Full Text of SR0429 101st General Assembly
SR0429 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 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.
|
|