Omega Wilson grew up knowing his ancestors were under his feet.
Wilson was raised on the narrow dirt path of Kimrey Road in Mebane, which borders the Great Trading Path — a highway of Indigenous trade spanning from Virginia to South Carolina.
At that time, the area was mainly fields and pastures for the dairy farms, full of pecan and oak trees. In between the farms and distant houses on the dusty road, and just 100 feet from his house, there was a ravine. Wilson grew up being told it was the drag trail — deep, parallel tracks left on the ground by travois, which were sled-like structures used for transporting goods and people across the land…