iCross-Cultural Citizen Project- The Everglades: Miccosukee Style

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Miccosukee Tribal Dances

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCXIuWMvKE0

Monday, July 22, 2013

The Micosukee children lived quite normal lives, playing with each other, and helping around the house. Micosukee children enjoyed spending time with their fathers by fishing and hunting. During earlier times, Indian kids had more chores, thus resulting in less play time. They resembled colonial children because of their abundance of chores. Small children had beaded dolls, toys, and games to enjoy. A popular sport among teenage boys and men was Stickball, a lacrosse-like game. Babies were carried by their mothers in cradle boards on their backs, like many Native Americans. This custom has been adopted by many Americans today.

Source: Reddish, Laura and Lewis, Orrin
1998 Native Languages of the Americas. Electronic document,
http://www.bigorrin.org/miccosukee_kids.htm

Personal Reflection

Overall, the Miccosukee children lived average lives. Although they had chores to do, they were still able to spend time with their friends, playing sports, such as lacrosse. I really like the fact that the boys enjoyed spending time with their fathers, by fishing and hunting. It shows that the fathers were dedicated to teaching their son's necessary tasks to gather food. The fathers were preparing their son's for the real, adult life.

Miccosukee Police

The Miccosukee Police Department was established in 1976. Each Miccosukee officer has to complete the same requirements that normal police officers do, except that once these Miccosukee officers complete these they are allowed to enforce all of the U.S. Title 18 crimes on the Indian Reservation. Every Miccosukee Police officer is commissioned by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Being commissioned by these makes it possible for each officer to make federal arrests, within the jurisdiction of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida

The Miccosukee do not just have a police department, they also have a color guard that escorts on ceremonial occasions, a dive team that recovers weapons, cars and any criminal evidence from their waterways, a wildlife team that specialized in conserving the 300,000 acres of land on the reservation, a K-9 unit to uncover drug paraphernalia, a CSI unit and a Swat Team in case any high risk situations occur.

Miccosukee Police Reflection

I would assume that the Miccosukee Indians would not have a Police Department or any of these organizations, because they are an Indian tribe. When i think of the Miccosukee i picture a group of people having meetings once or twice a week, not an entire community separate from the people around it; but this was a surprising discovery. Now i know that the Miccosukee are not in danger from anyone trying to harm them and that their culture will not die for a very long time, if ever.

Miccosukee, Tribe of Indians of Florida
Police Department, Electronic Document, http://www.miccosukee.com/tribe-contents/police-department, accessed July 23, 2013

Miccosukee Art

The Miccosukee Indian Tribe originally migrated to Florida from the Creek Nation. Although the Miccosukee Indian Tribe are not originally from Florida, they currently reside in the center of the Florida Everglades. Through their migration, many would think the Miccosukee Indian Tribe would have baptized the traditions and cultures of floridians, but instead they still continue to follow in their rich culture and follow their Tribal Customs and Activities. These activities include Woodwork, Basket weaving, Beadwork, and Patchwork. Also located in Florida is a museum by the name of Miccosukee Indian Museum. Within this prestigious museum, many culturally significant artifacts from the Miccosukee Indian Tribe is being held. Items such as Tribal artifacts, Unique Miccosukee clothing, Native paintings, Special cooking utensils, Rarely seen photographs and Informative film.

Citation: Zoo27
2011 Welcome to the Miccosukee Indian Village. Tribal Customs and Activities — Yours to Discover. Electronic document, http://www.miccosukee.com/indian_village, accessed July 22

Art reflection

In my own opinion I find this information very fascinating. I honestly feel inspired to visit the Miccosukee Indian Museum, especially since I am originally from Florida. When researching this information, I have come to see how interesting the Miccosukee Indian Tribe is. Their culture although different from my own is shown uniquely through their work left from their previous years. Their arts through paintings, clothing, and even bookwork has come to help us understand the Miccosukee life style better. Their arts play a huge role in their way of life.

Miccosukee Education

Most of us are used to public schools with at least two hundred kids within a graduating class, however for the Miccosukee tribe the education system is much different. One school consisting of one hundred and thirty three kids, grades kindergarten to twelve serves for the entire Indian community. What seems like just a small school actually harvests a large amount of growth in students and in overall education. But, size is not the only interesting and unique aspect of their education, it also the content they learn there and the struggles they overcame to build their education system into what it is today.

What once began with a mere eighty students has grown into an education facility of one hundred and thirty and continues to grow, but more thrilling than their growth in attendance is their curriculum. The Miccosukee Indians have established an institution providing younger generations with the benefit of two worlds. While children must take classes consisting of everyday American courses in core subjects, they are also given different opportunities to explore their own heritage through their education system. With hallways decked in paintings of Miccosukee elders and the colors of the Miccosukee flag, kids are reminded daily of their Indian heritage. Also, activities offered such as sewing and making pottery keep them involved in cultural activities. But most of all, their culture day keeps them from forgetting who they are and what they are in school to learn. They wear their traditional tribal clothes and eat their traditional tribal food to make sure they keep their customs strong so they will “never leave and never forget.”

Overall, the Miccosukee Indians promote the education of their own ideals and values. Although they must learn some “non-Indian” ideals and basic lessons, their primary focus is on their own tribe. By studying this way, it allows the children to grow up with skills helping them within the tribe, and skills they may need if they ever choose to venture beyond the Indian Village.

CITATION:

"Miccosukee School Helps Preserve Culture, Heritage for Culture," last modified November 2, 2003, http://www.racematters.org/miccosukeeschool.htm

Mission

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians is a federally recognized Indian Tribe residing in the historic Florida Everglades-an area referred to as a "River of Grass" by legendary environmental and social activist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. In their own Miccosukee language, the Tribe uses the word "Kahayatle" to refer to the shimmering waters of this natural treasure. In fact, Ms, Douglas traces the etymology of the word "Everglades" revealing that it originates from the same description of the quality of light glimmering on the grassy waters.

Vision

Values

The Miccosukee Tribe is looking towards the future with great expectations. However, Tribal leadership recognizes much remains to be done to ensure that the Miccosukee people can continue to be themselves in a constantly changing world. A key to this cultural survival is in the values and underlying philosophy of the traditional way of life. Values and traditions will not flourish unless they are constantly renewed and entered into wholeheartedly by the younger generations. For this reason, the Tribe has developed Miccosukee cultural studies at a higher level through a secondary curriculum and expansive studies.

Background

The Tribe has a proud history, which predates Columbus. The Miccosukee Indians were originally part of the Creek Nation, and then migrated to Florida before it became part of the United States.

During the Indian Wars of the 1800s, most of Miccosukees were removed to the West, but about 100, mostly Mikasuki-speaking Creeks, never surrendered and hid out in the Everglades. Present Tribal members now number over 600 and are direct descendants of those who eluded capture.

To survive in this new environment, the Miccosukees had to adapt to living in small groups in temporary "hammock style" camps spread throughout the Everglades' vast river of grass. The Miccosukees stayed to themselves in the Everglades for about 100 years, resisting efforts to become assimilated. Then, after the Tamiami Trail highway was built in 1928, the Tribe began to accept the New World's concepts. To ensure that the federal government would formally recognize the Miccosukee Tribe, Buffalo Tiger led a group to Cuba in 1959, where they asked Fidel Castro for, and were granted international recognition as a sovereign country within the United States. On January 11, 1962, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior approved the Miccosukee Constitution and the Tribe was officially recognized as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. This legally established the Miccosukees' tribal existence and their sovereign, domestic dependent nation status with the United States Government.

On March 6, 1971, the Miccosukee Corporation was formed to receive and administer funds from private foundations as well as county, state and federal agencies for a variety of educational, employment, housing and social programs for members of the Miccoksukee community. The officers of the Corporation consist of a President, Secretary and a Treasurer. The Chairman of the General Council is also the President and the principal executive of the Corporation.