Nanih Waiya

Nanih Waiya (alternately spelled Nunih Waya) is an ancient earthwork mound in Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 1-300 CE. Since the 17th century, the historic Choctaw have venerated Nanih Waiya as their sacred origin location in traditional beliefs.

Today the mound of Nanih Waiya is about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, 140 feet (43 m) wide, and 220 feet (67 m) long. Evidence suggests that it was originally a platform mound, which has eroded into the present shape. At one time it was bounded on three sides by a circular earthwork enclosure about ten feet tall, which encompassed about a square mile. In 2008 the state of Mississippi returned Nanih Waiya and its associated 150-acre park to the control of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a federally recognized tribe. Nanih Waiya has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.