If they ever build a Wal-Mart at Machu Picchu, I will think of Collinsville Road. ~ America’s Forgotten City by Glenn Hodges, National Geographic, January 2011
For Reynaldo Diaz, our trip to the Cahokia Mounds near St. Louis was a pilgrimage. Captivated by the history and heritage of the Americas’ Pre-Columbian age, Cahokia became a “must-see” destination for Reynaldo after reading Glenn Hodges’ feature about “America’s Forgotten City” in the January 2011 edition of National Geographic. He writes:
I’m standing at the center of what was once the greatest civilization between the deserts of Mexico and the North American Arctic—America’s first city and arguably American Indians’ finest achievement—and I just can’t get past the four-lane gash that cuts through this historic site. Instead of imagining the thousands of people who once teemed on the grand plaza here, I keep returning to the fact that Cahokia Mounds in Illinois is one of only eight cultural World Heritage sites in the United States, and it’s got a billboard for Joe’s Carpet King smack in the middle of it.
But I suppose Cahokia is lucky. Less than ten miles to the west, the ancient Indian mounds that gave St. Louis the nickname Mound City in the 1800s were almost completely leveled by the turn of the century. Today only one survives, along with some photographs and a little dogleg road named Mound Street. The relentless development of the 20th century took its own toll on Cahokia: Horseradish farmers razed its second biggest mound for fill in 1931, and the site has variously been home to a gambling hall, a housing subdivision, an airfield, and (adding insult to injury) a pornographic drive-in. But most of its central features survived, and nearly all of those survivors are now protected. Cahokia Mounds may not be aesthetically pristine, but at 4,000 acres (2,200 of which are preserved as a state historic site), it is the largest archaeological site in the United States, and it has changed our picture of what Indian life was like on this continent before Europeans arrived.
Unlike the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Cahokia Mounds are a challenge to capture through photographs. During our visit this past Sunday, a hot and very steamy afternoon, I realized that the photos I took would not reflect the awe Rey and I felt climbing the steps to the top of the mound. This was once the site of the largest city in what is now the United States and Canada, and these large hills in the Mississippi River basin were all man made.
Reynaldo’s most recent paintings speak to the connection he feels to America’s Pre-Columbian era … particularly related to his Nicaraguan roots. As we explored the great mound, I enjoyed listening to how Rey envisioned ceremonies were conducted on this site … and the connection the spiritual leaders must have had to their gods under the sun and the moon.
Thank God a portion of these magnificent mounds were preserved … but Hodges’ assessment is spot on. The highway cutting through these grounds is tragic. Within a half mile there is a freeway. The views from the great mound consist of industrial plants and downtown St. Louis. I realized that no matter the age … mankind has had a profound impact in shaping our environment. Today we build power lines, highways and factories. Back then, man built mounds.
