Festival aims to celebrate, educate

Organizers of next month's Moundville Native American Festival say the goals of the event remain the same: to celebrate culture and educate guests.

This marks the 29th consecutive year the festival has been held at Moundville Archaeological Park, which is 16 miles south of Tuscaloosa on Alabama Highway 69. Each year, the festival adds new vendors, performances and opportunities for visitors to learn about the culture of Southeastern Native Americans.

The 320-acre park has more than 20 mounds built by a community of Native Americans of the Mississippian culture. The site is believed to have been America’s largest city north of Mexico 800 years ago.

Kayla Scott, festival coordinator and educational outreach coordinator, said that she has high hopes for this year's event.

“It’s challenging, but I think it’s going to be very rewarding,” said Scott,  who is in her first year with the festival. “I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of wonderful people so far in organizing and I’ve had a lot of wonderful conversations with tribal members. I think it’s going to be great to actually meet the ones I haven’t met yet and start building those relationships with the park.”

More than 10,000 people attend the festival each year, including school groups that travel from across the state. However, Lisa Rasco, education assistant for the park, said that the festival offers an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about the history of the park.

“The community learning, just climbing Mound B (the park's tallest mound), and the visitors that come — it’s still just as exciting as the first time I climbed it,” Rasco said. “I don’t know if anybody else gets that excited, but to think of what happened here so many years ago and now I’m on these grounds experiencing this. Each time it’s a new thing because the visitors give us new questions each time we’re out with them on an educational program.”

In the festival’s arts and crafts areas, attendees are given the opportunity to speak with Native American craftspeople and work alongside them to create works of art, from carved wooden longbows to pottery. The target range teaches all ages about handcrafted weapons, such as spears and arrows, made by Native Americans.

Storytellers and performers entertain guests at the Native American Stage with historical tales and traditional music, featuring flutes and rattles. Guided tours bring guests along to learn about the history of the park and into the Jones Archaeological Museum to view artifacts and exhibits that showcase ceremonial decorations.

“Once you go into the museum and you have in your mindset, because this is what we try to get people to see, you’re entering like a temple almost,” Rasco said. “Really pay attention to the mural on the wall and the bridal parties on each side and up in the ceiling where the rafters are because those are important aspects of what the natives believed in.”

Volunteers from University of Alabama Museums, the city of Tuscaloosa and UA students  have helped the festival run smoothly throughout the years, Rasco said. More information on volunteer work or the Native American Festival can be found on the park’s Facebook page and website or by emailing Scott directly at kscott1@ua.edu.

The festival will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 5 and 6 and 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Moundville Archaeological Park. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors and group rates are available.

“We’re really excited about it and we hope that as many people as possible come out and enjoy it, too,” Scott said.

What: 29th annual celebration of Native American culture

When: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 and 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Oct. 7

Where: Moundville Archaeological Park, 634 Mound Parkway, Moundville

Admission: Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors; special group rates are available

More information: Email kscott1@ua.edu or llrasco@ua.edu; call 371-2234 or 371-8732; go online at www.moundville.ua.edu

Moundville Native American Festival