Path to Partnership
The Native American and Indigenous Studies Center partnered with the Florida Historic Capitol Museum to host two Seminole artists and one Miccosukee artist. After an evening discussion, they spent the day demonstrating their artwork for the public, September, 2024.
Origins
In 1947, shortly after FSU became a coeducational institution, the FSU student body voted to become known as the 鈥満＝巧缜� Seminoles.鈥� It chose the name without the permission or participation of the Florida Seminoles. The student body called its first homecoming 鈥淧ow Wow,鈥� and began to crown a homecoming princess and chief. The university imprinted bows and arrows, tomahawks, feathers, teepees, and other stereotypically indigenous images across the university.
Other iconography on campus similarly bore little or no resemblance to the actual Florida Seminoles. A student literary magazine was called 鈥淪moke Signals鈥� and the homecoming court wore feathered war bonnets. This tradition, which reflects a sacred tradition among many western Native American tribes, is illustrated by the depiction of Doby Flowers (FSU's first African-American homecoming princess) seen on .
Early Consultation
The Florida Seminoles were recognized by the U.S. government in 1957 as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Many years later, informal conversations and formal consultations with the Seminole Tribe, as well as student and public protests, convinced FSU to change how it depicted Seminoles. FSU increasingly invited Seminoles to attend campus functions, having them serve as dignitaries at various events and recognizing their achievements with honorary degrees. FSU also slowly acknowledged that its earlier representations were ill-suited to represent a modern university.
In 1972, for the first time, Florida Seminoles attended homecoming festivities as official representatives of the tribe. The delegation included Miss Florida Seminole, an official spokeswoman for the tribe, who has crowned the homecoming court at FSU ever since. The annual delegation has typically included elected Tribal officials (usually the chairman or chairwoman) as well as fam