BIG CYPRESS — Observing the past, honoring the present and welcoming the future made a trifecta of cultural fun for people of all ages who turned out May 3-4 for the Big Cypress Reservation’s 117th Anniversary Celebration. "To be able to wear a traditional Seminole dress and sing the national anthem

BRIGHTON — Armed with gold-colored shovels, Seminole officials turned dirt during the groundbreaking of a planned $27-million new home for 23 Tribal departments, including Police and Fire Rescue, on the Brighton Reservation. The April 16 ceremony heralded the start of construction for the long-awaited 111,000-square-foot Public Safety Administration Building. "Today is a

BIG CYPRESS — Sadie Tommie Cypress, 82, could only imagine 40 years ago that someday her tiny chickee store packed with snacks, sodas and Seminole arts and crafts on the edge of a swamp would grow to be a landmark on the Big Cypress Reservation. "My mother used to dream of

BIG CYPRESS — Former Tribal President Richard Bowers Jr. delivered two hefty checks to churches on the Big Cypress Reservation on May 5 – but all the thanks went to God. "We know that when things are done Godly then it is God who gets the glory," said Pastor Salaw Hummingbird,

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,

HOLLYWOOD — About a million people gamble at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood each month and Asians represent a large number of them. To satisfy players’ hunger, restaurants abound in the hotel and on the casino floor but none offer genuine Asian food. Until now. The BOL restaurant opened May

BRIGHTON — All eyes and ears at the Elder’s Building on the Brighton Reservation were pealed to watch and hear Brighton elder Happy Jones recant legends passed through generations. About 50 seniors, young adults and children turned out on April 25 for the latest chapter of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum’s monthly Seminole

BIG CYPRESS — As daily life modernizes throughout Tribal communities, new leadership at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on the Big Cypress Reservation strives harder to preserve and protect old traditions. Longtime colleagues Paul Backhouse, who was appointed director in February, and Annette Snapp, hired as operations manager in April, have worldwide experience

HOLLYWOOD — With an eye toward the future, the Seminole Tribe held a ceremonial groundbreaking and open house for the proposed new home of the Hollywood Recreation Department on April 30 in Seminole Estates. Part of the Hollywood Reservation and connected by a tunnel under the Florida Turnpike, the 21-acre site

BIG CYPRESS — Mike Allen Smith was a hardworking, generous, constantly smiling guy. "He was always like the big brother who cared enough to tell us to stop and take a rest – a take your shoes off, have a glass of water and relax guy," longtime friend Herbie Jim said.