Gather around the fire at Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and hear storytellers share centuries-old stories about Native people and the natural world on Saturday, January 29, 4:30–5:30 p.m. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, visit the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians Facebook page.
Gather around the fire at Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and hear storytellers share centuries-old stories about Native people and the natural world on Saturday, January 29, 4:30–5:30 p.m.
This outdoor storytelling program will feature Eli Langley, member of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, and Dan Isaac, member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, along with local storytellers Marianne Raley and Brandon McCranie, emceed by Becky Anderson.
“We are excited to bring Eleventh Moon Storytelling back to the Grand Village,” said Lance Harris, director of the site. “This program has entertained families for decades with some of the biggest attendance seen the last several times. This year’s event will be special due to our excellent guest storytellers.”
The Natchez Indians followed a lunar calendar that was measured by thirteen moons, or months. The month of January was referred to as Eleventh Moon or Cold Meal Moon.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided. For more information call 601-446-6502 or email info@natchezgrandvillage.com.
The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will also offer a storytelling workshop earlier that day from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Storytellers Eli Langley and Dan Isaac will discuss and demonstrate the art of storytelling. Registration is limited to twenty people. The deadline is January 21, 2022. For more information or to register, call 601-446-6502, or email info@natchezgrandvillage.com.
Eli Langley is a storyteller who grew up in southern Louisiana surrounded by Coushatta culture and language. In 2021 he was the first Coushatta Tribe member to graduate from Harvard University, where he received credit for knowledge of his own tribal language—Koasati, the Coushatta language.
Dan Isaac is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and a veteran of the United States Air Force. He works with young people teaching the Chahta Social Dances as well as other aspects of Choctaw culture including language, spiritual practices, traditions, and values.
The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians was the main ceremonial mound center of the Natchez people from 1682 until 1730. The 128-acre National Historic Landmark features three mounds, a plaza, nature trail, museum, and store. Administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Grand Village is located at 400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard and is open free of charge to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays 1:30 to 5 p.m.
In observance of New Year’s Day, The Two Mississippi Museums, Eudora Welty House & Garden, and Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will close early at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 31, and be closed on Saturday, January 1. The Nissan Cafe by Nick Wallace Culinary at the Two Mississippi Museums will be closed through Sunday, January 2.
The archives library will be closed Friday, December 31–Saturday, January 1.
Visit www.mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi for more information about each site.
Join us for an open house and sale on Saturday, December 4. Choctaw craftsperson Eleanor Chickaway will demonstrate basketry techniques, her daughter Shaya Hicks will demonstrate beadwork techniques, and her grandson Jake Steve will demonstrate how to make stickball sets. All demonstrations will be from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. A free children's grab-and-go area will focus on Native American style arts and crafts. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public. Pottery and baskets will be 15% off and all other merchandise will be 10% off.
On Saturday, July 24, at 10 a.m., the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will present its first in-person program since the COVID-19 pandemic with a lecture and outdoor foraging demonstration led by special guest Tammy Greer of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). In recognition of the Natchez Indians’ July harvest moon celebrating the cultivation of peaches and wild grapes, visitors will learn about the indigenous plants such as blackberries, muscadines, and walnuts that made up the diets and cultures of Native Americans before the modernization of common farm crops.
On Saturday, July 24, at 10 a.m., the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will present its first in-person program since the COVID-19 pandemic with a lecture and outdoor foraging demonstration led by special guest Tammy Greer of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). In recognition of the Natchez Indians’ July harvest moon celebrating the cultivation of peaches and wild grapes, visitors will learn about the indigenous plants such as blackberries, muscadines, and walnuts that made up the diets and cultures of Native Americans before the modernization of common farm crops. Greer will also lead a guided walk on the Grand Village nature trail in search of these historic edible plants.
“We need to recognize our native plants for what they were to our ancestors, and we need to recognize them for what they are today,” said Tammy Greer. “Many of these plants still provide strong building materials (hickory, osage orange), healthy foods (muscadines, blackberries, blueberries, persimmons), beautiful basket materials (cane, palmetto, long leaf pine, coral honeysuckle), awesome drinks (yaupon holly, elder flower, sumac lemonade), amazing dyes (poke berries, black walnut, goldenrod, dock root), and medicines (yarrow, elderberry, purple coneflower). These plants will stay with us forever if we harvest sustainably and tend them as they, for thousands of years, have tended us.”
The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians is considered part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC), a historic term for the region extending from across the present-day Mississippi River valley area where Native Americans cultivated thousands of native species of herbs, seeds, grasses, berries, flowers, vegetables, and other crops for food, clothing, medicines and various other uses. The EAC began to decline among Native Americans in the region after the mass production of conventional crops such as corn began to rise. Most plants that thrived in the EAC are rarely cultivated and others are considered as ordinary garden weeds. Sunflowers and squashes are modern-day examples of EAC plants that were heavily cultivated by Native Americans and are still widely grown today.
Tammy Greer serves as the director of the Center for American Indian Research and Studies and an associate professor of psychology at USM. She has collaborated on numerous endeavors with tribal nations and members, including the 2005 creation of the Medicine Wheel heritage garden at USM. Greer has presented several talks and workshops on Southeastern American Indians and is currently working with the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence and the USM Telenutrition Center to address health disparities among Southeastern American Indians.
The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians was the main ceremonial mound center of the Natchez people from 1682 until 1730. The 128-acre National Historic Landmark features three mounds, a plaza, nature trail, museum, and store. Administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Grand Village is located at 400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard and is open free of charge to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays 1:30 to 5 p.m. Call 601-446-6502 or email info@natchezgrandvillage.com for more information.
On Tuesday, July 7, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) reopened the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez.
COVID safety precautions at each site include requiring all visitors to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines. Masks are available on-site. All public spaces have been sanitized, and thorough cleaning will continue every day. Staff are on-site to ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained.
A list of sites and their hours is below.
Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
222 North Street, Jackson
Hours are Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to purchase their tickets online at tickets.mdah.ms.gov. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum number of people per group is twenty. Groups must follow social distancing guidelines and remain six feet apart from all guests, including each other.
Hours are Tuesday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., with tours at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m. Tours will be by reservation only. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum capacity is two guests per tour. To make a reservation, call 601-353-7762 or email tours@eudoraweltyhouse.com.
Hours are Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Appointments are recommended for research in the Archival and Media Reading Rooms. Available weekday appointment times are 9–11 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., and 2–4 p.m. Call 601-576-6837 during working hours to schedule a time. Patrons without an appointment will be accommodated as space allows.
The library will reopen on Saturdays beginning August 1, 2020. Saturday hours will be 8:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Appointment times for Saturdays are 8:15–10:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Grand Village of the Natchez Indians
Hours are Monday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 1:30–5 p.m. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum capacity for the Visitor Center is fifteen visitors at one time. Admission is free.
Have you stood on the grounds of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and wondered what the site might have looked like hundreds of years ago? A new application developed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) and TimeLooper lets viewers virtually experience the Grand Village as it appeared in 1730.
“There are many exciting developments ongoing at the Grand Village,” said Lance Harris, director of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. “From recent archival and archaeological research, we will be able to expand the interpretation of the site in ways never imagined before. I am excited that we will be able to share the history and culture of the Natchez people in this state-of-the-art experience.”
Structures in the virtual reality experience were created using archaeological findings and descriptions written by French colonists who observed the Natchez ceremonial mound site when it was occupied. The free TimeLooper app, available on Apple or Google allows viewers to see a representation of the home of the Great Sun, the hereditary chief of the Natchez, which the French described as the largest house in the Grand Village.
The application shows the Temple Mound, the sacred place where the Natchez leaders conducted important ceremonies and people brought offerings of food to honor their ancestors. Viewers can also see the large wooden birds that topped the roof of the temple, which French colonists described in their accounts.
Information about the 1729–¬1730 Natchez war with the French, the Old Temple Mound, other Natchez structures, and the ceremonies that took place on the central plaza are also featured in the application.
This experience is available to users at no cost. The TimeLooper app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
“This application presents us with a fresh way to share the important story of the Natchez Indians with more people around the world,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “I am thankful for the good work of our staff and TimeLooper for creating this free and accessible product.”
The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, administered by MDAH, contains three prehistoric Native American mounds and a museum. The Natchez Indians inhabited the site as early as AD 1200. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and opened as a museum in 1976. Learn more about the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians here.
“We were thrilled to collaborate with MDAH to transport people back to 1730 and enable users to visualize the scale and beauty of Village community,” said Andrew Feinberg, a Principal and Founder of TimeLooper. “It has been wonderful to see MDAH take the lead in enhancing the immersion and accessibility of the Grand Village site, particularly in these challenging times when visiting historic sites is problematic.”
About TimeLooper
TimeLooper is an experiential design firm serving public lands, historic sites, museums, and educational institutions. TimeLooper’s goal is to bring history and science to life through the development and deployment of immersive and interactive experiences that not only teach, but inspire. TimeLooper is dedicated to enhancing the accessibility and experiential quality of all institutions in the name of cultural understanding and education. www.timelooper.com
Press Contacts:
TimeLooper
Andrew Feinberg
andrew@timelooper.com
(212) 873-2677
On Tuesday, July 7, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will reopen the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez.
“We are excited to reopen our museums and welcome the public at this historic moment. As our nation deals with COVID-19, economic hardship, and the legacy of racial injustice, MDAH has an ever more important role to play,” said Reuben Anderson, president of the MDAH Board of Trustees. “Our archives and museums document and teach about epidemics, recessions, and other crises in our past that we have overcome together. They also teach about the history of racial injustice in America from the days of slavery through the Civil Rights Movement.”
Anderson continued, “By helping build a shared understanding of our history, we are strengthening our resolve, uniting our people, and paving the way for a brighter future together.”
In a continuing effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, each site will limit the number of visitors inside. Visitors will be required to wear masks, and masks will be available on site. All the public spaces have been sanitized, and thorough cleaning will continue every day. Staff will be on site to ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained. Visitors are encouraged to purchase their tickets online to the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
“We are especially eager to welcome visitors to our brand new exhibit at the Two Mississippi Museums—Mississippi Distilled—which explores our state’s tumultuous relationship with alcohol,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “As soon as it is safe to gather in larger numbers, we will celebrate this exhibit with a series of public events.”
The popular Wednesday noon lecture series History Is Lunch continues online—viewers will find the programs on the MDAH Facebook page.
For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.
Based on information provided by the Mississippi Department of Health about the coronavirus pandemic, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History will close all sites beginning Friday, March 13. The Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Eudora Welty House and Garden, Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, Old Capitol Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building, and Charlotte Capers Building in Jackson, Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez, and Winterville Mounds near Greenville will all close until further notice.
All public events at MDAH sites through the end of May have been postponed, including the weekly History Is Lunch program and the Mississippi Freedom Seder event on April 2, at the Two Mississippi Museums. The New Stage Theater event at the Old Capitol Museum on March 31, and the Powwow at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians on March 28, have also been postponed.
For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov or call 601-576-6822.