Early Indigenous History
This period, beginning more than 10,000 years ago, marks the earliest known human presence in Alabama.
What is the Paleoindian Period?
These four major cultural groups were established in the Southeast by the time Europeans arrived.
Who are the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Chickasaws?
European settlers brought these harmful biological threats that devastated Indigenous communities.
What are non-native diseases?
This federally recognized tribe maintains its heritage on tribal lands in southern Alabama.
Who are the Poarch Band of Creek Indians?
A scientist who studies human history and prehistory by digging up and examining the physical remains people left behind, such as tools, pottery, and ruins
What is an Archaeologist?
These early inhabitants of Alabama saw major cultural and technological developments over thousands of years.
Who were the Indigenous peoples of Alabama?
This smaller tribal group, related to the Choctaws, historically lived in parts of present-day Alabama and Texas.
Who are the Alabama-Coushattas?
This economic crop fueled settler expansion and contributed to Native American displacement in Alabama.
What is cotton?
This state-recognized Choctaw-descended group lives in Mobile and Washington counties.
Who are the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians?
Where was Moundville built?
What is the Black Warrior River?
Visible signs of cultural change in early Alabama include these large earthworks built primarily by the Mississippian people.
What are earthen mounds?
This Southeastern group, sometimes called Euchee, lived near the Tennessee River and interacted with neighboring tribes.
Who are the Yuchis?
Native peoples in Alabama faced these repeated attacks on their territory as more settlers entered the region.
What are assaults on their land?
Both the MOWA and Poarch communities work to preserve these elements of tribal identity.
What are cultural traditions?
This artifact is the official Alabama state artifact.
What is the Rattlesnake Disc?
This Alabama site is one of the most famous Mississippian mound centers in the Southeast.
What is Moundville?
The arrival of these groups in the sixteenth century disrupted Indigenous life through disease, warfare, and land disputes.
Who were European explorers and settlers?
The Indian Removal Act forced tribes west to this designated territory across the Mississippi River.
What is Indian Territory?
These two federally recognized tribes represent the continuity of Indigenous presence in Alabama.
Who are the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians?
True or False: Some descendants of Moundville still live in Alabama today
What is True?
The Mississippian people were known for building these monumental structures for ceremonies, politics, and daily life.
What are platform mounds?
By the 1830s, most Native Americans in Alabama were forced west during this tragic government policy.
What is the Trail of Tears?
Settlers exploited these natural elements—vital for Native communities—as they pushed deeper into Alabama.
What are natural resources?
These preserved lands allow Alabama’s remaining Native communities to maintain cultural practices and governance.
What are tribal homelands?
Moundville was a __________ center.
What is religious?