On display through 2010

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. Unlike most accounts of Native American history, which end with the Trail of Tears, this exhibition explores the Native Americans’ recent history through the voices and artistry of contemporary Creeks and Cherokees.

Long before European settlers came to what is now called Georgia, the Mississippian Indians developed complex societies on these lands - complete with art, agriculture, architecture, and trade industries. Native Lands seeks to commemorate the rich culture that once dominated this region. Highlights include an eighteenth-century Creek town square replica and a nineteenth-century Cherokee family hearth scene that reveals the blending of native and European cultures. The exhibit also features video of contemporary Native Americans discussing issues of particular significance to their communities.

 Native Lands: Indians and Georgia is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, expanding America’s understanding, for more than thirty years, of who we were, who we are, and who we will be, with additional support from The Noble Foundation and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.