The Earth Lodge by Deborah VessLocation: Macon, Georgia, USA
Who Considers it Sacred? Native Americans (Creek/Muscogee tribe)
Significance: The Muscogee consider this their place of origin; many mounds, ceremonial squares, and burial mounds are located here. The chiefs of the tribes of the Confederacy exempted the Ocmulgee Old Fields from all treaties during the 19th century. In the 1930s, the Fields were to become a national monument, but no federal funds were available, so only parts of the site were preserved.
The Threat: Commercial development, housing projects, and roads
Preservation Status: The Mounds are threatened by freeways that are slated to bisect the sacred place. The Keeper of the National Register recently determined that the Old Fields were eligible for listing on the Register as a “traditional cultural property.” The 2003 Most Endangered Sites List issued by the National Trust for Historic Places included the Ocmulgee Mounds.
For More Information: Creek Nation’s Ocmulgee Old Fields; Site Saver Newsletter Volume VIII, Number 1, Fall 1997