Prospect Artists of Public Memory, stewards of the Nanih Bvlbancha, and the New Orleans Public Library invite you to Making the Mound: Indigenous History and Ancient Terraforming. Director of the Center of Native American Indian Research and Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi Dr. Tammy Greer, and fellow Houma Nation tribal member and wild medicine garden keeper, Monique Verdin, an interdisciplinary artist, writer and researcher will share histories of mound building and Indigenous architecture in the Gulf South region and beyond, as well as the various purposes of Native American mounds in this country. Participants will also have an immersive experience with forming mini-mounds with clay and other materials. Come learn what all that means, how to say Nanih Bvlbancha, and get a little dirty with us. We will also be making some seed bombs to prepare for the upcoming planting event at the Nanih tomorrow, Sunday September 22.

This event serves as a prelude to Making the Medicine: Medicine Wheel Garden Planting at Nanih Bvlbancha on Sunday, September 22, 2024. Nanih Bvlbancha is an Indigenous earthwork supported by Prospect’s Artists of Public Memory Commission, community organizing and outreach, the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission, and Friends of Lafitte Greenway. The design for the project was assembled by the following Indigenous scholars, multimedia artists and activists: Dr. Tammy Greer, Ida Aronson, Monique Verdin, Jenna Mae, and Ozone 504.

Please register to help us plan for supplies. 

Learn more about the project at NanihBvlbancha.net or on Instagram @NanihBvlbancha. Both Mini Mound Making and Making the Medicine are free and open to the public.

Mini Mound Making is sponsored by The Friends of the New Orleans Public Library.