Effigy Mounds

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Location: 151 HWY 76 Harpers Ferry, IA 

https://www.nps.gov/efmo/index.htm

The Effigy Mounds is free to visit.

Only 38 miles east of Decorah, over 200 mounds rise from the earth; many of them are shaped as animals, such as birds and bears. Effigy Mounds National Monument is a culturally, historically, and spiritually significant site for many associated American Indian tribes. Visitors to the monument describe feeling a sense of peace and awe over the picturesque natural park, as well as the general power of this sacred landmark. So how do conspiracy theories, con-artists, and tales about ancient giants all fit into the picture? The mounds themselves are not the weird thing about this tour site. Rather, the things that people invented to justify colonizing indigenous lands are quite strange.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, strange rumors began circulating about the mounds. Newspapers published incredulous stories, fake skeletons were created, many mounds were destroyed, and wild conspiracy theories spread rapidly. All of these occurrences created a larger narrative: that a race of giants created the mounds found across eastern America, and that their large skeletons could be found within. This story became widely believed. Even Abraham Lincoln mentioned the supposed beings in an 1848 speech regarding Niagara Falls: “‘The eyes of that species of extinct giants, whose bones fill the mounds of America, have gazed on Niagara, as ours do now.’” Some individuals purposefully contributed to the false belief by creating fake giant remains. In 1869, George Hull claimed to have discovered a 10-foot tall petrified man that proved the existence of giants. It was later revealed that Hull faked the whole thing, and that the “giant” was carved from stone. So what was the reason for spreading false rumors about an ancient race of people that once walked the United States? Aside from satiating the ravenous imaginations of the American public, the stories served a much darker purpose. This narrative was used as a rationale for the colonization of Native lands. Some individuals falsely claimed that American Indian peoples were responsible for the extinction of the giants, and white settlers used this belief to justify the taking of indigenous lands and genocide of indigenous people. The spreading of this fictitious information was extremely harmful and irresponsible. 

It is well known today that the mounds, including those found in Effigy Mounds National Monument, were created in The Late Woodland Period (1400-750 B.P.) by a culture known as the Effigy Moundbuilders, not ancient giants. While it is unknown exactly why the mounds were created, associated Native American legends speculate that they were ceremonial sites. Archaeologists believe that the mounds may have marked hunting grounds. In any case, Effigy Mounds is a sacred historic landmark that is interesting regardless of the false, dark past that has been bestowed upon it. We encourage you to be mindful of the monument’s significance and history when you visit.

American Indian tribes that are presently associated with Effigy Mounds National Monument include:

• Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska 

• Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma 

• Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians 

• Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin 

• Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska 

• Upper Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota 

• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community In the State of Minnesota 

• Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota 

• Prairie Island Indian Community In the State of Minnesota 

• Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa 

• Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska 

• Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma 

• Crow Creek Sioux of South Dakota 

• Omaha Tribe of Nebraska 

• Santee Sioux Nation 

• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe 

• Yankton Sioux of South Dakota 

• Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate 

• Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe 

• Ponca Tribe of Nebraska