Native American Celebration

Come out to the Hagood Mill Historic Site Saturday Nov. 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., as many tribal groups come together to share their customs from today and yesteryear.

Activities will include the operation of the Hagood Mill, living history demonstrations, Native American traditional drumming, singing, dancing, flute playing and storytelling, Cherokee hymns in the Tsalagi Gawonihisdi language and traditional crafts and demonstrations. Food trucks will be available to purchase lunch or snacks.

Demonstrations of food-way traditions such as stone grinding of cornmeal, cooking fry-bread and roasting corn will take place throughout the day. Barry Crawford’s prehistoric cooking demonstration using ancient soapstone bowls is too artful to be missed. Members from the Foothills Archaeology Society will be on site to identify Native American stone tools and artifacts. Be sure to bring your treasure to be identified!

While on site, check out “Our Native Roots: An Interpretive Trail.” The interpretive trail takes visitors along the Old Indian Path, an ancient trading path that took the Native Americans from the Mississippi coast through the continental divide to Virginia. The interpretive trail includes a dugout out canoe which will be burned during the Native American Celebration, a river cane restoration area, a sacred fire circle, a medicine wheel garden, a corn garden, a mortar and pestle for grinding corn, a prehistoric stone mortar, an archaeology adventure for kids, the Paul West artifact collection and the petroglyphs  made in prehistoric times. We are especially grateful to Paul West, who donated his personal collection of Native American artifacts, art, and books to the Hagood Mill Foundation and are now housed in the Hagood Creek Petroglyph Site.

Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for the show. They are also welcomed to bring their favorite old-time instruments and join in the “open jam” which typically takes place throughout the day under the ancient cedar beside our beloved 1791 log cabin.

Admission is $5 per person aged 13 and up. Children 12 and under are free and there are no parking fees. Admission includes entrance to the Hagood Mill Historic Site as well as the Heritage Pavilion and Hagood Creek Petroglyph Site. Camping is available onsite all weekend.