The exhibit will be updated every few years with new items. (Alaina Davis)
A new exhibition in Bloomington explores the culture of the Indigenous tribes of the Angel Mounds in Evansville.
The Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, in collaboration with the Angel Mounds Exhibition Advisory Council, will tell stories from the historic site. The exhibition, “City on the River,” was created through years of research with Indigenous descendants of the community.
Indigenous Peoples lived at the site by the Ohio River between about 1100 and 1450 C.E. They created mounds designed to align with the movements of the sun, moon and stars.
Brandie Macdonald, executive director of the museum, said the exhibit features items found at the historic site and used by the community, such as jewelry and tools. There are also pieces of pottery, along with descriptions of how people decorated and used them. There’s a booth where visitors can listen to two indigenous women share their stories, as well as a virtual reality dome.
“If you were unable to go to Evansville for any particular reason or you haven't seen Angel Mounds, through the virtual reality dome, you'll be able to see Angel Mounds from a bird's eye view,” she said. “You'll also be able to see how people lived, and you can walk into what a home would look like and see it as if you're standing in the front door.”
Read more: Indiana Historical Society Showcases Angel Mounds Recreation
The goal of the exhibit is to honor the community that lived at the site over 900 years ago and draw parallels between their lives and contemporary life today.
“You can watch people, contemporary folks living today, playing stickball and they're playing traditional sports with each other, and see some pieces that were made that were directly connected to historical games as well,” Macdonald said, “and we're still using those pieces within the games that we play today.”
The site was named “Angel Mounds” after the Euro-American Angel family that owned the land in the early 1900’s. The Indiana State Historical Society purchased it in 1938, and it became a National Historic Landmark in 1980.
Read more: Native American Remains Repatriated To Angel Mounds Site
“It is a really important location for a lot of indigenous groups in the Midwest, and it has been very open for descendant communities to visit and to collaborate in regards to ongoing excavation,” said Domenique Sorresso, curator of Midwest Archaeology.
The exhibit opens at noon Saturday. The museum is located at 416 N. Indiana Ave. on campus. The exhibit is ongoing and will be updated with new items every few years.
Katy Szpak contributed to this report.
