Native Lands: Indians and Georgia

Native Lands: Indians and Georgia celebrates the state’s original inhabitants beginning with the Mississippian peoples and continuing with their descendants, the Creeks and the Cherokees. Long
before the first European settlers came to what is now called Georgia, the Mississippian Indians developed complex societies on these lands – complete with art, music, ceremony, agriculture, architecture, and trade industries. The Creeks and Cherokees left landmarks and cultural legacies prior to their 1830s removal from the state on the Trail of Tears.

Unlike most accounts, which stop with the Trail of Tears, Native Lands is a traveling exhibition that explores Indians’ recent history and their continuing connections to Georgia through the voices of contemporary Creeks and Cherokees. Highlights of the exhibit include a 1700s Creek town busk replica and an1800s Cherokee family hearth scene showing the blending of native and European cultures.