Students explore Native mounds
In observance of Native American Heritage Month, approximately 70 Lakeside Middle School eighth graders and their teachers from Lake Village experienced Native American architecture Nov. 17 at Winterville Mounds at Greenville, Miss.
While at the site, students explored the mounds and were presented with an overview of the historical significance Native Americans contributed to the built environment, according to a news release.
Winterville Mounds is one of the largest remaining Native American sites north of Mexico on a 42-acre park that is home to man-made earthworks from the 13th century, according to the release.
After visiting the mounds, the students joined the public in a community-wide presentation at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center, also at Greenville.
The presentation was made by Russell Rudzinski, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Fay Jones School of Architecture.
A registered architect, Rudzinski has been the director of the School of Architecture’s Mexico Summer Urban Studio since 2000. He co-administers a collaborative architecture practice at Fayetteville, Architects226 Inc.
Rudzinski earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University, after which he completed his professional internships in Indiana and Kentucky. Following graduate work at Washington University at St. Louis, Rudzinski began his full-time teaching career at Kansas State University in 1998, according to the release.
Hosted by the Alex Foundation and funded in part by the National Park Service in partnership with the Jefferson National Park Association, the purpose of the experience was to connect classrooms and community with place-based education.
The Alex Foundation is a Desha County-based 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that introduces students to architecture and design, including through historic architecture and culturally significant sites. Details: www.alex-foundation.org.
The National Park Ser
vice’s Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative is a comprehensive and innovative effort established by Congress through Public Law 103-433 to preserve the Delta Region’s significant cultural and historic resources. Federal funding for this program is provided by the National Park Service and administered in partnership with Jefferson National Parks Association, official non-profit partner of the LMDI Program, according to the news release.