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with us.”37 Since the catastrophic damage caused by the railways in the 1800s and the massive
archaeological excavations of Dr. Kelly in the 1930s, and after the passage of NAGPRA and other
protective legislation, the amount of involvement offered to Native Nations at the Ocmulgee National
Monument has increased dramatically. The National Park Service (NPS), the government steward of
Ocmulgee National Monument, takes pride in its inclusion of the Muscogee Creek Nation when
considering additions, renovations, or alterations to existing structures, even extending as far as
consideration for new pathways on the Monument grounds. Jim David, the NPS Superintendent at the
Monument, reaffirms that “all work that pertains to the Muscogee heritage at Ocmulgee is done with
the consent of the Nation.”38

In the mid-1990s the National Park Service, in connection with the Southeastern
Archaeological Center (SEAC) division of the the NPS, conducted a series of consultations with the
Muscogee Creek Nation in an attempt to establish an open line of dialogue between the NPS and the
Creek Nation.39 Part of these discussions pertained to the proposed building of a new ramp leading to
the top of the Temple Mound. The Muscogee Nation did not initially want to build a set of stairs
allowing access to the top, but the NPS informed them that due to lack of staff they would be unable to
keep trespassers off of the mounds. Without an easy way to the top, the Park Service warned, these
trespassers would do irreparable damage to the mound. Faced with this the Creek Nation agreed to a
new ramp, and the NPS agreed to use the location and materials of the nation's choice.40 In 2007, the
on-site museum received a major renovation to its layout and exhibits. During this process the NPS
engaged the Muscogee Creek Nation in all aspects; from architectural design to the content and context
of the exhibits, nothing was approved without consent from the Muscogee Nation.41

While there are no active archaeological excavations at Ocmulgee National Monument, the last

37 Richard Townsend, Hero Hawk and Open Hand, (New Have: Yale University Press, 2004), 188.
38 David, Interview.
39 Ibid.
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.