A Journey Through Payne’s Prairie
Welcome back to our Seminole Spaces series! In this series, we explore places and spaces important to Seminole culture, history, and tourism. Last week, we talked about Seminole Cowkeepers, and learned a bit about the legendary Seminole Cowkeeper Ahaya. Ahaya amassed nearly ten thousand head of cattle, and drove them on the Alachua savanna near Gainesville by 1775. But, how did this Alachuan savanna become known as Payne’s Prairie? This week, we will explore Payne’s Prairie. There, the Seminole relationship with the land, as well as the landscape itself, has shifted and changed over time. In our featured image this week, you can see a shot taken from the observation tower at the Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park in 2022. Around 300,000 people visit the preserve annually to take in the wide grassy vistas and marshy woodlands. Home to hundreds of species of birds, fish, alligators, and even bison, Payne’s Prairie
Exploring Cowkeeper’s Powerful Legacy with the STOF-THPO
Join us to explore "Cowkeeper's Legacy: A Seminole Story", a new book from the Seminole Tribe of Florida's Tribal Historic Preservation Office!
Florida’s Flora in Focus: the Photography of JK Small
This week, we will look at the images captured by renowned botanist John Kunkel Small, who explored Florida for decades documenting its plants and people.
Christmas 1837: Seminole Survival and the Battle of Okeechobee
This week, we are looking at a particular historic moment and space that changed the course of Seminole history, and highlighted their resilience, drive, and sacrifice to stay in their ancestral homeland; the Battle of Okeechobee.
Mystery at Fort Marion
This week, join us to explore the Mystery of Coacoochee's Escape from Fort Marion.
The Devil, Abiaka: The Legacy of Sam Jones
This week, join us to learn about the life and legend of Abiaka. Also known as Abiaki, Arapeika/Aripika, Sam Jones, or just “The Devil,” Abiaka was a fierce Seminole wartime leader, medicine man, and spy.
Seminole Music, Language, and Legacy
Even before the modern rock empire of the Seminole Hard Rock, music has been closely tied to Seminole culture, identity, and history. Seminoles use music for social, political, and educational purposes. Significantly, they pass down stories, legends, and even language through song. This week, we are exploring the legacy of Seminole music, and how it has shifted and changed over time. Additionally, at the end of the post, we will look at a handful of modern Seminole artists, and current Seminole representation in music. Above, you can see Dr. Judy Ann Osceola, Pauline (nee Jumper, married name unknown), Judy Baker, Mary Louise Johns (nee Jumper), Priscilla Sayen, and Judy Bill Osceola (with guitar). Occasionally, the women were asked to sing at events as a show of support for the newly formed government of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in the late 1950s. Seminole Music In our featured image this week, you can see
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
Welcome to our Summer Book Series 2023! This week, join us to explore the sweeping historical fiction novel A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith. The novel heavily features Seminole history and representation throughout the book, and showcases the determination and resilience required to live in a changing Florida.
Seminole Spaces: Trading Posts
This week, we are exploring a unique type of Seminole space; trading posts. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Seminoles utilized trading posts as points of contact with non-Seminole traders.
Seminole Economic Resilience in the 1960s
This week, we look at Seminole tourism in the 1960s. Coming directly on the heels of federal recognition, this decade was marked by struggle and innovation, as the Seminole Tribe of Florida cemented its agency as a sovereign entity.