The Mississippi: A Journey Through the Heart of America

The Mississippi River, America's lifeblood. A mighty waterway that still holds many secrets. Settlements have called the banks of the river home for thousands of years. Many different cultures live here, but they're all Americans. From members of the Choctaw tribes, to a group of unique cowboys, the Delta Hill Riders. The Mississippi River is intriguing. From the land, water and air. A journey through the soul of America. Today is a special day for Peyton and Jace, members of the Choctaw people. Their tribe has lived along the banks of the Mississippi River for centuries. They're headed for a place that's sacred to the Choctaw. An ancient earthwork mound built by indigenous people around 400 CE. The two young men will take part in a coming-of-age ritual at the site. This is the Naniwaya Mound. It's a very special place to us, and we're just excited to be here. They'll perform a dance, and the elder will say a few words. I'm glad you guys are here, young people, that we can teach you, and you guys learn to keep our ways going. I am very proud and honored that our mother mound is still here, and we can still keep the honor and tradition going. We're honored to be here. Naniwaya lies at the edge of a sacred Choctaw site. The area is characterized by water and swamps. At its heart lies the most sacred place, the Naniwaya Cave. Choctaw legend has it that this is the birthplace of humanity, where people first emerged onto the surface of the earth. Other tribes then migrated in all directions. Only the Choctaw remained, choosing to stay close to the mother mound. I thank you young people for coming. We carry a great spirit in us, and it's up to us to pass it on. I thank you for everything you've learned. Don't forget it. Wherever your feet touch the earth, never forget where you come from. I thank you. Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya, Naniwaya. Much of their culture was lost when the Choctaw were suppressed by European settlers. Even the origin of the Choctaw name is uncertain, though some believe it's derived from the words for river people. The Choctaw were driven off their land in the 19th century, and could only remain if they agreed to become American citizens. Families were then allotted a plot of land to work according to European norms. Payton and his father Demando are descendants from these Choctaw people. They're ending the special day by fishing together. I am proud to be a Choctaw. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. I am proud because we still learn about our cultures and traditions, and mostly where we came from. The Choctaw were granted their own reservation in 1945. Now they also have the right to self-governance. Choctaw is represented through our Indian cultures. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians was recognized back in the early 1900s. I believe that Mississippi Choctaws evolved here from the Dancing Rabbit, treated through the Trails of Tears. And I'm glad that our ancestors had evolved here, and I'm proud that we are still here. And they're not going anywhere. The Mississippi Choctaw Reservation covers about 140 square kilometers in 10 different rural areas in the state. The Mississippi River is nearly 4,000 kilometers long, and while it's the country's most important river, it's not the longest. Memphis, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana are two key cities in the lower Mississippi Delta, which ends at the river's mouth. Memphis is the gateway to the southern course of the Mississippi, and is named after the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, once the gateway to the Nile Delta. The name led to the selection of a glass pyramid as a new landmark. But for most, Memphis still stands for blues and rock and roll, and Beale Street is the heart of its music scene. The careers of many stars began here. Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, and of course, the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. Singer Naomi Taylor dreams of having a career like theirs. She's performing in Memphis for the very first time. There's a special spirit here, just with art in general, all forms of art, music, visual art, dance, everything, there's just, I feel like there's a, it's in the air. The city sets high expectations on musicians. Naomi's brought along her good luck charm, her guitar. This was my grandfather's guitar. He passed away this past year, but he was in a sibling band where he travelled with his brothers and sisters and played together. And he's the only other musician in the family that really took it seriously and took it professionally. So he passed it down to me, I guess, to carry on his legacy, which is really cool. Naomi is also playing in a bar on Beale Street, the Tin Roof. Will anyone come to watch her play? What are her dreams for the future? In ten years, I hope to, I hope to play to a lot of people. I hope to get my music out there and just travel and play music. That's all I want to do. Conversation in the backseat, baby, we got other things to do. We'll circle back to it, maybe one of these days, I'm praying it comes soon. The Tin Roof is filling up. Naomi's got a crowd. She survived her baptism by fire in Memphis. Musicians perform through the night in bars on Beale Street. But dawn is already breaking back at the Choctaw Reservation. The state of Mississippi is celebrating its Native American peoples and their heritage with American Indian Day. It's also an important day for the Morris family, Malayka's mother tells her to hurry up in Choctaw. Malayka is taking part in the Choctaw's annual high school princess pageant. I'm a little bit nervous too. And this is the first time they ever did an onstage question during the American Indian princess pageant too. So I got prepared for that so I'll just keep practicing more about it. Her mother Demetria is a former princess and now Malayka hopes to carry on the tradition. The Morris family, like most of the tribe, have a good life on the reservation. Having the right to operate a casino gives the Choctaw some financial security. They also have their own police force, court system and fire department. Malayka's high school, home to this year's princess pageant, also benefits from the casino. Payton, who had his coming of age ceremony yesterday, was last year's prince. Malayka asks him for some tips. Honestly, just going out there, having fun and being yourself, that's all it is. Then it's Malayka's turn. Her mother has spent months making Malayka's dress. Will all the effort pay off? The event starts at the sports field the way most Choctaw events do, with traditional dances. Malayka and her fellow contestants are being judged by the reigning prince and princess as well as a jury. Each girl must give a speech. The most important thing about being Choctaw is our culture. Our culture makes us who we are as Choctaw people. From kocha'opuni, outside cooking and shakala'igbi, beadwork, is the tradition that has been passed down for so many generations. Hachi'okokole and I thank you. Will the jury be impressed by Malayka's use of Choctaw? She was the only one to speak in anything but English. American Indian Day High School princess, and that is going to be contestant number 11, Miss Malayka Rae Morris. They were. Maybe future contestants will be encouraged to use more Choctaw in their speeches. The American Indian Day festivities are winding down. After a day full of Native American tradition, Peyton and his friends celebrate with another American tradition, hamburgers and coke. We Native Americans are still American, and we do have the American of food, burgers, pizzas, chicken, fries, and coke. Just as regular Americans. Personally, I enjoy the Native tradition more, because that fry bread took more gain. Maybe Peyton's generation will take the best of these traditions and create new ones, unique to the young Choctaws of Mississippi. The land that would later become the state of Mississippi was settled by Europeans in the late 17th and 18th centuries. They brought their own culture and customs with them and built European-style houses. Many of those living in the lower Mississippi Delta still take pride in preserving some of those traditions. Julie Bocek, nicknamed Mustang Julie, hopes to be part of a classic car show today, but her car's brakes are jammed and it won't start. Her husband Tom is lending a hand. A lot of the guys, they think I'm kind of an anomaly, because a lot of their wives don't jump in and work on the cars, or they work on their own car. I know one gal who won't even pump her own gas. Julie needs to be on the road in three hours, or risk missing the show. She and her husband don't collect just any old cars. They see their automotive restoration as an act of patriotism. The old cars are part of our heritage, and it shows how far we've come. I mean, you see a teabucket roaster clicking down the road, or like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or you see one of these, and it just brings back memories to people. The Ford Model A was part of efforts to bring mobility to the American masses in the late 1920s, but 60s models hold a special place in this couple's hearts. In 1969, you'll notice we've got a 69 Corvette and a 69 Mustang. That was the year of loud and fast. That was the year we landed on the moon. That was the year that America was at its truly greatest, and I think America's going to be great again. We're bringing back the muscle car, thank goodness. Julie hopes they've fixed all the problems. She's ready to roll, dressed as if it were still the 60s. Last year, we brought our 1930 Model A, and our 1930 Model A, we ended up winning People's Choice, so that was exciting. Julie could be en route to picking up another award this year, but then she smells trouble. We have a little bit of a burnt smell, so we're going to smell like something might be burning, so we're going to stop and check it out. Is the car show over for Julie before it began? Okay, so the brakes are a little hot, but I think we'll make it to the show. I'm going to pump the brakes a little bit on the way there and see if I can loosen things up. All the good spots are already taken by the time she arrives. It's a very patriotic show. It's at Keesler Air Force Base for military, and so usually people display the American flag. American cars from the 1950s, 60s and 70s all have some things in common, their size and their love of gasoline. Julie first checks out the competition. The other Mustangs look pretty cool too. Julie often stands out more than her car. Does she have a shot at a prize? 1969, the year it took it. That's awesome. And it was a great show. Beautiful cars. Once again, congratulations to everyone. Thank you for coming out. That's okay. Last year the ladies took it, so it's okay. Julie knows that more and more women are becoming hobby mechanics and giving men a run for their money. The Mississippi was an important transport route even before cars and trains were invented. But the water level has fallen steadily in recent years, making inland navigation harder. Not only were goods transported on the river, slaves were also once an important cargo, giving rise to the phrase sold down the river. Still today, over a third of Mississippians are black, making it one of the US states with the largest African American populations. A different kind of equestrian club is about 250 kilometres south of Memphis, near Greenville, the Delta Hill Riders. Jesse Brown boards three horses here in Larry Pellett's stable. Good to see you, man. They'll ride tomorrow with Jesse's daughter Jordan taking part for the first time. Delta Hill Riders is a group of African American cowboys, you know, real cowboys. I learned it from my cousin. A lot of history, real cowboys, no fake. We really ride. Are you going to help me? It's important to give it to the kids, my kids, and pass it down and keep it going, because with all the technology going on, the horses, you know, sometimes be things of the past. How does 10-year-old Jordan feel about her first ride as a cowgirl? I'm very nervous, but I feel like my dad will help me through a lot of stuff, so I'm excited too at the same time. As we'll discover, her nervousness is well-founded. The Delta Hill Riders hold a traditional barbecue the night before group rides. Chairman Liddell Porter tells some interesting, if not entirely true, legends about cowboys. You know, cowboys, a lot of blacks rode cows. I mean, a lot of blacks worked with ranchers back in the old days. And I hate to say it, but a lot of us would call boys a lot back in the days too, so by the boys working the cows and stuff, the name originally came about, they were cowboys. It'll tell you that's where they came from. You got some real famous black cowboys as well, you know, that make movies and stuff. We know John Wayne the Duke is one of the most famous white cowboys that ever lived, but he's not the original cowboy. He is an actor. According to Porter, Hollywood turned a derogatory name for African-American cowhands into a moniker for white heroes who became the stuff of legend. For the Delta Hill Riders, real cowboys are black. I want Jesus to walk with me. Hold my hand, Lord, hold my hand. While I'm on this journey... They'll set off tomorrow morning and ride their horses all the way to the banks of the Mississippi. Hold my hand. Will you wake me when we get there? Around 500 kilometres further south, environmental researcher and photographer Ben Depp is already en route to his destination, the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico, home to a huge river delta. Louisiana has some of the fastest eroding coasts in the world and we're losing thousands of square miles of wetlands and it's a combination of factors including sea level rise and natural subsidence where the land is sinking. Ben has been monitoring changes to the delta for years. He built this small sailboat a few months ago. Ben and friend Richie are sailing to a remote island in the delta. They want to camp for the night and spend the following day exploring. I feel like slowing down, taking half a day to get anywhere, that process of slowing down kind of helps me see this landscape better, kind of more clearly. Growing up here was a good way to understand this landscape. I spent holidays and summers on my dad's shrimp boat learning these waters. I learned to swim right over there and much of these areas have washed away into something unrecognizable. Ben is looking for a remote island to spend the night on because tomorrow he wants to do something out of the ordinary. Go ahead and assemble my powered paraglider so that I'm ready to go early in the morning. I usually wake up an hour before sunrise and kind of set things up, but it takes a little longer to put the motor back together after sailing. The Mississippi River Delta Basin is a low-lying area and the islands are flat. The best way to explore them is from the air. Ben's powered paraglider is perfect, but its range is limited. Ben and Richie enjoy evenings like this. Just trying to get a little fire started. We don't really need it this evening, but it's more for psychological reasons, right? A little warmth scares off any animals. There's a few coyotes on the island, nothing to worry about, but I have seen cougar footprints just about 10 miles from here. The two spend a peaceful night where the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico. Little do they know what tomorrow will bring. The Delta Hill riders get their horses ready the next morning. Ten-year-old Jordan is supposed to join them for the first time. No problem, says stable owner Larry. Jordan's big moment. Although Larry is confident Jordan can keep pace during the ride, others aren't convinced, including her father Jesse. Jordan calls it quits, for now. The Delta Hill riders consider themselves America's true cowboys. It's thought that after the US Civil War, one in every four cowboys was black, but Hollywood wrote them out of history. It's more than farmland and agriculture, I mean other farm agriculture, so it's animal agriculture too. That's what we want to bring to everybody's attention, that we're here to stay. The Delta Hill riders want recognition for their role in history, because black cowboys played an important part in building America. Environmental researcher and photographer Ben Depp gets his paraglider ready for take-off early in the morning. He wants to explore parts of the Mississippi Delta, starting from this island. It's very windy today, so it's a little bit, I'm getting thrown around a little bit. Ben has been flying and documenting the loss of islands in the Delta for years. Hurricane Ida came through this area last fall, and came through just a little bit west of here, and it really damaged a lot of islands a little bit west of here, so I'm kind of also curious to see if Hurricane Ida damage came this far east. Parts of the Delta have been cleared to make lanes for large cargo ships and pipelines. The work helps the water sweep more and more little islands away. Sounds like something just broke. The engines stopped, and Ben must make an emergency landing. It's good he wasn't out over the water yet. I'm not exactly sure what hit. It could have been a... Ben tries to make the best of things. He patches up the propeller and other parts. A belt probably snapped. He doesn't want to make an emergency landing in these alligator-infested waters. Success! The motor is running smoothly. Ben can start to take pictures. He quickly realises that huge swathes of land have again been lost in recent months. More than 54 square kilometres are washed away each year. New Orleans. The city's deepwater container port contributes to the lost land and deeper navigation channels. New Orleans is known by many different names. The Paris of the South, Queen of the South, the birthplace of jazz and the Big Easy. The French Quarter is the city's historic heart. The Choctaw traded goods at its French market, and Joan of Arc now stands here, a gift from France. African-Americans have also left their mark, The French Quarter is home to voodoo priestess Christina Barr, who's performing a love spell for one of her clients. I've seen elders take one simple candle like this and move mountains with it. So it's really all about your intentions. With voodoo, we're serving the Loire. The Loire are spirits which serve as intermediaries between humans and spirits. A lot of people assume that I'm Mambo, I'm a Asagwe. No, not yet. I'm still on my way up. So I work under my Mambo, my bon Mambo, Sally Anne Glassman. Today, Christina is meeting with Mambo Sally Anne for a voodoo mass. She always performs the same rituals as part of her training Christina draws strength here from her ancestors. She feels an especially strong connection to her deceased grandfather. When our family transitions over, they're with us. They call it Godspeed for a reason. If we call their name, my grandfather, who I've been talking about, is right behind me. You can feel what I do with my gifts. I listen to my body. I feel the changes and the energy. Her next stop, Congo Square. Slaves gathered here once a week in the 19th century. It was the only place they were permitted to dance and speak their native languages. But they still weren't allowed to practice voodoo here. Voodoo practitioners would instead bring their ancestors here. These trees were used for evil. They were used to hang my ancestors and many other ancestors here. Actually vibrating right now, I have chills all over my body just speaking these words about them. I can hear them. I can feel them. Christina's third stop is the temple of her mumbo, Sally Anne. Preparations are already being made for the mass, which the high priestess herself will oversee. Sally Anne has been practicing voodoo since 1977. Christina hopes to follow in her footsteps. That's been a lot of burden on her shoulders and I expect that Christina is going to, I expect her to go all the way that I think she'll become a mumbo, a subway. Definitely, I want to go as far as the law want me to go and as many people as I can bring awareness to and bring them to the religion, I'm all for that. The rituals begin after sundown. Voodoo's followers no longer have to hide their religion. Originally from West Africa, voodoo was brought here by the slave trade from Haiti. Once demonized and suppressed, it's still growing. And Christina also has faith that one day she too will be a mumbo, a subway. Venice is a small community nestled among swamps about 100 kilometers southeast of New Orleans. Richie Blink and co-worker Mark load seedlings onto his narrow boat at the marina. No longer content just to help his friend Ben, the paraglider, study the shrinking delta, Richie is actively combating it. Today what we're going to be doing is we're going to be planting some cypress trees out in the wetland areas and I began doing this work around 2009 or so, 2010 and I was working in the oil and gas industry and I was driving the boats here in the harbor, right? On these platforms in the Gulf and noticing a lot of land loss over the years and I wanted to be doing anything I could to be slowing that down and so planting trees was something that I could do within my own power. Richie and Mark have already planted several thousand trees in the Mississippi Delta. The tree roots give the islands greater stability so they're not as easily washed away. Richie knows his efforts are better than doing nothing. So these trees on these islands, same, I planted these as well here and these here. Richie grows the seedlings in his own garden and receives no financial assistance from the government or aid organisations. He used to work as a fisherman and later on an offshore oil rig. Richie now has a job with the local township but he's most devoted to his work in the Delta. So you can see there's water in the ground here, very high water table. Thank you. This island is at risk because it doesn't have a single tree and the roots of the plants aren't more than a couple of centimetres deep. Mark has been planting trees alongside Richie for years. My family came here in the early 1700s, and away we go away. The humans that were living here before, they built earthen mounds made out of one basket of mud and shell at a time. They pulled their efforts and labour together to live in these exceedingly productive places. And when the Europeans got here we built levees and we started controlling nature. And where we find the problems here is where we try to control nature too much. So the importance of land has been lost. The Mississippi River has provided for my family for generations. And the Delta is in peril, right? And so I'm doing what I can and others are too to help restore this area because it'll take care of us into the future. And the Mississippi River brings all Americans together in one way or another. It makes us who we are. And others who live by the Mississippi refuse to give up hope just yet.