Ridgeland’s Native American Heritage

Ridgeland’s Native American Heritage. . , For almost 12,000 years, Native Americans have lived in what is now Madison County. Located in the Jackson Prairie, the area's grasslands supported a variety of plants and animals to sustain pre-agricultural, nomadic populations. Remains of prehistoric hunting camps can be found in archaeological sites containing stone tools. , Native Americans gradually settled in this rich area and established villages near the Pearl River. As they established more permanent communities, they began using local clays for pottery and for covering their houses, which were made of woven wooden mats. By the time the French and Spanish arrived, the Choctaw people lived in this area. The Choctaw extensively farmed corn, beans, and pumpkins, in addition to hunting and fishing. As the French and the British fought over the new colonies in North America, the Choctaw sided with the French. After both the French and British were defeated, the Choctaw were gradually pushed west by American settlers. In 1820, the Treaty of Doak's Stand ceded all of Madison County land to the United States. , Located along the Natchez Trace Parkway north of Ridgeland, the Boyd Mounds consists of six burial mounds dating to the Late Woodland and early Mississippian period. Archaeological excavations by the National Park Service in the early 1960s found that the mounds contained the remains of forty-one individuals and an assortment of pottery., Caption: , Bottom left: Choctaw chief Pushmataha (ca. 1764-1824) negotiated the Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1824.