Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum Director, Gordon Oliver Wareham, joined Inside South Florida to share how visitors can embark on an educational journey to experience the Seminole people's rich cultural heritage and historical ties to South Florida.
Located in the heart of the Everglades on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, the gallery showcases an extensive collection of over 200,000 works of art and historic artifacts, illuminating the Seminole Tribe’s story of resilience.
“We call ourselves the unconquered Seminoles,” says Wareham. “But that pride that we have in ourselves, that we fought to be here, and that we're still here, and that we're a thriving community, and we're part of Florida, and we’ll always will be part of Florida. And so, we want to like to celebrate that this time of year, the Native American month that's happening in November. I think it's a time for us to reflect on that and to celebrate our indigenous way of life.”
The Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum is gearing up to host the American Indian Art Celebration, a fun opportunity to pay homage to and celebrate Seminole and Indigenous traditions, history, art, music, food, and much more.
“The American Indian Art Celebration or AIAC, as we call it, is a celebration of being indigenous, having those stories from around the country and bringing them all here to South Florida so we can celebrate,” says Wareham. “This year we have the Maoris from New Zealand actually coming down for a second visit, to celebrate their stories and to actually celebrate being indigenous around the world.”
For more information, visit SeminoleMuseum.com
This Inside South Florida segment is paid for by Florida Seminole Tourism.
