Sacred Soul

The Great Serpent Mound, located in Southern Ohio, is one of the most recognizable effigy mounds in American archaeology. Experts have not yet determined its origins, but many archaeologists believe that it was constructed about 1,000 years ago, significantly later than the Hopewell culture. Although it is not part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, additional efforts are underway to have … Read More

“Nothing about us, without us”

Attendees at the park's grand opening gather outside the visitor's center at Great Council State Park

By Aaron Rovan Ohio Humanities Program Officer Aaron Rovan attended the opening of Great Council State Park earlier this month. Below, he reflects on the event—and previews a new Ohio Humanities-funded podcast that shares the stories of Native Ohioans. On a clear morning in early June, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of hundreds of people in Xenia, a small town near … Read More

New WYSO podcast tells Ohio history from Indigenous perspective

YELLOW SPRINGS, OH—Ohio’s Indigenous people have been largely left out of Ohio history narratives. In WYSO’s latest podcast, “The Ohio Country,” the perspectives of Ohio’s tribal nations are at the center of a refreshed version of Ohio’s complicated history. The 12-episode series, which launches July 2 with a preview, introduces citizens of federally recognized tribes, whose homelands were once in … Read More

Ohio’s role in the nationwide fight for school integration

When their school district refused to integrate after Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954, a group of Black mothers in Southwest Ohio marched their children to the white school, demanding admission, only to be turned away every day for two years. Their activism resulted in one of the longest sustained protests of the civil rights era—one that began before … Read More

A Vibrant Appalachia

Ohio Humanities is a proud supporter of humanities work throughout Ohio’s Appalachian communities, where funds are in high demand and other support is much less common than in larger cities. From a walkable outdoor exhibit in an Athens park that highlights the important role the humanities have played in the region to LatinX storytelling by Southern Ohio Folklife, we are … Read More