Native Land
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This area's original inhabitants were Iroquoian Native Americans who according to Wikipedia, were a cultural manifestation of Late Woodland peoples. Before some of the landscape forever changed in Marianna, for the worse (meaning mountainous toxic slate dumps left behind from mining, and current industry pollution and decimation of scenic views and habitats), the Native Americans thrived along clean and healthy creeks and a river surrounded by virgin land where corn, beans, and squash had been grown. Life was very different than it is now. And I didn't need to live back then to know it. I only need to live now, where the land, air, and water are seemingly less treasured today than were then. Today, the term "tree-hugger" is often used to disparagingly make fun of people who seek to protect their environment.
While the Monongahela Culture is mentioned in local history books, it is not celebrated or recognized here in any way in Marianna; by that, I mean there is no public art in which to appreciate, no events in which to attend that revolve around Native American heritage, and no round-table gathering in which to open up a dialogue to learn more about ancient history on this soil. What is most popular in conversation, is whatever history is closest to the current times, and that is mining. It is the same in most other nearby small towns. Before the mine, however, there was a nearly self-sustaining town of Zollarsville, which had a school, church, grist mill, post office, homes, and a hotel. Zollarsville is the 2nd most discussed history after the mine, along with war history. An Indian Fort was located in Zollarsville, I might add, behind the old Ulery's mill that was built in 1835.
At any rate, acknowledging an area's "original" inhabitants is important. Public meetings/events, where discussion of the Monongahela Culture can take place, could and should be part of this area's future moving forward. Native American artifacts found in Marianna are often never known by the greater population in Marianna when they are found. Even if findings do make the newspaper, the details of those findings are rarely revealed. It would be nice to see color photos of the fragments of pottery or arrowheads found here.
A few years ago, while on a bike ride through Rice's Landing, I came upon two murals that depict Iroquois Indians looking out over the Monongahela River. The large painted displays leave a real appreciation for early local history and art (I might add that the artist who worked on the Rices Landing mural, Jim Winegar, also worked on the Marianna Mural).
If you aren't from Marianna and want to know what Indigenous land you are on, you can visit native-land.ca to find out.
Interesting Sites About The Monongahela Culture:
What was life like for the Monongahela Culture?
How to Write a Land Acknowledgement Letter
