereignty of American Indian nations.