Blazing a trail through swamps and Everglades Community by Peter B. Gallagher - July 22, 2013April 9, 2015 TAMIAMI TRAIL — The Tamiami Trail snakes 264 miles across Florida from State Road 60 in Tampa, down the southwest coast of Florida through Naples, across the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades to U.S. 1 in Miami, where it becomes Calle Ocho in Little Havana – and finally Brickell Avenue
‘Black Seminole’ descendants survive in Andros Island Community by Peter B. Gallagher - June 25, 2013April 9, 2015 ANDROS ISLAND, Bahamas — They came to Andros the first time in 1821, secretly seeking sanctuary and independence on this fabled island, a strategically located asylum for pirates, bootleggers and assorted outlaws. Andros Island, largest in the Bahamas chain, is still a rugged archipelago covered with limestone hardscrabble, skinny pines,
Seminole culture highlights 61st Florida Folk Festival Community by Peter B. Gallagher - June 25, 2013April 9, 2015 WHITE SPRINGS — Driving rains from weeks of unpredictable lightning and thunderstorms in North Florida caused the Seminole chickee builders to fall behind by the time Memorial Day weekend rolled around. So the planned new Ee-to-lit-ke Seminole Village, situated in the center of the Stephen Foster State Folk Culture Center
Chairman joins Tamiami Trail 85th anniversary celebration event Community by Peter B. Gallagher - May 29, 2013April 9, 2015 EVERGLADES CITY — With the completion of the Tamiami Trail in April 1928, a road connected Miami – through the swampy gator- and panther-infested Everglades of Florida – to Tampa. To the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, the road was "a gift they could have never imagined," said Chairman James E. Billie,
Seminole Chairman, Princesses star at Florida Folk Heritage Awards Community by Peter B. Gallagher - April 23, 2013April 9, 2015 TALLAHASSEE — Florida songwriter Frank J. Thomas, whose songs about Seminole Indians and Florida Crackers are Florida music legend, was awarded the highest cultural honor in the state recently when he was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame at the Florida Folk Heritage Awards. Attending the March 20 event
Willie Johns talks canoes with Tampa Community by Peter B. Gallagher - April 2, 2013April 9, 2015 TAMPA — Tribal Historian Willie Johns gave a Seminole Moments presentation on Seminole dugout canoes to Tampa elders on March 13. "Growing up in Brighton and the Okeechobee area, my family didn’t really use canoes. We preferred our cows and horses," said Johns, who showed an enlarged historic photo of a
Tribe member Spencer Battiest lands role in Native American play Community by Peter B. Gallagher - April 2, 2013April 9, 2015 NEW YORK — Seminole Tribal member Spencer Battiest made his mark, singing and acting at the famed Off Broadway Players Theatre, earlier this month as a cast member of the first Native American musical play "Distant Thunder." "Amazing," Battiest said when he returned home to the Hollywood Reservation. "Just amazing. So
James Richardson seeks relief from Florida legislators Community by Peter B. Gallagher - April 2, 2013April 9, 2015 TALLAHASSEE — James Joseph Richardson, the migrant fruit-picker who was put on Death Row and 21 years later exonerated for the murder of his seven children, takes his fight for compensation to the Florida Legislature this session. He has been seeking reparation for the wrongful arrest and conviction since 1989, when
Brighton Red Barn: Back in the saddle again Community by Peter B. Gallagher - February 20, 2013April 9, 2015 BRIGHTON — The historic Red Barn, abandoned and covered with vines for decades, flashed back to its agrarian past on Jan. 26 when cowboys herding cattle and horses, a hayride, a barbecue and the sounds of country western music once again filled the air amid blue skies, green pastures and
Justin Motlow and Andrew Henry: Tampa football stars Sports by Peter B. Gallagher - January 28, 2013April 13, 2015 TAMPA — It was the last quarter of the last game of a tough season for the Tampa Catholic Crusaders High School football team. Tied 7-7 in a Black Friday winner-take-all playoff battle with rival Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders, the Crusaders were in a do-or-die mode. The winning team would