Indigenous mounds and burial sites speckle Ohio鈥檚 landscape, from in the west to in the east.
These sites played important roles in many Indigenous cultures.
The people built burial mounds as early as approximately 800 B.C. And the later culture followed suit, in addition to building geometric mounds believed to be the sites of great ceremonial gatherings.
鈥淭he Hopewell, the Adena, the Fort Ancient peoples built great monuments of learning and expression, art, science, technology and astronomy,鈥� said John Low, director of the Newark Earthworks Center and an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. 鈥淢any of those mounds and earthworks we see across Ohio today.鈥�
Over centuries, these , including the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa and Seneca. Those people were from Ohio in the 19th century.
In their void, stories and harmful stereotypes about magic and 鈥渆vil鈥� Indigenous spirits connected to ancient burial grounds arose, perpetuated by .
鈥淭hese are my ancestors' sites, but they are sites for all of humanity, too. And so I would hope that folks in Ohio, in the United States, and around the world come and visit these sites for what they are."John Low, director of the Newark Earthworks Center
In Ohio, myths about these sites abound.
A dorm at Ohio University, for example, is rumored to be built atop an Indigenous cemetery, whose spirits still haunt the building.
Then there鈥檚 the northeast Ohio village of Lodi. Some say the village鈥檚 haunted reputation stems from its founder, who allegedly removed Indigenous skeletons from their graves in order to build his home.
And if anyone disturbs the mound at Towner鈥檚 Woods near Akron, one legend says the guardian of a Hopewell princess will attack.
鈥淸These] are other people's fantasies about my ancestors 鈥� Indian peoples 鈥� placed upon us by non-Native people,鈥� Low said. 鈥淲e didn't have princes and princesses. We didn鈥檛 have monarchies. It reflects generally the lack of knowledge of non-Native people about Native people.鈥�
Low said these perceptions aren鈥檛 just misinformed, they can be harmful.
鈥淚t 鈥榦thers鈥� us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t makes us strange and different and unlike people today, when in fact, [at this time] people were living lives around the world very similarly.
鈥淲e focus on the mounds and earthworks of American Indians around here as mysterious or indecipherable, fascinating and exotic. But I think it distracts from the fact that we were people just like everybody else, living in communities, having families, living sustainable lives in a good way.鈥�
A hundred years ago, Low said perceptions of these mounds were very different.
鈥淚n the 19th century, of course, cemeteries were oftentimes considered places to picnic and be close to your deceased relatives,鈥� he said.
Only relatively recently, in the 20th and 21st centuries, has that perception changed, and Low largely attributes that to representations of Indigenous burial grounds 鈥� along with cemeteries more generally 鈥� in books, movies and television shows.
鈥淲e are people who like to be scared,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's fun to be scared to a point, and these are perfect places to present that ambience.鈥�
However, he said, there are better ways to appreciate Ohio鈥檚 Indigenous past.
Just recently , joining a list of places like the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu.
鈥淭he Ohio History connection has led the fight to celebrate these sites not as places that scare us or confuse us, but as places to celebrate,鈥� Low said. 鈥淸These are] places that really exhibit the incredible ingenuity and achievements of humanity.
鈥淭hese are my ancestors' sites, but they are sites for all of humanity, too. And so I would hope that folks in Ohio, in the United States, and around the world come and visit these sites for what they are. They are wonderful monuments of the Ohio River Valley.鈥�
