Dashing Through Time: The Magic of Past Seminole Christmases!

Christmas is right around the corner, and for our last blog post of 2024 we are bringing you a very special holiday treat! Today, join us as we share Seminole Snapshots: Christmas Edition! Take a festive journey through Seminole Christmases past and enjoy a nostalgic peek at special memories as we get into the holiday spirit. Unlike many of our other installments in the Seminole Snapshots series, these photos were not all taken by the same photographer. Instead, they cover Seminole Christmases in a variety of decades, locations, and celebrations.

In our featured image, you can see Laura Mae Jumper, Wonder Johns, Howard Micco, William D. Boehmer (teacher), Jack Micco, George Storm (Huff), Storeman Osceola, Stanlo Johns, and Lottie Johns. They show off the Christmas decorations they made at the Brighton Indian Day School circa 1940.

 

The Brighton Indian Day School at Christmas

Due to William D. Boehmer’s meticulous documentation of his time at the Brighton Indian Day School, a number of “slice of life” moments were recorded of students preparing for the Christmas holidays. In these images, students at the Brighton Indian Day School prepare for Christmas by decorating, making presents, and also gathering together. Below, Storeman Osceola (face obscured), George Storm (Huff), Fred Tommie (back to camera), Jack Micco (back), Walter Shine Tommie (back), Howard Micco (group at right), Leoda Jumper (group at right), and Laura Mae Jumper (group at right) decorate an outdoor Christmas tree in December 1940.

The students decorated another outdoor Christmas tree in a different Christmas season. The Brighton Indian Day School put up their first Christmas tree, below, in 1938. If you look in the background Naha Tiger reclines on the porch of the school building. Presents and crates of fruit can also be seen at the base of the tree.

Christmas cheer could be found inside as well! This small Christmas tree, as well as festive paper chains, decorated the inside of the schoolhouse.

Along with decorations, the students spent time hand making Christmas presents. Here you can see Storeman Osceola crafting toy horse to gift someone. Many of the students made handmade gifts during school time, as documented by Boehmer.

In another scene Harry Tommie, Casey Bowers, Alice Micco, Storeman Osceola, Frances Tigertail, and Leoda Jumper pose with the toys they made for Christmas.

 

A Musical Christmas

Even before they were known for the Hard Rock, music has been a common thread throughout Seminole history. Over the years the Seminole Tribe of Florida has even had some star-studded Christmas parties! Below, Billy Ray Cyrus performs at the Christmas Party held at the Broward Convention Center on December 18, 1995.

Some Tribal Members even got to pose with the country music star, like Paul Bowers (L) below. The Seminole Tribe of Florida also presented Billy Ray Cyrus with a patchwork jacket, which he can be seen wearing in other images in the ATTK Collection.

Here, John Anderson, well known for his song “Seminole Wind” plays at a Tribal Christmas Party in the 1990s. A young fan joins him on stage! A longtime friend of the Seminole Tribe, Anderson recently honored Bobby Henry at his concert during the Florida Strawberry Festival in 2022. “I’d like to say a very special hello to Mr. Bobby Henry, the chief medicine man from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, along with all his guests,” said Anderson shared at the concert, and also thanked Henry for his work on the song’s video. “[Henry] was one of the ones responsible for it. If it weren’t for him, we could never have done that video like we did. God bless you, brother. We love you and all the respect to you.”  Anderson will be performing on February 6^th at the Indigenous Arts and Music Festival in Big Cypress.

Also, during Christmas 1995 the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s own Paula Bowers Sanchez performed to a seated crowd.

A few years later, Ferlin “Chunky” Buster played the guitar at the Big Cypress Christmas Dinner, December 1998. Sitting casually on a stool, he performs in the gymnasium, which was decorated for the occasion.

 

More Christmas Fun!

Above, James E. Billie graces a Christmas Greeting Card with an alligator draped around his shoulders. On the inside of the card is printed “Happy Holidays! Sho Naa Bisha”.

Here, Santa Claus hands out presents to children at the First Baptist Church Christmas Party in 1983. The church celebrated their 65^th Anniversary in 2017.

Below, you can see a black and white image of a community Christmas party in 1981. Sitting left, forefront, is Rosie Billie. Center is Mabel Frank and right, forefront is Bert Billie Osceola. Center, background, with cowboy hat is Jimmy Cypress.

 

A Time for Giving

Christmastime with the Seminole Tribe of Florida also means giving to the community and sharing the joy of the season. Below, President Mitchell Cypress and Santa Claus surprise a young patient with a Christmas present Dec 6, 2017 at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, FL. Cypress, inspired by his own childhood, launched the toy drive in 2007 when he was Chairman. The President’s Toy Drive held each December of his administration and relaunched in 2015.

In a 2017 Seminole Tribune article , Cypress recalls a painful memory that inspired the drive. Cypress was part of a 1953 Christmas gift exchange run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that connected Native children with kids from a local public school. At the time, he lived at a tourist attraction along U.S. Route 27 with his single mother.

“We were so poor but my mother gathered up six pennies so I could buy a Baby Ruth candy bar to wrap up for the boy who picked my name,” Cypress said. “He thought he would get a cool tomahawk from me, an Indian boy. But when he opened the present, he only saw a 6-cent candy bar. He just put it down and stared at me. I never wanted to disappoint anyone at Christmas again,” Cypress said.

Just last Christmas the President’s toy drive would deliver more than 1,300 toys to children affected by Hurricane Ian and culminate with visits to children at the Ronald McDonald House, Golisano’s Children’s Hospital of Fort Myers and the Guadalupe Center of Immokalee. Below, you can see President Mitchell Cypress sitting with Ronald McDonald and some of the toys from the toy drive to be delivered to the children at the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Myers.

This Year’s Drive

This year’s President’s Toy Drive was held December 6th and 7th at the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, FL. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. partnered with the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots to collect the toys. They were distributed to Jo DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood and other locations. Current President of STOF, Inc. Holly Tiger shared “I think it’s always so important to give back. I think we are so blessed; our tribe is so blessed.”

Below, you can see Santa and his elves posing with Seminole Classic Casino General Manager Edward Aquilar, far left, President Holly Tiger and COO Of Seminole Gaming David Hoenemeyer on December 6th, 2024 at the Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood.

 

Happy Holidays

Florida Seminole Tourism wishes you a wonderful holiday season, full of joy and relaxation. As 2024 comes to a close, we hope that you can take some time to build cherished memories and moments with your families and loved ones. We will see you again in the new year!

 

Author Bio

Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to 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 Lakeland, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.