Today, on our road trip northeast from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Tupelo, my husband and I followed almost 200 miles of the Natchez Trace Trail, thanks to the National Park Service for preserving its memory.
First, the buffalo and deer walked and trod the grasses down; then, early mound builders as early as 1,200 A.D. followed their tracks and used the worn routes to trade and travel between villages.
Later, Native American tribes like the Natchez, Choctaw, and Chickasaw had villages in this particular area of the country. They used the trail to reach ceremonial sites, conduct diplomacy, trade, and access water resources and the herds they hunted.
These three prominent tribes along the trail practiced agriculture and enjoyed more stable communities like many tribes from the Southeast. Corn, beans, and squash were mainstays that complemented their diet of nuts and berries. They hunted and caught deer, turkey, and fish.
The land along the Natchez Trace Parkway is beautiful and lush, with plenty of water. The natural resources for farming are so rich. The waters teeming with fish. The woods full of wildlife and game. The weather is mild and warm most of the year. Most years, life was abundant, and the people appreciated and loved it here, too.
Sadly, these nations had to leave their established towns later in the 1830s when the United States government forced them off their lands and to move farther northwest into Oklahoma territory.
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