Ocmulgee National Park getting custom-built dugout canoe

Caption

Pedro Zepeda, right, with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and John John Brown with the Muscogee Nation work on completing a 13-foot dugout canoe Wednesday outside the visitors center at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.

Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph

The Ocmuglee Mounds National Historical Park will soon receive a custom-built 13-foot cypress dugout canoe that will be on display in the park’s visitors center.

John John Brown with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma and Pedro Zepeda with the Seminole Tribe of Florida spent the last week finishing crafting the canoe near the park’s outdoor classroom. The two also spent a week in early May working on the canoe.

Lisa Lemon, executive director of the Ocmulgee National Monument Association reached out to Brown in 2021 after seeing him building a canoe on Facebook.

Caption

John John Brown with the Muscogee Nation uses an adze while helping complete a 13-foot dugout canoe Wednesday outside the visitors center at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.

Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph

“This is just a small part that I can give back to my people. I don’t want our traditions going away,” Brown said.

The canoe that started as a 30-foot log that was purchased from a sawmill in Laurens County will be unveiled during the 30th Annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration in September.

“I really enjoy showing [our work to] the public and educating them about our canoe culture, our history,” Zepeda said.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.