SR0429 LRB101 12512 MST 60788 r
1		SENATE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, Long before Lewis and Clark, the Cahokia Mounds
3		region was home to the ancient societies of Mississippian
4		Culture and the beginnings of urbanism in the eastern
5		woodlands; it was from these societies that today's great
6		Indian Nations sprang, with cultural connections from the Great
7		Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and along the mighty Mississippi;
8		the beginning of this urban civilization was spread over six
9		counties of eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois; and
10		WHEREAS, At the sea of verdure, the fertile American Bottom
11		stretches bluff to bluff at the confluence of America's
12		greatest rivers, the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, cradling
13		the birth of millennia of agriculture and the rise of the
14		Mississippian Culture; Cahokia Mounds and its mound complexes
15		thrived on the cultivation and trading of corn, with their
16		surplus allowing them to rise and become the "Center of the
17		Universe" of the Mississippian Culture, trading to the north,
18		south, east, and west; and
19		WHEREAS, Dating from the Mississippian Period (800-1350
20		AD), Cahokia Mounds, covering 3,950 acres, is the earliest and
21		largest pre-Columbian archaeological site north of Mexico and
22		the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious, and economic
23		center of the pre-historic Mississippian cultural tradition;

SR0429 - 2 - LRB101 12512 MST 60788 r
1		and
2		WHEREAS, Cahokia Mounds and its ancient non-contiguous
3		satellite settlements are today in need of additional
4		protection to secure the most significant remnants of the
5		largest Native American civilization on the North American
6		continent north of Mexico from active and passive threats; and
7		WHEREAS, Over the last 24 months, with guidance from the
8		Indian Nations, federal agencies, Illinois and Missouri state
9		agencies, and local units of government, Heartlands
10		Conservancy developed a thorough, compelling, and rigorous
11		study that met National Park Service standards and criteria
12		demonstrating the feasibility of elevating the status and
13		national designation of Cahokia Mounds; the surrounding mound
14		complexes in the region and their significance, suitability,
15		and feasibility as a potential formal unit of the National Park
16		Service would ensure that these precious ancient
17		archaeological resources are protected and accessible for all
18		people to experience; and
19		WHEREAS, Conducting 13 public meetings, media interviews,
20		stakeholder meetings, outreach to 13 tribes/nations, and over
21		890 surveys, Heartlands Conservancy received support for the
22		study's recommendations and showed that local communities
23		would benefit from revitalized and protected sites with

SR0429 - 3 - LRB101 12512 MST 60788 r
1		enhanced interpretive and educational programs to teach about
2		the Mississippian Culture, its ancestral significance, and the
3		numerous associated historic traces and cultural themes; and
4		WHEREAS, The study captured the significance of the region
5		and its ancient history by demonstrating that, through
6		cooperative protection and partnerships, it can remain
7		connected and intact in order to properly interpret remaining
8		sites and offer opportunities to protect, enhance, and
9		interpret the natural environment along the Mounds Heritage
10		Trail corridor; and
11		WHEREAS, National parks generate $31 billion for local
12		economies each year and are shown to invigorate neighborhood
13		historic renovation and spur business growth; they also provide
14		opportunities for tourism and economic development, natural
15		resource conservation, and improvements of the quality of life
16		for residents of nearby communities; and
17		WHEREAS, There are no other mounds within the National Park
18		Service that represent the Mississippian Culture as
19		holistically and uniquely as the Cahokia Mounds; combined with
20		the surrounding satellite mound centers, Cahokia emerges as the
21		most significant and unsurpassed example of its time period;
22		and

SR0429 - 4 - LRB101 12512 MST 60788 r
1		WHEREAS, The great region of southwestern Illinois and
2		eastern Missouri will, with the assistance of the Indian
3		Nations, become a center of cultural outreach and enrichment by
4		embracing our nation's earliest heritage and re-engaging our
5		ancient past as a foundation for the 21st century; and
6		WHEREAS, Legislation will be introduced in the U.S.
7		Congress to create the Cahokia Mississippian Culture National
8		Historical Park in Southwestern Illinois, which, with
9		thematically-connected, non-contiguous mound complexes in the
10		St. Louis Metropolitan Region, will recognize the significance
11		of the Mississippian Culture and its unique national
12		significance in agriculture, ancestral ties, and its status as
13		one of America's first cities; and
14		WHEREAS, There is a strong consensus that now is the time
15		for immediate action to further develop the Cahokia Mounds and
16		thematically-connected mound complexes to realize their full
17		potential; with new transportation access across the
18		Mississippi River completed and the rebound of the economy,
19		there is even greater pressure to develop this area; therefore,
20		be it
21		RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
22		ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the citizens of
23		the Cahokia Mounds region to actively join the Heartlands

SR0429 - 5 - LRB101 12512 MST 60788 r
1		Conservancy, the Governor of Illinois, and the Illinois
2		Department of Natural Resources in support of the Cahokia
3		Mounds Mississippian Culture Initiative; and be it further
4		RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Congress to elevate the
5		national status of the Cahokia Mounds and
6		thematically-connected mound complexes that are deemed
7		suitable and nationally-significant as a non-contiguous
8		National Historical Park, the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian
9		Cultural National Historical Park; and be it further
10		RESOLVED, That we call upon the President of the United
11		States to exercise his authority by Executive Order through the
12		Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the Cahokia Mounds as a
13		National Monument, and we call upon Congress to pass
14		legislation creating the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Cultural
15		National Historical Park in partnership with the State of
16		Illinois; and be it further
17		RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18		delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the Illinois General
19		Assembly, the members of the Illinois Congressional
20		Delegation, the National Park Service Director, the Secretary
21		of the Interior, and President Donald Trump.