A celebration of heritage

There is a magical, spiritual power that resonates through the ancient mounds at the Moundville Archeological Park, Betsy Gilbert said. It's a power so strong she cautions people to leave the problems of everyday life behind them once they cross the double railroad tracks leading into the park.

"Once people come across those tracks they are on sacred ground," she said. "Whatever issues they've had with people before crossing those tracks should be gone for the remainder of their stay in the park."

Every morning Gilbert wakes up to the mounds, as they are her front yard. Yet Gilbert isn't the only one who sees the mounds as sacred.

For the descendents of the Southeastern American Indians, they too find a deep-seated love, honor and respect for the heritage that stands before them.

"Many people feel spiritual ties to Moundville, and everyone loves to get together, visit and see old friends and sometimes family they haven't seen in a while," she said.

For the past few months, Gilbert and the rest of the park staff has been putting the finishing touches on the 19th annual Moundville Native American Festival. The festival highlights the five Southeastern American Indian tribes found in Alabama - Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek and Chickasaw - and also features many smaller tribes from the Southeast.

The annual four-day festival runs Oct. 3 through Oct. 6, and serves a true homecoming for Southeastern American Indians all over.

"We embrace southeastern Indian culture from food, music and the arts," Gilbert said in an official press release. "We break the festival down into distinct components to maximize the impact and different aspects of this culture."

Intricately displayed throughout the 20 ancient mounds will be various activities and events for people of all ages, Gilbert said.

"Our vision is to spark a true understanding of what southeast Indian culture really means," Gilbert said.

As festival director and education outreach coordinator for the Moundville Archaeological Park, Gilbert said she uses the not only Moundville's history but the history of the American Indians and tribes of that time to develop a festival that will allow others to celebrate the lives of the mound builders.

"About 50,000 people identify themselves as Southeastern Indians. It's important that those people gain a better understanding of their heritage," Gilbert said.

The blending of both traditional and contemporary art, music and food help make the festival more accessible to those that attend Gilbert said.

"We do not want people to get the idea that this is your traditional Indian heritage festival with strictly traditional music and dance," Gilbert said. "Bringing in contemporary ideas balance all the ideas represented as the festival."

A family event

This year the festival will feature old and new events geared toward the family.

Blues musician Martha Redbone will headline the festival. Redbone's Southeastern American Indian heritage dates back from her mother's family, mixing in parts of Shawnee and Cherokee.

According to the UA official press release, Redbone's grandfather once lived in the town of Moundville, but she has never been to Moundville or seen the mounds left by her ancestors.

The press release also said this year's festival will feature the 2005 Native American Music Award's "Flutist of the Year" Billy Whitefox. Whitefox is a Southeastern Muscogee Creek and a national champion flute maker. Whitefox makes old style river cane flutes and is a storyteller and an accomplished silversmith.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., a game of stickball will be played by two college groups, the University of North Georgia Flying Rats and the Appalachian State Ivory Bills, and the men's world champions, the Conehatta Choctaws.

The game of stickball resembles the modern European game of lacrosse. Two handmade hickory ball sticks are used to toss a small woven golf-ball sized ball against one of two 25-foot poles that serve as goals.

"The game was used to settle disputes and gain territory," Gilbert said. "Though the game we have is just a demonstration, we do keep medics nearby just in case."

Also known as the "little brother of war," stickball was commonly played by men, but women too were allowed to play, using their bare hands to score points instead of the sticks.

"The society was a matriarchy-society, meaning the women were the head of the family, not the men," Gilbert said. "When both women and men played stickball together, the men were not allowed to touch the women. This showed not only respect and honor but reestablished who the heads of the house holds were in the village."

UA students get involved

Activities designed to teach children about the history of the park will also be available at the festival.

The UA department of anthropology will host the Archeology in Action station where kids will learn about archeological digs and the preservation of artifacts.

"Kids will be able to sift through a screen and uncover artifacts," Gilbert said. "This will help show them some of the things archeologists do when they go on a dig."

Cameron Lacquement, a UA doctoral student in archeology, will volunteer in the festival's Archeology in Action.

Though the Archeology in Action station is geared toward children, anyone is welcome to come and learn about the process of uncovering artifacts.

Lacquement has volunteered with the festival for six years and said each year is full of different activities. He said he enjoys working in the Archeology in Action station, because it allows him to inform others about process of archeology.

"People are aware of the process but they may not understand it," he said. "It's very important that people get into history of the process that way they'll see the steps we take to preserve areas like Moundville."

Gilbert said she uses the festival as a way to ignite understanding in visitors that they too share a lot of the same culture heritage as the Southeastern American Indians.

"We also try to instill what I call a preservation ethic. That is, when you dig up an archaeological site, the information, and the physical site as well, is destroyed," Gilbert said. "It can never be put back the way it was.

Moundville is located 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa off I-20/59 at Exit 71A. School groups are welcome, and group rates are available. For more information, phone 371-2234, 371-2572 or visit the Web site at http://moundville.ua.edu.