ORIGIN STORY
Native American heritage present at sites throughout Arkansas
From Caddo Gap to the Ouachita River, the Arkansas map is covered in place names that pay homage to the state’s Native American history. According to the Arkansas secretary of state’s website, www. sos.arkansas.gov/education/arkansas-history/howdid-arkansas-get-its-name, “Arkansas” stems from the Algonquian name for the Quapaw people who lived in the area when French explorers arrived during the 17th century. Erin Fehr, archivist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Sequoyah National Research Center, said Native American history is inseparable from United States history. “It’s just a part of American history,” she said, “and because Arkansas has such a history of tribal presence in the state, it’s important to know where we came from to know where we’re going in the future.” Here are a few places where visitors can learn about the Native American cultures that left their mark on the state of Arkansas.
MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
From mastodon hunts to European colonization, the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville guides visitors through 14,000 years of history. Founded by David Bogle in 2006, the museum houses more than 10,000 artifacts, including Bogle’s personal collection and items donated or loaned to the museum. In addition, the establishment offers a research library and programming for all ages. Admission is free, and complimentary selfguided tours are available. To learn more, visit monah.us.
TOLTEC MOUNDS
While the Museum of Native American History cuts a vast swath across time, Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park in Scott focuses on the Plum Bayou culture that lived in the area from about 650 to 1050 and built the site’s signature mounds. In addition to the exhibits at the visitor center, the park offers two self-guided walking trails around the mounds. The park also offers a wide variety of programs, including its Summer Solstice Celebration, set for 6-8:30 p.m. June 22. For more information, visit the Toltec Mounds Web page at arkansasstateparks.com.
PARKIN ARCHEOLOGICAL STATE PARK
Like Toltec Mounds, Parkin Archeological State Park preserves the history of a specific site, the Village of Casqui, located on the St. Francis River. A Mississippian culture lived at the village from 1000 to 1550, and researchers believe Hernando de Soto visited the village with his 1541 expedition. The visitor center displays some artifacts found at the site, and the park offers a paved interpretive trail that passes historic features such as the village’s original mound and moat. More information is available at the Parkin Archeological State Park Web page at arkansasstateparks.com.
PAINFUL PATHWAYS
Despite their historic presence, there are no federally recognized tribes in Arkansas today, Fehr said, adding that the U.S. government forced Southeastern tribes into present-day Oklahoma following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. “All five of the so-called civilized tribes — the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek)
and Seminole — that came from the Southeast; every single person from those tribes traveled through the state of Arkansas on their way to Indian Territory,” she said. She added that many people erroneously refer to all the routes the tribes used as the Trail of Tears, but the term is specific to the route used by the Cherokee Nation. While the other tribes used many of the same roads and waterways, they also used additional paths. The footsteps of those reluctant Arkansas travelers echo into the present at places such as Village Creek State Park in Wynne, where visitors can walk part of the Trail of Tears, and the Trail of Tears Overlook in Fort Smith. A map of historic sites along the Trail of Tears National Heritage Trail is available at nps.gov/trte. In addition, Fehr said, the Sequoyah National Research Center is working to create a touch-screen table and companion website where visitors can view the many routes that all five tribes took through Arkansas during the removal, along with relevant photos and documents.
SEQUOYAH NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER
A part of UA-Little Rock, the Sequoyah National Research Center houses the world’s largest collection of Native American newspapers and periodicals, Fehr said, as well as some family papers; a multimedia library of expressive work by Native Americans; and manuscripts donated by authors, tribal lawyers and journalists. “We are unique in that most of the materials we have are from the 20th and 21st centuries,” she said. “One of the main reasons we are here is to show that native people still exist and are still a part of the larger society as a whole, even though they do have specific issues that are unique to them.” English professors Daniel Littlefield Jr. and James Parins established the center in 1983 after realizing the dearth of contemporary Native American records being preserved in contrast with the wealth of material available from the 18th and 19th centuries. At the time, groups such as the American Indian Movement were bringing the struggle for Native American civil rights into the public eye. “They decided that there was this need for an archive for contemporary representation of native peoples,” Fehr said. “One of the things they felt was if we look 50 years into the future, what is going to be left from today?” Scholars from across the country and around the world conduct research at the center, she said. The center also hosts occasional exhibits and events. More information is available at ualr.edu/sequoyah.