8 Awesome Things Every Visitor Needs To Do

Florida summer is definitely here. Are you looking for some fun and educational activities to experience with your family during this hot and humid break? This week, join us to explore our Seminole Tourism Bucket List. In it, we will look at 8 unforgettable things that every visitor to the Seminole Tribe of Florida should do at least once. From trying fry bread to visiting a chickee, we hope that you find an opportunity, this summer and beyond, to check some of these incredible cultural experiences off of your list!

Today, in our featured image, you can see Jimmy Scott Osceola, Brown Shore, Billy Micco, Coleman Josh, and Richard Smith standing in front of a giant watermelon parade float. Students at the Brighton Indian Day School took a trip to north Florida and along the way saw the parade float for “the world’s largest watermelon”. William Boehmer snapped the image in 1952. Watermelon is a popular agricultural crop in Florida, and Seminoles have long folded it into their diets and subsistence practices. Watermelons thrive in the warm, humid South Florida environment (2009.34.1595, ATTK Museum).

 

Visit the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum…

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki means “a place to learn, a place to remember.” The Museum, which opened in 1997, has spent the last 28 years centering Seminole history and culture from a Seminole perspective.  Located on the Big Cypress Reservation, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum is home to more than 200,000 unique objects. A mix of permanent and rotating exhibits, one recently opened exhibit is “Beautiful and Proud,” a detailed look into the history and impact of Seminole Princesses. Through historic photographs, personal objects, and archival footage visitors will step into decades of rich tradition, cultural pride, and powerful representation. This exhibit also highlights personal reflections from former Miss Florida Seminole princesses, offering heartfelt insight into what the title meant to each of them.

The Museum, which is a labor of love for so many people, stresses the importance of not losing the reality of history, culture, and the Seminole experience. Too often, the true history of a people is outweighed by what is written in the history books. Experience for yourself Seminole history in their own words, and the oral histories and shared memories that add to that story.

 

…And Walk the Boardwalk!

Beyond the interior galleries, the Museum also offers an immersive mile-long boardwalk through a cypress dome. The learning does not stop as you spill out directly onto the boardwalk behind the galleries. Educational signs along the walk identify plants and animals. Slow down and spend your visit spotting numerous birds, and maybe even snakes, alligators, raccoons, and other wildlife. Along the way, you can also learn more about Seminole culture at the Clan Pavillion, Hunting Camp, and the Ceremonial Grounds. Often, Seminole artisans are present in the Living Village, creating and selling beadwork, basketry, wood carvings and patchwork.

The Museum Boardwalk is an incredible reminder of the relationship between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the natural world. Just like the Tribe can never be unlinked from the Everglades and the swamp, the Museum itself also can’t be unlinked from it. When walking the boardwalk, we encourage you to take your time and really experience the sights, sounds, and feel of this natural cypress dome!

 

Try a Traditional Food

Have you ever had sofkee? What about swamp cabbage or fry bread? Seminole pumpkin, gar, or turtle? Often at Seminole Tribe of Florida events, visitors can enjoy a variety of traditional foods that they may never have encountered before. Food for Seminoles is intimately linked to survival and resistance. Historically, multiple generations of family, from young children to grandparents, within a family camp would gather together for mealtime. Visitors would be greeted with coffee or sofkee, constantly bubbling in the cooking fire at the center of the camp.

Seminole foods are shaped by the harsh Everglades environment. Although it provided bountiful resources, Seminoles still had to be intimately attuned to the ebbs and flows of the environment around them to feed their families. They have extensive knowledge of the plants, animals, and landscape, how to process dangerous foods (like coontie) and what not to eat.

During the Seminole War period, this knowledge would literally save their lives. As soldiers floundered in the swamp, they were able to continue hiding their gardens and surviving off the land. They grew pumpkin, tubers, corn, beans, citrus, and other hardy vegetables, hidden away in tree islands for protection.

Seminole pumpkins, which would be trellised up trees, could be left for seasons at a time and thrive in the swampy environment. Gar, which is considered by most to be a ‘trash’ fish, is plentiful and filling. Fry bread, which is a relatively new traditional Seminole food, can feed dozens of people from just one batch of batter. Often, it is flavored with other traditional items like guava and pumpkin. During a Seminole Tribe of Florida cultural event (or on your own!) hunt down some of these traditional foods and see for yourself!

 

Experience Alligator Wrestling

Alligator wrestling is an incredibly important part of Seminole culture, one that has shifted and changed considerably over time. Before the era of tourism, Seminoles would hunt and capture alligators for their hides, trading them at numerous trading posts. Alligators were also important for ceremonial purposes, and they shared a relationship of deep respect and survival.

In the 20^th century, as the Everglades began to change, so did then the relationship between alligators and Seminoles. Due to western developers dredging and draining the Everglades, many traditional Seminole subsistence practices came to a sharp halt. Many families turned to tourism as a way to survive. Alligator wrestling soon became an important Seminole tourist attraction, thrilling visitors with high-stakes danger. Tourism, and dollars from alligator wrestling, would fuel the Seminole economy for decades to come, and help Seminoles survive this changing world.

Today, although the same types of tourist camps do not really exist anymore, alligator wrestling is still an important cultural touchstone. In a 2021 New Yorker article, modern alligator wrestler Everett Osceola shared that, above all, alligator wrestling is about “educating people.” Wrestlers form a unique bond with the animals, creating a sense of mutual understanding over time. As Florida’s wetlands gave way to development, alligators faced endangerment in the 1960s.

Reflecting on this history, Osceola remarked, “They helped us survive, and then, at a certain point, we helped them survive.” Today, Seminole wrestlers not only preserve an important cultural tradition but also teach others about coexisting with alligators and respecting the natural world. Many alligators are eventually released back into the swamp after their time with the wrestlers. Alligator wrestling is often folded into Seminole cultural events, where visitors are also educated on conservation efforts, safe practices, and stressing respect for the animals and the environment.

 

Shop For Authentic Seminole Arts and Crafts

Too often, indigenous art and culture is co-opted by those looking to make a quick buck. Instead, we challenge you to ethically and responsibly consume and shop for indigenous arts and crafts. For Seminoles, arts and crafts are woven into their cultural identity. Not only do they represent an important facet of Seminole culture, but they also are part of their history of survival and resilience.

Much like alligator wrestling, Seminoles would sell their arts and crafts at tourist camps for survival. Seminole dolls, patchwork, beadwork, wood carving, and other crafts helped support the Seminole tourism industry, and supported many Seminole families. Today, many artisans still craft and sell their art at cultural events such as the annual events including AIAC, Tribal Fair & Pow-Wow, Brighton Field Day Festival, Indigenous Arts & Music Festival, as well as the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

Seminole art and artists also represent a long history of Seminole survival without assimilation. Thus, it is incredibly important that we continue to support authentic Seminole artists as they continue their crafting traditions and add to Seminole history.

Looking to check this one off the bucket list? Join the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum at the Tampa Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Event Center on Saturday, June 21st for their Seminole Artist Experience Art Sale. In addition to an event center full of Seminole art and craft vendors, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum will also host a number of Indigenous dancers, wildlife experiences, and more! Can’t go the 21^st? The Museum will also be hosting another Seminole Artist Experience Art Sale at the Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee on July 19^th, 2025.

 

Explore Seminole War History on Location – From a Seminole Perspective

Florida has a significant number of Seminole War sites peppered throughout the state. But, too often the history books discount or ignore the Seminole experience of the war. As part of the Seminole Tourism Bucket list, we challenge you to explore Seminole History on location, but from a Seminole perspective. Before you go, research the history through a Seminole lens.

Throughout the Seminole war period, Seminoles were placed under an immense amount of pressure, violence, and stress. Entire communities and support systems were shattered as the U.S. government attempted to banish Seminoles from their homelands. In response, Seminoles refused to give up under the pressure. Although there was an incredible loss of life, and many Seminoles were removed to Oklahoma, those that remained refused to give in. Those who survived became the Seminole Tribe of Florida we know today.

The Seminole war period was a pivotal point in Seminole, and Florida, history. It is important to not forget this history and also recognize the Seminole experience during it. Visiting Okeechobee Battlefield State Park? Learn more about the factors that led to this bloody Christmas Day battle, and the guerrilla warfare tactics that helped them prevail. Learn more about Seminole leaders such as Osceola, Abiaka, and Coacoochee, and the sacrifices they made for the survival of their people. Trace Polly Parker’s long walk, and the horrors found at Egmont Key. We encourage you to learn more about the Seminole experience during the war time and visit some of the sites left behind.

 

Visit a Chickee

We have talked about chickees, or Seminole houses, a couple of times on the blog before. Just a few weeks ago, we talked about Seminole innovation and the magic of the chickee. Made from a cypress log frame and thatched palmetto frond roofs, chickees are well suited to the hot and humid south Florida weather. Although waterproof because of the highly sophisticated thatching, they are open air on the sides. This allows air to pass through, while keeping those underneath cool.

Relatively quick to set up, chickees were also pivotal for survival during the Seminole war period, allowing Seminoles to quickly breakdown and move to a new location. With a raised platform off the ground, Seminoles were also protected from water and animals like snakes.

Authentic chickees can only be built by someone who is Seminole or Miccosukee. As part of our bucket list, we urge you to explore some chickees, both on reservation and off. Looking to take a road trip? Here are the Top 5 Spectacular Off-Reservation Chickees throughout the state.

 

Attend Tribal Fair, AIAC, or a Seminole Cultural Event

Attending a cultural event with the Seminole Tribe of Florida is one experience that no visitor should go without! Throughout the year there are a number of amazing events open to the public. The American Indian Arts Celebration, which is held annually in November, celebrates Indigenous art, music, dance, and more. One of the largest events of the year, AIAC is a beloved cultural tradition that is hosted on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation by the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. Only a few months later, festival season begins with the Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow.

Open to the public, Tribal Fair hists an array of pow wow dancing, drum circles, art and fashion competitions, and the Native Reel Cinema Festival. Other events during festival season include Brighton Field Day and Rodeo and the Big Cypress Indigenous Arts and Music Festival. Smaller events are hosted throughout the year through the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Okalee Village, and other groups. We encourage you to check in on social media for all the latest events and fit one of these incredible cultural events into your plans. You will not regret it!

 

How many off this list have you done so far? This summer, Florida Seminole Tourism challenges you to get out there, get learning, and check some of these bucket list items off with the Seminole Tribe of Florida!

 

Author Bio

Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to South Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series, and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Fort Myers, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.