Uncovering Indigenous Sites in the Appalachian Mountains

Join us for a presentation from Matthew "Maasaw" Howard exploring Indigenous history and practices. Maasaw will be sharing archaeological evidence of 42 Indigenous sites he has discovered over the last nine years throughout the Appalachian Mountains. These sites include burial grounds, ceremonial sites, village sites, and cave sites that Indigenous people utilized over the last 15,000 years. We will talk about Indigenous burial practices and how they evolved over time.

About the Presenter

Matthew "Maasaw" Howard is of Cherokee (Aniwodi, Red Paint Clan), Lenapi, Choctaw and Tuscarora heritage. He is a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe. Maasaw is an Independent American Indian Field Researcher and an author. His Indigenous name “Maasaw” means “protector of sacred land.”

He has located dozens of ancient Indigenous villages, ceremonial, and burial ground sites throughout Eastern North America, ranging from Canada to Virginia. After locating these sacred sites, Maasaw records these sites without disturbing them by utilizing scientific technology such as ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic testing, and LIDAR imagery. He assists landowners through his non-profit company Bear Spirit Mountain, Inc. in putting their land into protective trusts to prevent any attempts for future development and destruction.

Maasaw has published several books on American Indian history, is an instructor at Shepherd University, and is called on by the American Indian and African American communities to be an expert at identifying 17th and 18th century graves that are in danger of being destroyed. He has presented nationally and internationally on Indigenous burial practices.