BIG HAMMOCK, Fla. — Nine years before the Declaration of Independence was signed, a displaced group of Muscogee-speaking Upper Creek Indians established a colony in the rolling woodlands, lush lakes and fertile prairies just outside present-day Brooksville, located north of Tampa. A British surveyor called the settlement New Yufala, borrowing the

FORT LAUDERDALE — Excitement had been building among artists for months about a Seminole sculpture whose future home will be along the New River in Fort Lauderdale. But completion of the statue by sculptor Nilda Comas, with assistance from Elgin Jumper and endorsed with $50,000 from the Seminole Tribe, hinged

DAVIE — From ballet bun to twirling toes, sisters Harmony and Jaylee Cypress radiated star power when each took the spotlight on the Bailey Hall stage May 31 as students of Performance Edge Dance Studio. The girls, who live on Big Cypress Reservation and attend American Heritage School in Plantation, overcame

WHITE SPRINGS — Temperatures in the 90s and a couple driving thunderstorms did not dampen the fun and music at the 62nd Florida Folk Festival,  held annually on Memorial Day weekend at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park on the Suwannee River. The most comfortable folks at the three-day

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dozens of drums and thousands of voices filled "The Pit" arena floor at the University of New Mexico to reconnect ties that bind Indian Country peoples from Canada, the United States and Mexico. "We look across this sea of people and see our colors of red, yellow, white

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Twenty-three of Indian Country’s most talented and beautiful young women vied at the Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow in Albuquerque, N.M. for the coveted title of Miss Indian World 2014. Among them at the April 24-26 event was Miss Florida Seminole Tia Blais-Billie, 18, a Hollywood resident and graduating

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Drums and songs swelled to deafening decibels while men cloaked in quills, bones, ribbons and brightly colored fabric swayed and stomped, furiously mimicking grass that catches the wind on the Northern Great Plains. About 120 grass dancers filled the University of New Mexico basketball stadium April 26 during

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — All the way from South Florida, and in the midst of a New Mexico dust storm, the alternative rock band Hybiskus shook Stage 49 at the 31st annual Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, N.M. Led by RC North Jr., of  Hollywood Reservation, on lead guitar, with Gery K

BRIGHTON — It was a memorable Memorial Day weekend in Brighton when the newly renovated RV Resort opened to great fanfare with a ribbon cutting ceremony, barbecue, live music and a free night stay for folks who rolled in with recreational vehicles. "I’m a firm believer in making money for the

HOLLYWOOD — Elders, veterans, school children and an alligator slung around Billy Walker’s shoulders opened festivities May 9 with a grand entry that marked more than a century of Seminole perseverance and a decade of serious prosperity. "It was beyond my expectations that we would be as successful as we are