Vermilionville Living History Museum began their project, “Telling a Better Story: Indigenous Interpretation,” with a goal to improve the careful and accurate representation of the history and culture of the Native American peoples on whose unceded land their museum now sits.
![Land Acknowledgement Land Acknowledgement](/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/images/McKellar_Brady-Statement.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorotate=false)
"Vermilionville sits on the unceded lands of the Ishak People. And we would like to express our gratitude to elders past, present, and future of the dozens of other First Nations whose ancestral or current lands are within the boundaries of modern-day Louisiana, including the Chitimacha, the Coushatta, the Opelousa, the Choctaw, the Avogel, the Biloxi, and all other Indigenous people who lived and live where we now stand.
These lands continue to carry their stories and struggles for recognition, survival, and identity, and we are grateful for - and committed to - the opportunity to collaborate with the local Indigenous communities in the sharing of their culture and their ongoing struggle for sovereignty."
![Ramada Shelter Ramada Shelter](/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/images/McKellar_Brady-PXL_20231224_145406595.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorotate=false)
Additionally, the museum constructed a ramada-style open shelter, following closely to descriptions made from some of the first colonizers and explorers in this area, and confirmed further with some of the museum’s Indigenous partners and tribal communities.
A section of the property has been tilled over, treated/balanced/improved, and planted with native seeds for river cane and prairie plants that will provide examples of important plants for healing, ritual, tools, and decoration.
![Museum exhibit showing indigenous sites near Vermilionville Museum exhibit showing indigenous sites near Vermilionville](/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/images/McKellar_Brady-Panels.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorotate=false)
Last updated: January 17, 2024