NATCHEZ

When one envisions Native North Americans, one usually thinks about PLAINS INDIANS galloping on horseback after buffalo, or chiefs in eagle-feather warbonnets sitting in front of tipis and passing a peace pipe among them. Or one imagines woodland peoples walking through forests with tomahawks in hand or paddling in birch-bark canoes over rivers and lakes.

Other images are less likely to come to mind: an absolute monarch, the Great Sun, with a crown of red-tasseled swan feathers, seated on a throne of goose feathers and furs, high on a mound above the rest of his village; or a temple located atop another nearby mound, occupied by priests with shaved heads; or dwellings— four-sided and constructed of straw and sun-baked mud with arched thatch roofs—placed in precise rows around a central plaza; or members of the warrior class, tattoed from head to foot, strolling about, fanning themselves and watching commoners at their work.

These images are reminiscent of Indian civilizations of Middle America, such as the OLMEC, MAYA, TOLTEC, and AZTEC. In fact, it is thought that Mesoamerican cultures did influence the ancient MOUND BUILDERS of North

Natchez. Their name, pronounced NATCH-is, possibly means “warriors of the high bluff.” They lived along the lower Mississippi River in territory that is now part of the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. They spoke a language isolate referred to as Natchez or Natchesan. They are considered part of the Southeast Culture Area.