Choctaws regain Mother Mound
Published 3:33 pm Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The state of Mississippi has returned what’s known as the “Mother Mound” to the Band of Choctaw Indians.
The mound is located on a one-acre tract of land where the Kemper, Neshoba and Winston county lines meet. To the Choctaws, the Nanih Waiya Mound is known as the birthplace of the five civilized tribes as they are known — the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole.
Tribal leaders say the Choctaws lost the land through treaties. The state turned it into a state park.
Lawmakers in 2007 agreed to return the land to the tribe. The ceremony was held this past week.
Miko Beasley Denson, chief of the tribe, says the Choctaws have other sites it hopes to get back for the tribe.