Tribe celebrating Nanih Waiya Day
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will celebrate Nanih Waiya Day in honor of one of the Tribe’s most important landmarks with a Thursday morning prayer ceremony and a Friday holiday for Tribal employees and offices.
“On the second Friday of each August, our Tribe pauses to show our honor and respect for our sacred Mother Mound, Nanih Waiya, as we commemorate the great historical legacy of our Choctaw ancestors and their determination to settle and thrive in this area that we call home, the original homeland of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians,” Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben wrote in a letter Monday announcing the holiday.
Ben said all non-essential Tribal Government offices will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 13) in observance of Nanih Waiya Day, which is a Tribal holiday.
Nanih Waiya Day commemorates the Aug. 8, 2008, anniversary of the state of Mississippi returning ownership of the Nanih Waiya Mound to the Choctaw people after ceding it and 11 million acres of land to the United States in 1830 as part of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
Misty Brescia, director of the Office of Public Information for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, said the Tribe celebrates the day to remember the mound is in their hands and to honor the ancestral Choctaws who lived there.
She said the holiday will not only be observed on Friday (Aug. 13) with non-essential tribal government buildings being closed but also with a park and prayer event on Thursday (Aug. 12) morning.
“We usually have a big event, but this year we are making it simple due to the pandemic,” Brescia said. “We always have a ceremony where we place community flags, say a prayer, and sing an honor song with drummers that drum the heartbeat of the Choctaw. This year, however, it will be a park and prayer ceremony at the mound. While simple, it will still show the historical importance of the mound.”
This year’s event will be a socially-distanced event. Brescia said Nanih Waiya Day celebrations usually include an All-Star Stickball game, but the game is postponed this year.
“The all-star game is where the best players from the Stickball tournament held at the Choctaw Indian Fair come together for one big game,” Brescia said. “We’re unfortunately having to postpone it this year.”
The Tribe has observed Nanih Waiya Day since August 2008 when they regained ownership of the mound and cave after ceding it and 11 million acres of land to the United States in 1830, as part of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
The U.S. government formally recognized the mound’s significance when it placed the mound on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. On Aug. 8, 2008, Mississippi returned the Nanih Waiya Mound to the Choctaw people. As a result, the Tribe celebrates Nanih Waiya Day on the second Friday of August every year. At the same time, the Choctaw pledged to keep the Mother Mound under Tribal Control forever.
The mound measures 25 feet high, 218 feet long, and 140 feet wide according to the National Park Service website, and is located in southern Winston County, northeast of Philadelphia. It can be reached by driving around 15 miles on State Hwy 21, turning left at the Nanih Waiya sign on State Highway 393, and continuing north three miles to the mound.
The National Park Service states that the time of construction of the mound is uncertain.
“Although its rectangular, flat-topped form is typical of Mississippian period mounds (1000 to 1600 A.D.), pottery shards found on the surface of the adjacent area suggest a possible Middle Woodland time range (100 B.C. to 400 A.D.). Until archeological investigations are undertaken, the mound's actual age will remain unknown,” the national park service website states.
According to the Tribe, the Nanih Waiya site marks the birthplace of the Choctaw Tribe. There are differing beliefs from this point on, such as how the Tribe emerged from the cave, or that the Nanih Waiya area was where the Tribe settled after a long journey from the west. Regardless, the Tribe recognizes Nanih Waiya as the heart of the Tribe and refers to it as the “Mother Mound.”
For more information about the Nanih Waiya Mound, call the Mississippi Nanih Waiya Wildlife Management Area at 662-724-2770, or the Choctaw Cultural Center at 601-650-1687.