The Spiros were
once "the single most powerful group ever to exist" in North America.
This groundbreaking new exhibit in Oklahoma shares their story.
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When they were unearthed
in 1935, Oklahoma's Spiro Mounds were dubbed "a King Tut tomb
in the Arkansas Valley" by the "Kansas City Star."
The mounds held thousands of richly decorated, sophisticated
artifacts from Native American Mississippian people, who thrived
in the area before the arrival of European settlers.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MOSTARDI PHOTOGRAPHY, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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Shell cups carved with mythical beings. Large effigy pipes. Beaded
baskets. These are among the archaeologically significant objects
excavated from the Spiro Mounds. Often overlooked, this Native American
site in the midwestern U.S. is among the greatest sources of Mississippian
Native American artifacts ever discovered.
Located on the Oklahoma
and Arkansas
border, the Spiro Mounds were part of a city complex populated from
800 to 1450 A.D. At its peak, it supported a population of some
10,000 people. The Mississippian
political, trade, and religious confederation incorporated more
than 60 different tribes and stretched from the Gulf Coast of Florida
to the Great Lakes and from the Rockies to the Virginia coast.
The Spiro population, along with other Mississippian groups across
eastern North America, was once equal to the Aztecs
and Incas,
yet despite its size and sophisticated trade society, its legacy
is not well understood.
(Discover
America's first forgotten city.)
A groundbreaking exhibition aims to change this. Unveiled in February
and running through May 9, "Spiro
and the Art of the Mississippian World," at Oklahoma City's
National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum, is the largest presentation on the
Spiro Mounds ever undertaken by any museum.
The exhibition helps document "the single most powerful group ever
to exist" in the U.S., according to Dennis Peterson, executive director
of the Spiro
Mounds Archeological Center.
"The people who lived [in Spiro] came to control what we call the
Mississippian culture. So pretty much all the United States except
for the far northeast and the far northwest, Spiro either had trade
with, communication with or direct control over for over 350 years
with almost no use of violent warfare," he says.
The Spiro archeological discoveries give important insight into
the culture of the ancient Mississippian people.
A treasure trove of culture
"What truly makes Spiro so unique is that not only is it the most
object-laden mound ever discovered in North America, but it also
included objects from around the known world [in North America],"
says Eric Singleton, a National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
curator who spearheaded the new exhibit.
"There is copper from Lake Superior, engraved shell cups from the
Florida Keys, beads from the Sea of Cortez, items from the Valley
of Mexico, and those are just a few of the items," continues Singleton.
"They invited people from around the known world to bring their
holy objects to Spiro to be ritualistically acted upon."
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Left: Among the treasures
in the Spiro Mounds: Gulf Coast conch shells were fashioned
into drinking cups and engraved with symbolic designs including
costumed men and mythical creatures.
Right: Wooden sculptures, large effigy pipes and plates, and
shell jewelry were also among the thousands of items recovered
from Spiro.
COURTESY NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION
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As the lead curator, Singleton chose artifacts representing the
different nations and ritual importance. Embossed copper plates,
wooden sculptures, thousands of pearls and beads, large effigy pipes,
and elaborately engraved shell jewelry and cups are among the thousands
of items recovered
from Spiro.
In addition to the original historical artifacts, the exhibition
also features artwork from contemporary Native American artists
whose heritage stems from the Spiro people. "The most important
aspect of this is working with contemporary artists and really showing
cultural continuation and the resiliency of community," says Singleton.
(For
this Native community, photography has harmedand healed.)
Chase Kahwinhut Earles, a contemporary and traditional pottery
maker and member of the Caddo people, is one 12 artists from 16
different tribes featured in the exhibit.
"With some of my pieces, I try to educate people about the culture
of the mound builders. The Spiro people are brothers and sisters
to the Caddo. You can see a lot of the Caddo influence and designs
within Spiro," Earles says. "For example, [one of my works] is actually
a Spiro engraved piece, but it looks new with the design elements
that I put on it."
The mysteries of mounds
The Spiro created highly developed agricultural communities in
the Midwest and Southeast that included large earthen platforms
and burial
mounds. Traditionally, leaders would build their homes on top
of the previous chief's, meaning the higher the mound, the more
prestigious the current leader was.
The Craig Moundthe second-largest one and the only burial
mound at Spirohoused the remains of important leaders along
with clothing, fur, baskets, and other items to help ease their
transition to the afterworld, says Peterson.
The site of the Spiro Mounds was abandoned by its population in
the 1500s. Historians point to an extended drought and political
infighting as contributing factors. The site remained mostly untouched
until the 1930s, when treasure
hunters got wind of antiquities buried in the earth. What followed
was one of the largest and longest episodes of looting in North
America.
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In 1936, after mass looting
destroyed almost one-third of the Spiro Mounds, scientific
excavation began, uncovering more than six hundred complete
or partial burials and thousands of artifacts. Today, the
12 remaining mounds serve as an archaeological site where
visitors can learn more about this once powerful Native American
society.
COURTESY OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (LEFT) AND PHOTOGRAPH
BY EMILY BRASHIER (RIGHT)
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Legislation protected Spiro in 1935, and a government-sponsored
archaeological excavation commenced. Today, more than 65 public
facilities in the U.S. and dozens of institutions worldwide possess
Spiro artifacts, including the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the British
Museum, and the National Museum in Germany.
What makes the new exhibition significant is that its curators
worked directly with people of Spiro ancestry before publicly displaying
artifacts. Reaching out to the Caddo Nation, the Wichita, and affiliated
tribes before moving forward with the exhibit was the essential
first step in sharing this history.
"[This display] was never from a museum point of view; it was from
a tribal and community point of view," says Singleton.
Balancing the need for respect and repatriation and the demand
for education and display is an ongoing struggle for both museums
and tribes. The Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of
1990 aimed to change that.
"For decades upon decades upon decades, archeologists would find
these sites, go dig them up and find all the things that were there,"
Kelli Mosteller, director at Citizen
Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
"[Museums] then put them on display and [said], 'Come look at and
learn about these mythical people.' We were very much treated as
another exotic."
(Can
a skeleton heal the rift between Native Americans and scientists?)
By enacting NAGPRA, Congress recognized that human remains of any
ancestry "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect."
This means that any Native American human remains, funerary objects,
sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony removed from federal
or tribal lands returned to the community where it belongs. In addition,
any institution receiving federal funding must take inventory of
the Native American items it holds and then consult with the Indigenous
nation for repatriation.
"[NAGPRA] provides a mechanism for collections of Native American
ancestral remains, funerary objects, and other cultural items to
be returned to their communities," says Jayne-Leigh Thomas, the
NAGPRA director for Indiana University. "It's about tribal sovereignty.
It's about respect."
Where to discover more Spiro history
There are many other places to learn more about Spiro and Mississippian
culture in Oklahoma.
Head three hours west of the state's capital to the Spiro
Mounds Archeological Center, the only prehistoric Native American
archaeological site in Oklahoma open to the public. Scheduled tours
delve into the rich culture of these ancient Mississippian people,
and the site's museum includes a wealth of research and replicas
of the notable items discovered at Spiro.
Other museums in Oklahoma with collections of Spiro artworks and
artifacts include: University of Oklahoma's Sam
Noble Museum of Natural History; Gilcrease
Museum in Tulsa; Woolaroc
in Bartlesville; Museum
of the Red River in Idabel; LeFlore
County Museum, and the Oklahoma
Historical Center.
"Spiro and the Art of the Mississippian World" is open to the public
in Oklahoma City through May 9. Visitors can also explore the exhibit
through a virtual
tour. The exhibition will then travel to the Birmingham Museum
of Art in Alabama from Oct. 9 to Feb. 6, 2022 and to the Dallas
Museum of Art from March 13, 2022 to August 7, 2022.
Heide Brandes is a freelance writer and editor based in Oklahoma
City. Follow her adventures on Twitter
and Instagram.
Spiro
Mounds Archaeological Center
Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center preserves 150 acres of the site
along the Arkansas River. The center offers interpretive exhibits,
an introductory slide program and a small gift shop. There are nearly
two miles of interpreted trails, including a one-half mile nature
trail. An archaeologist is on staff to answer questions and lead
tours.
https://www.okhistory.org/sites/spiromounds
Spiro
and the Art of the Mississippian World
This exhibition explores the archaeological and historical data
connecting the Spiro site to other communities throughout North
and Central America, discusses the Spiroan community and religious
activities, and highlights the enduring legacy of Native Americans
today who are descended from Mississippian cultural groups.
https://spiromounds.com
National
Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is America's premier
institution of Western history, art and culture. Founded in 1955,
the Museum, located in Oklahoma City, collects, preserves and exhibits
an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts
while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest
in the enduring legacy of the American West.
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org
Citizen
Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center re-opened
in January 2018 after undergoing a 4-year renovation. New, updated,
and digital interactive exhibits tell a more complete narrative,
beginning with Citizen Potawatomi oral traditions, continuing through
early ways of life, conflict, and forced removals before examining
more recent history, including our time in Kansas and Indian Territory,
and ending with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation today.
https://www.potawatomiheritage.com
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