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entities with cultural affiliation to said objects about their existence. At Ocmulgee National
Monument the modern American Indian nation with the strongest ties to the Macon area is the
Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Although the relationship between the Creek Nation and the National
Parks Service (NPS) had not always been the most cordial, by the time NAGPRA was enacted
the NPS was excited to begin the repatriation process.7 Likewise, members of the Muscogee
Nation were ready to see their ancestors finally laid to rest.8 However, the repatriation process
hinged on a key third party: the Smithsonian, which still clung to outdated theories regarding
cultural continuity of American Indian civilizations. These entrenched theories give the
Smithsonian and other non-Native institutions the ability to create artificial divides between
Native nations and their pasts. They then used this faulty reasoning to justify cultural theft. The
road to some form of reconciliation initially appeared paved, yet would prove much bumpier,
and miles longer, than anyone expected.

When examining the history of Southeastern Native American groups, particularly the
cultural affiliations of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation with prehistoric communities, the precedent
set by early archaeologists largely prevails, much to the detriment of a culturally significant
Muscogee worldview. In the American southeast, by the time that archaeologists began fully
exploring the ancient past of the region, its Native peoples had been largely relocated to
Oklahoma. Without a contemporary Native presence, 19th century archaeologists often relied on
accounts given by local populations to earlier explorers about the meaning or importance of a
given archaeological feature.Traveling around the Southeast during the 1850s through the 1870s,
historian and budding archaeologist Charles C. Jones spent a significant amount of time
examining and collecting artifacts from Native American sites. His research into Indian culture

7 Lonnie Davis, interview by author, Macon, February 1, 2018.
8 Emman Spain, interview by author, Macon, February 2, 2018.

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