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A recent visit to Effigy Mounds National Monument was not my first, but my first led by two archeologists who provided valuable historical and geological information about these northeast Iowa burial mounds. Most mounds are conical and built between 750-AD and 2000 years ago, Later Woodland mound builders created animal shaped mounds such as the Little and Big Bear Mounds for which this large group is named. This Fire Point group of Mounds has 44 mounds. (twice as many of our group counted when our guide suggested we do so) Tobacco pouches have been hung by visitors, possibly by descendants of the mound builders living in the region.
Mound contents show that the people moved and traded through the Driftless region and beyond. Pottery, farming and horticulture are representative of the culture. Iowa archeologist Ellison Orr, mapped the mounds in 1931; the archeologists who led our trip continue to examine and detail mounds in the region.
It was sobering to visit the smaller group of Sand Point Cemetery Mounds in Harper's Ferry, Iowa. Graves of white settlers were placed on top; some bones were removed. The region is also the location of a significant battle in 1832 during the Black Hawk War when natives were defeated and removed.
Emma Big Bear, a basket weaver & one of the last indigenous people living a traditional Ho-Chunk life-style
Small group of mounds north of Lansing, Iowa
Allamakwee County, 1877. Compare the image in the upper right to a photo taken at Fire Point.
6 - 8 9 - 12 Social Studies/History Native Americans Indian Burial Mounds
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The Effigy Moundbuilders page from the Effigy Mounds National Monument website includes a list of "present day culturally associated Indian tribes" that should stand as a reminder of the continuing vitality of all our tribal neighbors:
Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Upper Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community In the State of Minnesota
Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota
Prairie island Indian Community In the State of Minnesota
Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa
Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
Crow Creek Sioux of South Dakota
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
Santee Sioux Nation
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Yankton Sioux of South Dakota
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
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