TALLAHASSEE — The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s presence was felt outside
and inside at the dedication of Florida State University’s Native American & Indigenous Studies Center on Nov. 21 in Tallahassee.

Speaking from a podium on the center’s porch, Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. and tribal FSU student Bailey Marie Osceola Latchford addressed an audience of about 75 – including the tribe’s princesses – who gathered on a sun-splashed front lawn for the 12 p.m. ceremony during homecoming week.

Inside the center, each room featured Seminole-related items, ranging from
beads in the tribe’s colors on tables set up for the reception to a flier featuring a recent performance by Elgin Jumper at FSU.

One room’s bookshelves feature Seminole faces and writers, ranging from magazine covers with Max Osceola Jr., Mitchell Cypress and Kyle Doney to a book by Betty Mae Jumper and additional works that highlight Seminole and other Indigenous culture, life and history. Seminole-produced programs and booklets about the tribe’s cattle history, events and veterans, including Charlie Steel Gopher, are also on the shelves.

“At this center here, walking through those doors, this gives everybody a chance
to learn about what the true history is from our side because if you were in school – high school, middle school, college, and taking courses – that story is only told from one side and that’s not our side,” Chairman Osceola said to the audience.

“Seminole Tribe history is Florida history,” FSU President Richard McCullough
told the guests. “We have a responsibility to educate the next generation of students on the incredible resilience and success of the Seminole Tribe.”

The university, including its athletic teams, has used the Seminole name since
1947 when Florida State College for Women became coeducational and was renamed Florida State University. On June 17, 2005, the Seminole Tribe’s Tribal Council passed a resolution that formally emphasized its approval and support of FSU’s use of the Seminole name and imagery.

“At FSU, we’re very proud of our partnership with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which is built on respect and shared values,” McCullough said.

The center opened earlier this year aiming to be a hub for the campus and
community to learn about Native American and Indigenous cultures, and explore educational initiatives, collaborations and programs about Indian Country and beyond.

The 2,600-square-foot-style home was built in 1916 at 535 West College Avenue. It has historically been known as the GreeneLewis Home, a nod to its previous owners. It was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

The location is a prime spot on campus, just a short walk to the Westcott Building, home to the university’s administration. Latchford said she hopes the
center helps attract more Seminoles and other Indigenous students to FSU.

“Today’s dedication is about more than just opening a new student center; it’s about creating a space for community, education and growth,” Latchford said to the audience. “My hope is that this center becomes a sanctuary for Indigenous students and a motivating factor for future tribal students to choose FSU, seeing it as a pace that truly values our culture and traditions.”

Speaking from the podium, FSU professor Andrew Frank, the center’s director, stressed the importance of building new partnerships with the tribe in academics and with the student body, and “…to look into Indian Country and to see them as experts, not subjects to be studied…”