[wind whistling]
[soft music]
narrator: This controlled fire is
at the Natchez Trace Parkway's
Chickasaw Village Site
at milepost 266.
The Chickasaw Village Site is nearly
90 acres of land in the middle
of Tupelo, Mississippi.
Hundreds of years ago,
it was the site of a large community
of Chickasaw people.
Al though many think
of fire as destructive,
The ancestors of the Chickasaw people
used fire as a natural tool for survival
and spirituality.
Chickasaw oral stories tell
about early life what animals once
actively communicated
and helped the community.
Animals were part of their community,
and some animals had special significance.
Chickasaw oral stories tell how
animals helped their people to survive.
One story shares how animals
risked their lives to bring fire
to mankind.
A long time ago,
some of the animals living
around the Chickasaw knew
the people would be better off
if they had fire for warmth and cooking.
Some of the animals saw a fire
across the river,
and several tried to get it,
but it was too hot.
Finally, spider gave it a try.
She made a bowl of clay and her silk.
Using the bowl, she scooped up a piece
of coal and took it back
across the river.
The other animals were very pleased,
and they gave the fire coal
to the Chickasaw people.
Southeastern Indians cultivated this land
long before European settlers
made their way across the seas.
The Chickasaw people maintained
the forest and landscape
by utilizing fire.
Setting fires to kill underbrush
and to replenish the forest's
vital nutrients was crucial.
One culturally important plant
Chickasaw ancestors managed by fire
was river cane.
It was used for weapons, blankets,
housing, and recreational activities.
When cane stalks were burned by fire
during dry years, the fire made way
for new, healthy cane growth.
Burning the land where river cane grew
not only improved its nutrients,
but also halted the gradual advance
of trees and shrubs.
Chickasaw use of fire was noted
200 years ago by ornithologist
Alexander Wilson when he was traveling
from Nashville, Tennessee southward
toward Natchez, Mississippi.
He wrote a letter about
his 400-mile journey and published it
in Pennsylvania's Huntingdon Gazette
on March 3, 1812.
On the south side of the Tennessee River,
in the place we now call Colbert Ferry,
Wilson found a unique environment
along the old trace.
He describes wooded areas that were burned
every spring by the Chickasaw.
They were covered with tall grass
and wildflowers.
He compared that area with the look
of a nobleman's park.
This letter helps us understand how
the Chickasaw people used fire
to shape the land where they lived.
Not only was the Chickasaw prairie
beautiful, the open view allowed
the community living on the ridges
to keep an eye on who was approaching.
The Chickasaw people used fire
for many other projects,
like hardening clay pottery
and burning out logs to make canoes.
Keeping the prairie open also helped
provide food for the community.
Many animals that were food
for the Chickasaws thrived in places
with both grassland and forest.
The people provided for the animals,
and the animals provided for the people.
Early Chickasaw people raised crops,
including the three sisters,
corn, beans, and squash.
It was easier to grow these crops
and produce a bigger harvest in open land
cleared by fire.
Today, the Chickasaw Village Site
is protected and preserved
by the National Park Service.
With respect for the Chickasaw Nation,
the Natchez Trace Parkway's
trained firefighters aim to preserve
the land, so it resembles the environment
Chickasaw ancestors lived in
when they made this land their home.
- Main reason Chickasaw Village is burned
is because of the plant communities there.
It's classified as a black belt
prairie community, which mainly consists
of native grasses and wildflowers
that need open areas maintained
largely through wildland fire.
narrator: We invite you to visit
the Chickasaw Village Site.
If you want to learn how
modern firefighters use fire as a tool,
watch our video,
"Using Fire to Preserve and Protect."