1st-ever Tribal National Park

Frog Bay in Wisconsin is the first-ever tribal national park
This pristine land on Lake Superior sits at a crossroads of the Anishinaabe people — and ice caves are nearby.

Frog Bay Tribal National Park is the country’s first tribally owned or controlled park that’s open to the public. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Anishinaabe) created the park on Wisconsin’s Bayfield Peninsula in 2012 after reacquiring an 89-acre parcel. In 2017 a second 86-acre plot was procured, doubling the park’s size.

Visit to Castalian Springs Mounds 5 march

Middle Cumberland Archaeological Society’s first 2022 meeting will be a field trip to Castalian Springs Mounds State park at 10 am on SATURDAY, MARCH 5.  Kevin E. Smith of Middle Tennessee State University will lead the tour at the mound site. Length of the tour will depend entirely on the temperature – probably plan on an hour.

Founded as a small village around 1100 ce, the native peoples of Castalian Springs embarked on massive-scale construction projects to transform the community into the largest mound center on the Cumberland River east of Nashville. By 1300 ce, the site was a center of religious revitalization and artistic renaissance dominating what is now Sumner County and known throughout the Mississippian world.
Over a decade of MTSU archaeological excavations have revealed a detailed picture of the community – along with evidence for the production of negative painted ceramics, marine shell gorgets, fluorite jewelry, and much more. Kevin Smith, who has led investigations of the site’s history and prehistory for nearly four decades, will guide the tour and provide the newest interpretations. After a hiatus of excavations due to the pandemic, Paul Eubanks (MTSU) plans to resume fieldwork this summer to examine the last remaining major earthworks at the site.
RSVP: If you plan to attend the tour, please email or leave a voicemail for Kevin Smith with your name, number in your party, and contact number/email: kevin.smith@mtsu.edu or 615-898-5958.

tom’s visiting agenda

As the new president of TASC, am looking forward to re-visiting all the major ‘ancient sites’ in Tennessee & visiting for the first time a couple of the lesser known sites. My goal is to become better acquainted with our cultural heritage so we can come up with a plan to better recognize these sites and return them to a pristine condition. 
Here’s my 2022 itinerary ~ hope you’ll join me, or meet me there, or make some monthly visits on your own.  If i’m missing a good site, please let me know — tom <tasc(at)tennasc.org>.  Thanks.

1 ‘Sellars’ Farm Mound

Missippian mound at old Sellar’s farm

visited sat 29 jan 2022 – cleanup day sponsored by Friends of Long Hunter State Park. now that the trees have been removed, am looking forward to more repair of this site, both fysically & its description. 
• discuss repairing damage (1877 trench cut into it by white archeologist), • renaming native sites with native names,   • find age of big tree stump. 

(i think a better name for it is Tvpvsvnv Mound (

tvpvsvnv

(tuh-puh-sha-nuh) = dragonfly) for the unique dragonflies found there on Spring Creek.)

2  ‘Pinson’ Mounds – south of Jackson

 visited sat 26 feb 2022 (3hour drive west)
cold day — checked out weathering of mounds since tree removal, interpretation of added acreage 180 acres & 7 mounds that president emeritus Mark Tolley worked so hard on getting added into the preservation area.  visited Twin Mounds & the 2nd Big Mound on the west side of the park — no trail to get there. 

‘Glass’ mounds  – west of Franklin
visited sat 26 mar 2022 with Larry Davis (1hour drive southwest, past Aaittafama) 
plan cleaning, tree removal, Mound 2 – accessibility, visibility — dirt pile is ½ gone, but still remains; construction debris dumped – needs removal; 2nd mound ¼ mile to the east  is at least 8 feet high but totally covered in privet & honeysuckle, making it invisible,  would make a good cleaning project.

4 Chickamauga mound – Chattanooga, off Amnicola Highway
finalize text & location of marker. tree removal.  repair looter damage to mound
visit sat 30 apr 2022

5 Aaittafama / Kellytown/Forest Hills
visit sat 21 may 2022

6 Browns Creek missing cemetery, Nashville
visit sat 18 jun 2022

7 Fewkes Mound, Brentwood
visit sat 30 jul 2022

8 Knoxville Mound, UTK
visit sat 27 aug 2022

9 Rutherford-Kizer Mound, Hendersonville 
visit sat 24 sep 2022

10 Mound Bottom, Kingston Spring
visit sat 22 oct 2022

11 “Indi**” Mound TN, 22 miles west of Clarksville
visit sat 19 nov 2022

12 Brick Church mound site, Nashville
visit sat 17 dec 2022