Caddo Mounds Field Trip

The coronavirus pandemic has been a time of immense worry and stress, and for us students it has meant that we have not been able to embark on field trips and going outs. We students have been as restless as ants! Because of our caregivers, we journeyed on our first field trip in nineteen months which was delightfully informative experience.

 

In class, we have been diligently studying Native Americans and the Caddo Indians of East Texas. The Caddo were most notable for their decorative pottery which they shaped by hand. As settlers traveled west, the Caddo were herded like cattle and pushed into Oklahoma around 1869 because the white settlers thought the Caddo were trespassing on their land. Their number has significantly dwindled from 250,000 in 1200 A.D. to 6,000 in 2020.

 

Bright and early on the frigid morning of October 29, 2021, we departed on a bus to Alto, Texas where the Caddo mounds stand. The mounds which stood regally in the distance were only fractions of what they used to be. We were presented with the opportunity to throw darts with an atlatl, an ancient Caddo weapon. The day was sunny and when we walked, the wind swooshed behind our backs. One of the guides walked us to the communal garden where they grew beans, gourds, pumpkins, squashes, basil, cotton and passion fruit. Because we were running out of time, we left and headed to Mission Tejas.

 

Mission Tejas was was commonly utilized by the Spanish and it was where Caddo land was. Using the Camino Reyale de los Tejas trail, the Spanish established trade with the Caddo. When we arrived, we ate lunch because everyone's stomachs were growling. The ranger met us after lunch and we headed up to a modern re-creation of the original mission which was built by the Public Works Organization. The actual mission was a few miles north. After that, we walked on the Camino Reyale de los Tejas and then we head back to school. 

 

While on the field trip, we learned about the Caddo. They struggled immensely at times, but pulled through which is why the Caddo people and their intriguing culture still exist today. This trip opened our eyes and minds and exposed us to a new culture. Because of our trip, we have become more diverse in our knowledge.