ORLANDO — More than 700 Hard Rock employees worldwide gathered Jan. 21-23 at the world’s largest Hard Rock Cafe for the company’s annual Global Conference. The three-day event at Universal CityWalk in Orlando was a veritable pep rally honoring an over-the-top 2013 business performance for Hard Rock, one of the most

Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai has used his unconventional traditionalist views and Navajo-Ute cultural heritage to build a gratifying lifestyle and prolific music career – one that includes 10 Grammy nominations. “Everything I do is based on the philosophies of all the Tribes I participate in,” said Nakai, of Tucson,

BIG CYPRESS — U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell received more than a VIP tour on a recent visit to the Big Cypress Reservation. Jewell, an Obama administration Cabinet member in charge of conservation, proper land and water use promotion, fish and wildlife protection and environmental values preservation, got an

HOLLYWOOD — With construction to commence soon on the Howard Tiger Recreation Center in Hollywood, the community broke ground on the site Jan. 14 and paid tribute to the man for whom the building will be named. Considered the father of the Tribe’s modern-day athletic tradition, Howard Tiger was known for

NAPLES — The three-year fight between historic Ted Smallwood’s Store and land development company Florida-Georgia Grove LLP (FGG) may be heading back to court. By a 3-2 vote, the Collier County Board of Commissioners refused to “disclaim, renounce or vacate” Mamie Street, the county’s oldest road and the only access to

FORT LAUDERDALE — No matter what road Larry Mike Osceola II traveled during the past 55 years of his life – in the Army, through parts of Europe and a decade of adventures in Key West – his heart never left home. Now settled in Fort Lauderdale, Osceola is on a

FORT MYERS — Strong images, vibrant colors and compelling compositions of contemporary Seminole artists filled the main gallery at the Florida Gulf Coast University Art Complex in Fort Myers during an exhibition called Long, Long River: Tradition and Expansion in Native Art. The exhibit showcased the works of artists Jessica Osceola,

BIG CYPRESS — Paul Daily takes no credit in secrets, magic or super powers for his rare ability to calm, saddle and ride a wild horse in just two hours. The Louisiana cowboy and founder of Wild Horse Ministries said his talent comes from a higher authority. “It’s the way God

BIG CYPRESS — Without skipping a beat, the newest exhibit at Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum is a historic journey of song from the humblest hymns that praise the Creator to the rap and rock that shouts about life today. “Primarily, it’s Seminole people making music out of mainstream genres but putting the Seminole

BIG CYPRESS — If it seems like the canals along Snake Road in Big Cypress are disappearing beneath a blanket of foliage, they aren’t. The abundance of water lettuce and water hyacinth plants is a result of the extraordinary amount of rainfall in 2013. According to the South Florida Water Management District,