Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site will present the Choctaw Youth Dancers on Saturday, Sept. 8, in conjunction with the Wickliffe Harvest Festival.

The Choctaws are one of the Native American tribes of the southeast with their original homeland based in Mississippi. In the 1800’s the majority of Choctaws were moved to Oklahoma because of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, banning Native Americans east of the Mississippi River. Many Choctaws escaped and found homes in Mississippi. Today, there are two federally recognized Choctaw tribes, one in Oklahoma, the other in Mississippi.

The Choctaw Youth Dancers perform many dances with some of them imitating different animals. Their dances come from a heritage rich in ceremonial life and are passed down through the generations.

The archaeological site at Wickliffe Mounds dates back to 1100 to 1350 A.D. and interprets the Native Americans who once lived in the village overlooking the Mississippi River. Wickliffe Mounds strives to be a link between Native Americans of the past and Native Americans of the present. The park has a museum, gift shop and picnic area.

The program is sponsored by the Friends of Public Archaeology at Murray State University.

Dance presentations will be outdoors at 10:30 a.m. and at 2 p.m. (In case of bad weather, the event will be moved indoors.) General admission fees to the site and event are $5 for adults, $4 for kids age 6-12, and age 5 and under are free. For more information on the Wickliffe Harvest Festival, call 270-335-3557. For information on the Choctaw Youth Dancers, call Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site at 270-335-3681.

The park is located in the Wickliffe community about 30 miles west of Paducah, on highways 51-60-62 west, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.