Keepers of the Mounds Screening and Lecture

Louisiana’s coast is dotted with hundreds of mounds that were built by indigenous people hundreds of years ago. Coastal erosion and subsidence is a constant threat to these sacred grounds and cultural heritage is not a renewable resource. Keepers of the Mound, a short documentary film produced by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, will be shown at the Jeanerette Museum. Following the film viewing, a discussion and a brief talk about the Indian Mounds found along Bayou Teche will be led by University of Louisiana Lafayette Professor Mark Rees.

Keepers of the Mound shows a mound in Bayou Grand Caillou in Terrebonne Parish that is at risk due to a rapidly changing ecosystem that could wash it away. Today, it sits on property owned by developers, not by the United Houma Nation. Carla Chauvin, a member of the tribe who lives next door to this mound, wants it protected from sea level rise, but she also wants (legal) access to this sacred space. The film follows Carla and Houma youth as they explore the meaning of the mounds in terms of their cultural heritage and utilize marsh creation to save it. They define a community in action.

Mounds along Bayou Teche also are at risk due a number of factors. Dr. Mark Rees, an archaeologist, Director of the Louisiana Public Archaeology Lab, and Nalley Board of Regents Support Fund Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will discuss these important sites. 6 pm; free and open to the public, though seating is limited. jeanerettemuseum.com.