Mississippian Cultural Day planned May 12 at Towosahgy State Historic Site

A photo from the Towosahgy State Historic Site in Mississippi County, Missouri, a Mississippian culture settlement. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Discover the secrets of the Mississippian Period of Native American culture at an event May 12 at Towosahgy State Historic Site near East Prairie in Mississippi County. The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include activities throughout the day and storytelling by a Native American actor and teacher. Sponsored by Missouri State Parks, the event is free and open to the public.


Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the many aspects of the mound-building culture that flourished in the area 1,000 years ago. They will be able to tour the site where the village once stood and see various pre-historic artifacts from the area. Visitors can make arrowheads, learn how to make cordage (small rope) from native plants, and test their aim and skill with an atlatl and longbow.

A special feature of the event will be storytelling by Larry Sellers, an actor, educator and Osage tribal member. Sellers portrayed “Cloud Dancing” on the television show “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” in the 1990s. Sellers will tell traditional Native American stories as well as stories of Osage history.

Towosahgy State Historic Site is located 14 miles southeast of East Prairie on County Road 502 in Mississippi County. For more information about the event, call Big Oak Tree State Park at 573-649-3149 or Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site at 573-748-5340. To get to Towosahgy State Historic Site, take State Highway 77 south towards Dorena and turn west on CR 502 (look for signs near CR 502). Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

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