Collinsville, IL – Here’s something you didn’t learn in school: the Midwest has a pyramid. And no, it’s not a nickname or tourist gimmick—it’s a 100-foot-tall, hand-built monument that once ruled a city of tens of thousands along the Mississippi River.
On this Indigenous People’s Day, there’s no better time to rediscover Cahokia Mounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Illinois that preserves the largest ancient earthwork in North America. Known as Monks Mound, this massive pyramid of layered soil and clay was built between 900 and 1150 CE by the Mississippian culture, long before Europeans ever arrived in the region.
🌄 Why This Place Matters
Cahokia wasn’t a small village—it was the largest city north of Mexico 1,000 years ago, with a population that rivaled medieval London. Archaeologists believe it was the capital of a vast Indigenous network that stretched along the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Louisiana.
At its heart stood Monks Mound, a four-terraced pyramid spanning over 14 acres. Its base is nearly identical in size to Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza, though it’s built entirely of hand-carried earth. The top once held a great wooden temple or palace, likely home to Cahokia’s spiritual and political leaders.
Unlike Egyptian pyramids, Monks Mound wasn’t a tomb—it was alive with ceremony, trade, and daily life. Its builders engineered complex drainage systems, astronomical markers, and city grids that show an astonishing level of planning and civic organization.
📍 How to Visit
Cahokia Mounds sits just 15 minutes east of downtown St. Louis in Collinsville, Illinois, and is managed as an Illinois State Historic Site. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk, with free admission and on-site parking.
Visitors can climb the wooden staircase to the summit of Monks Mound for sweeping views of the Mississippi floodplain. Trails weave through preserved mounds and interpretive signs explain the site’s long Indigenous history. The Interpretive Center, currently undergoing updates, houses rare artifacts, exhibits, and reconstructed models of ancient Cahokia.
🪶 Indigenous People’s Day Reflection
While many Midwest towns mark their founding in the 1800s, Cahokia tells a much older story—one of advanced Indigenous civilizations thriving long before European contact. The site offers a powerful reminder that the heart of America was once home to a true city of the Mississippi Valley, filled with culture, innovation, and art.
So if you’re looking for a meaningful way to honor Indigenous People’s Day, head to the Illinois side of the Mississippi—and stand atop the Midwest’s own ancient pyramid.
