VICKSBURG — The Choctaw Nation is asking Warren County to stop work on the local China Grove Road if any historic artifacts traced to Choctaw settlements centuries ago are found.
The action was requested in a letter sent to the county in June asking work to be halted if any significant archaeological materials, such as stone arrowheads, ceramics or foundations of structures, or any human remains are unearthed.
“It’s pretty much standard in any federal project. Contractors know about that kind of stuff,” Board of Supervisors President Bill Lauderdale told the Vicksburg Post.
In 2012, the county received $598,888 in federal funds for work on the southeast Warren County thoroughfare. The county will match the funds. The two-lane road is the most expensive on the county’s short list of road segments in poor condition.
If anything of value to the Choctaws is found, work is to be stopped within a 300-foot radius and the materials protected.
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