| Show colorful seminoles Semi noles cling to ancient tribal customs by leivi analyst etui and commentator Commenia lor service 1616 eye Stet NW washington D C this is the first of two articles on OH hf eject of Post ivar conditions on the 71 bosl 0 sl misunderstood of american cili fe ens ns the Semb seminole iole indians with mr air 6 reporting feti reP from firsthand first hand hami somewhere north of the ever it lades des the sun is setting over flat bretches tr tr etches of 0 saw grass making a ea silhouette of cabbage at alms ms on the far lo dropping I 1 tint ot of lilac iliac im imong ong the he water hyacinth aci nth in the pond ond at my feet A A here lazy hump hould ered bran brah nan cattle cool hem themselves elves selves rig d white cranes it iland a nd undisturbed by us labove great bawks wheel and nd is we pass a I 1 bevy ev y vt f snipe baukhage aises like black nd ind white c confetti tossed in the air ly y a giant hand back at the turn of 0 the road that eads aads to the attractive alti active headquarters building uIl ding of the brighton seminole adlan reservation smoke curls up rom beneath a fire of logs in a cimetto PI metto thatched cooking ch chloee ikee it if one of the seminole camps here ive three generations of 0 a single amily group yet a fairly large seg nent of 0 the entire seminole nation i or there are only ol of them I 1 in n ill florida like most tourists when I 1 first ame to florida I 1 was startled to I 1 neet face ace to face ace these women in I 1 heir gayly colored skirts their high tend lead collars their astounding hair I 1 fress ress the men less gayly clad but till with their gay kerchiefs and hats the solemn children calicas of 0 their mothers in their 77 01 il gaj ft VIN V rn I 1 4 R fag am I 1 a wo A affa affi 4 I 1 P 4 W I 1 Z 1 I xa A it A R 1 i X V V 4 1 X j UN cluster around chigee in native costumes deep in florida everglades right flowing garments shopping it the five and tent ten it is hard to believe that these bayly clad yet modest folk so un that only three so far as know enlisted in world war II 11 ind none were drafted once defeat defcoat d the united states forces in three vars stretching from the time of he revolution until almost the end I 1 the lost last century by then with their chief osceola pricked into capture while at a peace peace larley arley all but of the seminoles Semi noles vere dead or had yielded to mass deportation lepor tation to the west but the lever gave in because of that tact fact lie he tradition has grown that they ire still at war with the united tates tales it Js Is true that no formal peace reaty ever was signed they have tad lad no chief since osceola died in captivity but the seminoles Semi noles have ull citizenship however Howe vei they made heir first formal and voluntary nove toward reconciliation and co ipe operation ration in 1938 A group of sem note nole leaders meeting with amer can officials in the everglades then asked the government for schools to and better horses and attle A program immediately was up and entered into with good vill on an both sides but it is a ques ion whether this step has had as much influence on the life and habits and customs of the seminole in this short span as have the weight of economic conditions the depression followed by the high demand for labor during prewar and war periods for more than three quarters of a century no seminole has owned land his possessions were limited to a few cattle and ho hogs gs running wild in the swamps an and d to what personal property he could store under the palmetto root roof of his open faced hut but in the everglades today there are three reservations william wililam boehmer Bo ehrner indian agent at brighton saw that venture rise from its ince inception eption he tells me e cry family on that reservation owns a car and one family boasts five radios are common as are electric tr to flashlights and kerosene lanterns some knives and forks and other practical gadgets and a lot of store food and canned goods however there has been no change in housing styles before the original deal was closed in 1938 one of the Semino seminole lq leaders first made sure thai living habits should not be interfered with lie he was quoted as saying indians must live in air and sunshine must dress as their fa fathers t hers dress but additional opportunity for employment has hai brought about a desire for an education As nearly as I 1 could learn education education to the seminole means learning to speak english and perhaps to read and write it because the seminoles Semi noles are nat farally intelligent it is no trick for them to learn if they want to but the labor demand likewise has interfered with the process when the family gets a special job picking tomatoes the children go along alon and pick too there are no penalties for being absent from school with the shortage of teachers ot of every kind it is unlikely that the supply ever will quite reach the demand even on the part of the busy seminoles Sem Semi moles noles the school in the ever gladis glades is closed at present undoubtedly t when conditions change an and d the seminole again Is confronted with uth job competition the government will be called upon to furnish the white mans learning in larger doses and with fewer interruptions in any case neither prosperity nor education has as yet et caused the seminole to complain about his housing situation A few modern houses built on one reservation were left unoccupied except t I 1 for or one porch there is nothing wrong wit with h a seminole chigee A chigee really ought to be translated room in stead of house since there are as many separate chikles as required for each family they are of two different types one for cooking and one for sleeping anil living they consist of a thick palm fan roof with low hanging eaves supported on poles and rafters there are no walls in the living hut but there is a platform a couple feet off the ground and usually a bunk like bench which can be used for the women as a work table as well as tor for sleeping these dwellings are airy all right and would be damp during a long subtropical sub tropical rainstorm if it were not nol tor for supplementary tarpaulin now eat food of white man what the white man calls ress has done more to affect the eat ing habits of the seminole than our cu cultural activities have affected his viewpoint draining and lumbering in the everglades have sharply re deuced food sources dried creeks and ponds cutting timber and forest fires have killed off wildlife fiut the accessibility of the grocery store has tended to make up with luth bakers bread beef coffee sugar syrup and canned fruits I 1 |
