Vote for the Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act expected soon

A vote on the Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act has not been scheduled, but local leaders are hopeful it will happen before year's end.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Tracie Revis says her family and other members of Muscogee Creek Nation have fought for generations to preserve Ocmulgee Mounds. As the storied land is set to become Georgia’s first national park, Revis says it means an awful lot to be able to continue that work, and soon see it pay off.

“It’s such an emotional thing for me to be able to be out here and be a part of, said Revis,” the Director of Advocacy for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative. “And to be a part of the healing aspect, to help this community heal together.”

The bipartisan and bicameral Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in November and is heading to the full U.S. Senate floor for consideration.

Ocmulgee Mounds is the ancestral home of the Muscogee Creek Nation and was seen as the capital of the tribe’s culture before the Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced members of the Nation to relocate to Oklahoma.

Gaining national park status would create a commission consisting of tribal members and Middle Georgians to create an updated management plan for the park. Revis believes this would allow the Muscogee Creek Nation to tell their own story.

“To preserve this land and for our people to come back and have healing, it’s an incredible opportunity,” Revis said. “Not just for the Muscogee Creek Nation, but for the citizens of Macon, Middle Georgia, and for the rest of the country to come back and learn about this history.” 

Creek members like Revis have not been the only ones advocating for the status of the park. Maconites from outside of the tribe have been fighting for legislative progress and are excited about the potential to be a part of history.

“It offers us a path to reconciliation, a path to conservation, and protection of our home,” said Seth Clark, Mayor Pro Tempore of Macon-Bibb County. 

Clark was alongside Revis on Capitol Hill as the national park legislation passed after the committee hearing. Clark says the park’s cultural and ecological significance helped its case that day, and he is hopeful that it will help Ocmulgee Mounds gain national park status before the new year.

“Congress is figuring out their end of year packages,” Clark said. “We hope and expect to be included in one of those packages, and that’s what we’re advocating for.” 

While Revis acknowledged that no legislation will undo the pain and suffering of her ancestors, she says the Muscogee Creek Nation recognizes the opportunity at stake with the upcoming vote.

“This is a very emotional thing for me, as a tribal citizen, for us to be able to come back to our homelands and know that we have a say in these lands and be able to tell the correct story and the correct history,” Revis said.