Tribal Court
According to the Constitution of the Southeastern Mvskoke Nation, Art. II § 2, "Tribal Law applies to Tribal citizens and those non-citizens who have consented to its application, to Tribal Land and its appurtenances, and to the extent authorized by intergovernmental agreements and memoranda of understanding. As enumerated in the choice of forum clause agreed to by Tribal members upon the annual renewal of Tribal citizenship, the Tribal Court is the proper forum for the resolution of all disputes between Tribal members, whether arising from this document or otherwise. Further, Tribal Court will retain jurisdiction over all disputes arising from agreements in which the parties mutually agreed to resolution of their disputes in Tribal Court, or actions and events arising from the same. And finally, the Tribal Court is the proper forum for the resolution of all disputes arising from the interpretation of this or other laws of the Nation. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to limit the ability of the Nation to exercise its inherent sovereignty or right to self-determination."
The Southeastern Mvskoke Nation's Tribal Court is organized pursuant to the Constitution of the Southeastern Mvskoke Nation, Art. V §§ 1-5, which instructs the Tribal Council to appoint a Trial Judge and Appellate Judge to decide all cases and controversies within the jurisdiction of the Nation. The Nation seeks to guide its legal philosophy with a traditional Indigenous ethic of relationality and reciprocity. When settling legal disputes, the Court seeks to mend broken bonds and renew ties of kinship and well-being as a part of the community.
The governing document of the Tribal Court is the Tribal Court Ordinance, promulgated by the Tribal Council in accordance with the Constitution of the Southeastern Mvskoke Nation, Art. V § 5, which instructs that the Tribal Council "shall establish procedures governing actions in the Court." The Ordinance is accessible upon request from the Tribal Secretary.
Officers of the Tribal Court
Trial Judge, Elbert McCarley, Sr.
Trial Judge, Elbert McCarley, Sr.
Trial Judge, Elbert McCarley, Sr.
Elbert “Iron Man” McCarley, Sr., hails from Lanett in east central Alabama. He married his pride and joy, Lily Marie, and shared 59 years together until her death in 2022. They raised five sons together and had 13 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.
He forsook the local cotton mills after four years in pursuit of a career as a machinist. He served as an apprentice at Ingalls Ship Yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi for four years and earned Journeyman Machinist status.
He retired from Uniroyal-Goodrich in Opelika after 30 years of service, during which time he acquired a second Journeyman certificate and completed several additional trade-related courses at Southern Union Technical College, which included, Industrial Hydraulics & Pneumatics, Electrical and Programmable Logic Controls.
Elbert has had a lifelong sense of pride and love for his Indian heritage nurtured by his mother, grandmother, uncles and aunts, all of whom were proud and vocal about their heritage. He joined Southeastern Mvskoke Nation (formerly Star Clan) in February 1995 and has actively supported the tribe since that time.
He served as a member of the Tribal Council from 1998-2010 and again as Vice Chief from 2015-2016. He has served as a member of the Genealogy Committee chairman, editor of the Tribal newsletter and also chairman of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. He also became proficient in flint knapping and learned to both make and play Native American flutes. He has studied the Creek language for some 35-odd years, during which time he participated in an online language course provided by the Creek Nation in Oklahoma. He gained considerable additional knowledge and expertise from the tutorage of the late C. Randall Daniels-Sakim, of Florida, and the late Johnny Hawk of the Creek Nation in Oklahoma
Appellate Judge, Dr. Robert Pullen
Trial Judge, Elbert McCarley, Sr.
Trial Judge, Elbert McCarley, Sr.
Robert is retired from careers as a Sociology Professor, Academic Dean, Licensed Professional Counselor and Southern Baptist Minister. Robert and his devoted wife Harriet have been married for 51 years and have two sons.
He plays full time now and has left the clocks and calendars behind. He and Harriet love spending time at the family farm in Georgia. He tends a large garden where he grows much of the food that his family eats. He makes stone beads, ceremonial objects, and a variety of woodworking projects.
About 25 years ago he found that his maternal grandmother was a Mvskoke person and began a journey into the Mvskoke Way. He found teachers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma who taught him about Mvskoke culture, ceremony, and medicine.
He leads ceremonies and teaches at several Mvskoke Tribal Grounds in Alabama and north Florida. He finds his spiritual center in the fields and forests of the southeast where he cultivates deep relationships with the plants who live there with him. He is a wealth of knowledge and enjoys spending time with the youth of Southeastern Mvskoke Nation telling stories and teaching the Mvskoke way.