Native Lands

Native Lands is currently on view at the Atlanta History Center, an exhibition that looks at Georgia's original inhabitants, the Muscogee and the Cherokees. Their story starts with the Mississippian peoples, and the show reconstructs their world of art, music, ceremony, agriculture, architecture, and trade. It traces their legacy right up to the 1830s, when they were forced from the state on the Trail of Tears.

It doesn't stop there, though. The exhibition also opens up their more recent history and their continuing connections to Georgia through contemporary voices. You'll see objects like a Muscogee bandolier bag dating from around 1830, and arrowheads and stone points left by the Muscogee and Cherokees. The museum's permanent collection on Native and indigenous peoples sets the scene: long before the first European settlers arrived, the Mississippian Indians had built complex societies on this land. The red clay hillsides, river banks, and meadows of Northwest Georgia were home to Cherokee and Creek villages, ceremonial sites, and even plantations owned by powerful Cherokee leaders.

It's a broad look at a history that's often glossed over in the city's usual narratives, moving from the ancient Mississippian roots through the established villages and plantations of the Cherokees and Muscogee, and finally to the forced removal of the 1830s. The inclusion of contemporary voices keeps it from feeling like a closed chapter, too.

The Atlanta History Center is at 130 W Paces Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30305.