Evening Star Project

Welcome!

A thousand years ago, a technological and religious movement reshaped the cultural landscape of the American Midwest and Southeast. Great towns and cities were built, vast networks were established, and power was consolidated under complex polities. Today, many aspects of that movement are alive and well - still reflected in the art, religion, and culture of native communities across Turtle Island.

The Evening Star Project is dedicated to the study and preservation of Mississippian history, art, and culture. This site has been designed to educate and engage the public about this fascinating time in the history of the Americas. Our goal is to provide users a unique source of information, including research and preservation efforts, native myths and histories, as well as access to our biannual publication: Yellow Roads.

Latest News...

Some of the most important evidence for contact between Mesoamerica and the Mississippian world has just been released in a new study ( See below, phys.org August 27, 2026 ). Just as was shown in the Southwest and the ceramics at Chaco Canyon, we now have evidence of the use of cacao at the great Mississippian site of Etowah.

These findings just confirm the importance of our research and the validity of our conclusions to date. We are excited that the door can finally be opened for the serious study of the connections between the Mesoamerican world and the Mississippian world.

We look forward to the further testing and application of the methods used in this study at other Mississippian sites across the continent.

Ancient DNA reveals cacao was consumed in present-day Georgia 1,000 years ago

What is the Mississippian Era?

For the purposes of this project, the Mississippian Era consists of three phases: Early, Middle, and Late. These phases are tied to important sites and communities across the traditional region of Mississippian influence. Roughly, an area that runs from Oklahoma in the West to Virginia in the East, and from Texas in the South to Wisconsin in the North.

The Mississippian Era was a time of dynamic change, with the sudden and relatively recent adoption of significant mythological themes, cultural traits, and agricultural technology from Mesoamerica. More intensive forms of agriculture, which included maize and later beans, were established with more stratified societies and economies. The bow and arrow had also just arrived a few hundred years prior. It would be a technology that would change the lives of many, not only through the hunt, but also warfare. It was this new agricultural technology, merged with the technology of the bow and arrow, that formed the beginnings of what we now identify as Mississippian.

Characteristics of Mississippian communities:

- Large scale use of maize and later bean agriculture

- Growth and consolidation of populations

- Stratified sociopolitical organization with elites running trade & ceremonial centers

- Flat-top, stepped pyramid and circular mounds

- Extensive trade networks

Some of the descendant communities of Mississippian influence or contact: Caddo (Caddo, Pawnee, Wichita, Arikara, etc.), Sioux (Osage, Ponca, Omaha, Iowa, Quapaw, Biloxi, Oto, Mandan, Hidatsa, Lakota, Dakota, Assinniboin, Naysah/Saponi, Monacan, Catawba, etc.), Muskogee (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Koasati, Hitchiti, etc.), Euchee (Yuchi) (Language Isolate), Algonquin (Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shawnee, Sac & Fox, Pamunkey, Passamaquaddy, Mi'kmaq, etc.), and Iroquoian (Cherokee, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, etc.). This list is in no way exhaustive.

Image Above: Cahokia as it may have appeared c. 1150 CE. Courtesy of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site; painting by Michael Hampshire.

Mississippian Timeline

- Early: 900-1250 CE (Spiro/Cahokia/Ocmulgee)

- Middle: 1250-1450 CE (Moundville/Etowah/Spiro)

- Late: 1450-1650 CE

(Koosa/Natchez/Yuchi)

A Red Road Forward

This project is not an anthropological or ethnographic study, nor is it an archaeological examination. The framework here is historical and will draw upon various fields and data sources in an attempt to paint as accurate a picture as possible of the people, cultures, and places during this important and dynamic period in our history.

In coordination with native governments, communities, organizations, museums, and experts from the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, our goal is to take a broad based approach in understanding and preserving this amazing period in history and its lasting impacts on native thought, art, and culture.

Outside continuing research and the production of our biannual publication, one of our first efforts will be the development of our Bright Star Program. This program will focus on our core mission - Cultural & Historic Preservation - and will include two initiatives:

- Tracking, monitoring, and cataloging culturally and historically significant objects that may be or have been for sale on the open and black markets.

- Cataloging, studying, and preserving maize and bean varieties related to those in use during the Mississippian Era. This includes the return of traditional seed varieties to Native communities.

The research and efforts behind this project have been under development for many years. Although some have passed, we would like to thank Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Bill Day (Tunica-Biloxi), Janet Nugen (Pamunkey/Saponi), Frederick Byrne, Benito Torres (Taíno), Billy Tayac (Piscataway), Georgette & Gus Palmer (Kiowa), Paul Moorehead, Robert Holden (Choctaw), members and staff of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Tom Pohaku Stone (Native Hawaiian), Alice Kehoe, and many others.

This site is for educational purposes only. More content, including images, resources, research, native myths, and histories will be posted over the course of the project.