Event

Battle of Ackia Commemoration

• 05/26/2018 Location: Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center, milepost 266 near Tupelo, MS, | Map Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Fee Information: Free Contact Name: Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center, Tupelo MS Contact Phone Number: [phone]
  The Chickasaw victory over the French at the Battle of Ackia, near modern-day Tupelo, prevented the further expansion of the French, and eventually led to their defeat during the French and Indian War. Learn about this battle with programs throughout the day. 
  
  Join us as we welcome Historic Site Coordinator Joseph Smith from the Chickasaw Nation and Brian Mast Public Historian from the Black Belt Museum at University of West Alambama at the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center on Saturday, May 26, 2018 about the Battle of Ackia from the Chickasaw perspective.
  
  10:00 am to 10:30 am - Joseph Smith will present a Junior Ranger program "Chickasaw Culture and Life".” Children will learn and discover how the Chickasaw people lived around Tupelo in the 1700s. 
  
  11:30 am to Noon - Brian Mast will present at 30-minute Junior Ranger Program entitled “We Want YOU for the French Marines!” Junior Rangers will experience life as a French Marine who was part of the 1736 campaign.
  
  1:30 pm to 2:00 pm - Mast will give a 30-minute talk about the Battle of Ackia from both the French and Chickasaw perspectives and the long-range impacts this battle had on European colonization of the area.
   
  Following the program until 3:00 pm, Smith and Mast will share their knowledge of the time period with visitors of all ages through displays of Chickasaw life and French Marine equipment.