By Amanda Murphy BRIGHTON — Michael Dolnick appreciates the simple things: a steady job, a nice meal, a warm, safe bed. As an active duty Navy reservist, he knows soldiers worldwide rarely get those freedoms because of the violence looming at their doors. Dolnick, a lieutenant for the Tribe’s Fire Rescue Department,

BIG CYPRESS — For woodcarver Henry Wallace, resting in a Seminole chickee and chipping away at a block of fine cypress at the Big Cypress Reservation was exactly what he expected during the American Indian Arts Celebration at Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. “I’m home away from home,” said the resident of the Red

HOLLYWOOD — Rebeca Ferrer joined the Family Services Department in October, and as the only child psychologist on staff, she will treat children tribalwide. Ferrer has nine years of experience in the field. She earned a Doctor of Psychology and a master’s in psychology from Nova Southeastern University, as well as

HOLLYWOOD — Terry Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), came to Hollywood to build awareness for the nonprofit association, which strives to protect the well-being of American Indian children and families and helps enforce the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Recent high-profile Indian adoption cases spurred

Jeremiah Bitsui played a convincing bad guy on TV but that’s just a credit to a lifetime of perfecting his craft. A member of the Navajo and Omaha Tribes, Bitsui played Victor, a drug kingpin’s henchman, in the television series Breaking Bad. In real life, he acts, owns a business and

DAVIE — At a public hearing Oct. 24 in Davie, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said the reversible express toll lanes on I-595 will open March 2014. The expressway, under construction since February 2010, should be completely operational by June 2014. “We expect about 23,000 to 28,000 vehicles per day

NAPLES — O.B. Osceola Jr. is on the verge of securing the second multimillion-dollar contract for his company, Osceola Group, based in Naples, in a few months. The company landed a $13-million advertising contract with Seminole Gaming in October and is close to locking an $808-million deal to build a Hard

NAPLES — The Collier County Board of County Commissioners honored the Osceola family Nov. 12 for their commitment to preserving the county’s Native American heritage, culture and traditions. Commissioner Georgia A. Hiller presented the family a plaque on behalf of the commissioners. Three generations of the Osceola family were honored at the

BIG CYPRESS — Cruising north on State Road 880 along stretches of pastoral farmland, a mammoth lineup of gray metal and smokestacks loom at the horizon 20 miles away. From 15 miles, the air takes on an unfamiliar stink that lingers and contradicts the bucolic breadth of cattle pastures, vegetable

BIG CYPRESS — Intertribal business has come a long way since historic days when neighboring Native American groups traded crops and other goods to sustain communities. In fact, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Swinomish Tribe, near Skagit County in Washington, have cemented the “first true native-to-native” business endeavor in