BIG CYPRESS — Florida State University teams all sport the Seminole name on their uniforms, but softball coach Lonni Alameda wanted her players to learn more about the tribe itself, so she arranged for the team to visit Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on March 25.

“We represent something bigger than just softball and our university,” said Alameda, who is in her 14th season at the helm. “When you get to put a meaning with a name, it give us a bigger purpose.”

FSU, which won the national championship four years ago and finished runner-up last season, is in the midst of another outstanding season. With a 29-2 record, FSU is ranked third in the nation, but the team put aside softball to spend an afternoon on the Big Cypress Reservation learning about the tribe before heading to Miami to face Florida International University.

“We want them to learn more about the tribe’s culture and history,” said Kyle Doney, a FSU graduate, member of the university’s alumni association board of directors and deputy director of the tribe’s Native Learning Center. “A lot of students aren’t privy to trips like this and it’s beneficial for them to know about us. And tribal members get to meet a nationally ranked softball team.”

The visit began with a story told by museum director Gordon “Ollie” Wareham. A storyteller by nature, Wareham was animated and filled with sound effects and emotion as he told the legend of the box turtle and the rabbit.

“The rabbit is a trickster,” Wareham told the group. “He’s our bad guy and teaches our kids how not to be and what not to do.”

The story was a lesson about hubris and humility. During the tale, Wareham had the team add to the sound effects.“The story was told to me by my aunt, Carol Cypress, who was told the story by George Billie,” Wareham said. “We became one people during the Seminole Wars and survived because of these stories.”

After a tour of the museum, the team walked on the boardwalk to the ceremonial grounds where they watched Billie Walker wrestle an alligator and enjoyed a traditional lunch that was provided by Big Cypress Councilwoman Marian Billie’s office. Executive assistant Marlin Miller-Covarrubias and other staff prepared Indian tacos, fried alligator, pumpkin fry bread, banana fry bread, a three sisters salad and sofkee.

“We wanted them to have a great experience here and have a chance to show the world who we are,” Wareham said. “They will take this back to school with them and share our culture and traditions with their classmates.”

The Chobee AMP 12U and 14U softball teams met the team at the ceremonial grounds and had the opportunity to get their softballs signed by the players. The FSU players also had a chance to hold a small alligator.

By coincidence, FSU pitcher Danielle Watson is from Osceola, Indiana, a small town about two hours east of Chicago. She doesn’t know why her town is named after Osceola – a heroic warrior for the tribe during the Seminole Wars – since it wasn’t taught in her local schools, but she was happy to learn about the tribe.

“More about it should be taught,” Watson said. “[The Seminoles] did a lot for their people. It’s interesting that they have different clans, that is super cool.”

The players appeared moved by what they learned at the museum; many didn’t know about clans.
“It’s interesting that you can’t marry within your clan and that the male goes to the female’s clan,” said first baseman and pitcher Mack Leonard. “It’s very different from our patriarchal society.”

During lunch, the players shared what they learned.

“Representing something other than ourselves is really cool,” said outfielder Hallie Wacaser.

Alameda believes it will be important for the upperclassmen to share these stories about meeting the tribe with younger students. She believes it is more impactful to learn about the culture first-hand than through books.

“Taking this all in and understanding what the tribe and their culture is, is a really cool thing,” said shortstop Josie Muffley. “What we are wearing isn’t just a symbol for us, it has real meaning.”