Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1523410
94 maconmagazine.com | June/July 2024 his leadership. Working together, we are proving what is possible when we put politics aside and center the people of Georgia." "The Ocmulgee Mounds are of invaluable cultural, communal, and economic significance to our state," Sen. Scott said in the news release. "Designating them as the first National Park and Preserve in Georgia is a great bipartisan and intragovernmental effort." It also received government-to-government backing. The park, sited on the ancestral homelands of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, would be the first national park to be co-managed by a removed tribal nation in the United States, marking a tangible commitment to greater equity between the U.S. and Indigenous citizens. "Through this legislation the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is offered the opportunity to be in full partnership to protect their own cultural and natural resources through co- management," remarked Tracie Revis, citizen and former chief of staff of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Director of Advocacy for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI). David W. Hill, Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, concurred. "The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has worked closely with Senators Ossoff and Warnock and Representatives Scott and Bishop to help develop and review the dra Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Bill. ... We are thrilled to see this bill introduced and stand ready to support this legislation every step of the way." Local officials and stakeholders, such as Macon- Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller, stand in equal solidarity. "This historic legislation ... is one of the most consequential civic and economic development efforts in my lifetime. Like our efforts to protect this landscape and grow our economy locally, this legislation reflects a bipartisan commitment to stewardship, partnership, and reconciliation," the mayor stated. Currently, the national historical park spans roughly 2,800 acres. It represents over 12,000 years of continuous human history, including Muskogean earthworks such as the 55-foot-high Great Temple Mound and thousand- year-old Earth Lodge, making the Ocmulgee Mounds one of the most significant archeological sites in the nation. It is also a biodiversity hotspot, an opportunity for substantial environmental conservation, and a recreational resource for residents, hunters, anglers, and tourists alike. The expansion plan proposed in the bill could protect as many as 50,000 acres alongside the 50-mile Ocmulgee River Corridor, which runs from Macon to Hawkinsville, including the 6,500-acre Bond Swamp Wildlife Refuge and areas surrounding Robins Air Force Base. Representatives of the base have publicly supported the bill, citing increased quality of life for the nearly 24,000 civilians, contractors, and military members and ability to stave off encroachment into flight pattern areas, helping to fulfill national security missions. ABOVE In 2019, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation flag was permanently raised to fly above Macon- Bibb's City Hall. Pictured at prayer during the flag-raising ceremony, from left to right: Sen. Austin Scott, Sen. Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Muscogee (Creek) Principal Chief David Hill, Mayor Lester Miller, Mayor Pro Tem and ONPPI Executive Director Seth Clark, and Muscogee (Creek) Second Chief Del Beaver. Photo by Jessica Whitley.