Abstract
The present study examines the history and Indigenous context of the Piasa Bird, a mural displayed on the bluffs of Alton, Illinois. Known by locals as the “bird that devours men,” the painting is currently placed on cliffs facing the Mississippi River. Today, the figure is hailed as the town’s mascot, and schools feature its infamous myth as part of their local history unit (Anon 2011). The image tells a story of brave warriors facing and defeating an impossible foe, their victory commemorated for generations on the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi. However, Indigenous oral traditions relating to its iconography give evidence to a different narrative… and a different creature. Most scholars agree that the Piasa “bird” is instead the Underwater Panther, a water manitou of the Bottom World who is still venerated by many Indigenous peoples today such as the Ojibwe, Chippewa, Cree, Arikara, Algonquin, Osage, etc. The Piasa mural is a fascinating example of multiple dichotomies, including the bridge between ancient and modern, the relationship between narrative and image, and the perpetuation and erasure of cultural memory. I argue that the current myth advertised by the city of Alton has prevented the promotion of its true Indigenous history, and that the archaeological method and its frameworks can be used as a means to enrich the history of Alton and its ancestral inhabitants.
Advisor
Navarro-Farr, Olivia
Department
Archaeology
Recommended Citation
Moonier, Natalia V., "Narrative and Image as Memory: An Alternate History of the Alton Piasa Mural Using Indigenous Contexts" (2021). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 9338.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/9338
Disciplines
Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology
Keywords
underwater panther, oral traditions, indigenous, iconography, cognitive archaeology, archaeology
Publication Date
2021
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2021 Natalia V. Moonier