Muscogee (Creek) people sharing their culture during Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration this weekend

The annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration, happening this weekend in Macon, is set to bring Native American tribes to town to share their stories, both old and new.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration, happening this weekend in Macon, is set to bring Native American tribes to town to share their stories, both old and new.

Superintendent of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Calra Beasley, says the event is a celebration of the Southeastern Native American culture.

Representatives from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Seminole Tribe of Florida will be at the Indigenous Celebration.

“The tribes that were located here were forcibly removed. They had no choice,” Beasley said. “So this is a time where we can celebrate that they are still here, still thriving, and celebrate that culture.”

For more than 30 years, the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration has come to Macon in recognition of the city’s history as the ancestral homeland of the Muskogee (Creek) people.

“This is an opportunity for you to meet and talk with the people who actually experience this culture every day,” Beasley said.

The celebration will feature storytelling and educational programs hosted by Indigenous people, as well as live demonstrations like traditional craftsmanship, music and dances.

It will also include modern day art and stories with the Ocmulgee to Okmulgee art exhibit at the McEachern Art Center, Fire Starters Film Festival and Ignite the Night benefit concert at the Grand Opera House.

“On one side of the river, you’re at the mounds, you’re gonna see the cultural side of it, and then across the river, you’re gonna see the contemporary side of it,” Director of Advocacy for the Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative Tracy Revis said.

Revis says it’s important for people to see the resilient experiences of Muscogee (Creek) people who are still alive today.

“We want to educate this community about who we are,” Revis explained. “Not only who we were historically given that this is our ancestral homelands, but who we are today.”

Randy Kemp is one of the artists featured at the Ocmulgee to Okmulgee exhibit. For Kemp, art is a way to keep him connected to his heritage.

“It’s about us today,” Kemp said. “Folks need to know that we’re still here. It’s about the challenges that we’re facing as well. We’re just like anyone else.”

Kemp hopes people who come out to the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration will learn something new about the people and history of Macon.

Muscogee artist Bobby Martin also has art on display at the McEachern Art Center. He says his art reflects family history and the effect of the past on the present.

Martin’s hope is that visitors to the exhibit will see themselves and their families in the art.

“We stand on the shoulders of those generations that came before us, and so I’d just like to give honor and bring some recognition to family and ancestry,” Martin said.

The art exhibit and Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration are both free to the public.

The Ocmulgee to Okmulgee exhibit is open Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m., and the Indigenous Celebration is happening Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Parking for the Indigenous Celebration will be available at the Macon-Bibb Health Department located at 171 Emery Highway. Attendees will then be taken to the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park by shuttle.

You can find more information about the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration by clicking here.