We Are Still Here

The Museum of the Everglades was full to overflowing Friday night, January 26, for their exhibit about the Miccosukee Tribe, titled “We Are Still Here.”

 “It was a phrase that I kept hearing come up as I was researching,” said Thomas Lockyear, Museum Manager. "We are still here—and the unspoken part of that is we were here first.”

Lockyear said the idea for the exhibit came from Betty Osceola, Miccosukee Elder and champion for the environment, who was unable to attend the opening because of a death in the family. Osceola approached Lockyear during last year’s Everglades Seafood Festival.

"Betty Osceola had a booth in front of the museum,” Lockyear said, "and she was talking to me and said, ‘Next year I'd like to do cooking demonstrations. Do you think that would work?' And I said, ‘Yeah, that would be wonderful for you to do that.' And then she looked at me and she said, ‘It would be really nice if when I was doing that, there was an indigenous exhibit inside that museum,' and I said, ‘We can make that happen.' She's the one that really paved the path for this exhibit." 

Another key ally of Lockyear's was a man known as Popeye, who is the secretary of the Miccosukee Business Council. At 34, Popeye is the youngest member of the tribal government.

"I always say my government name, I guess, is William James Osceola,” Popeye said. "It's a really nice opportunity that was presented to us. And on my end, I feel like it's a nice collaboration on different levels between our community or tribal government and this outside institution that we've had historical ties to. I just saw it as a nice way for our citizens, working with our government, to get something done by doing outreach.

Community outreach is one of Popeye’s goals as a business council member.

“It seems like it's becoming more and more frequent now,” Popeye said, "we've been a little bit more proactive about trying to get ourselves out there with the information that we want to share.”

The standing-room-only crowd at the Museum of the Everglades was very receptive to Popeye’s message. It was a hopeful sign for Popeye.

“It’s nice to actually see that there are people out there who want to learn more about Indigenous history,” Popeye told the crowd, “Specifically our history. Because, unfortunately, having been in the American public school system, that's something that often doesn’t get focused on. I think generally it's like, here are some pilgrims. There is Squanto, there's somebody Pocahontas, aka Julia. And that was about it. Yeah, that's the general perception. I think I learned more about Paul Bunyan and his blue ox than I did about Indigenous history. But fortunately, being a part of an Indigenous people, I already knew a lot of history. There's a lot of knowledge that Indigenous people have to share, not just us. There's our cousin tribe, the Seminole, up north. There's a lot to learn about them as well. I would encourage you to learn more, not just about Miccosukees, but Seminoles as well. And the other tribes that were here before us, because although we are still here, there are those who are not here who were here before us as well in this state. And I think it's really important to acknowledge that.”

Though the subjects Popeye deals with are quite serious, he often uses humor to get his point across.

“Humor is a great coping mechanism,” Popeye said. "I like to joke around. Being native or any other community that's been through a lot will tell you this: You either cry or you laugh, or you can cry laughing. If you cry, make sure it comes from laughing."

Popeye is proud of what the Miccosukee Tribe has done over the years, but he also sees opportunities for improvement.

"I want to highlight that although the tribe has always been stewards of the Everglades,” he said, "and I think we've done a pretty good job, we haven't always been the best stewards of our own personal history and what we choose to present. So, this is a nice catalyst for us within the tribe to take more ownership of that work with those who are willing to work with us and offer that olive branch and really take charge.”

Popeye likes the exhibit’s We Are Still Here theme. He says it’s accurate.

“There's images in this exhibit that I've never seen,” he said, “so for me, it's bringing history alive. That's why it's called We Are Still Here because we are still alive. As a tribal member, there's been numerous times in my life that somebody in the airport will ask, ‘Are you native?’ or ‘Oh, you guys are still alive?' That happens a lot more than you would expect. We are still here. I'm still here.”

A hot button issue for the Miccosukee Tribe concerns mineral rights on the reservation, located 63 miles east of Marco Island on US Highway 41.

“There's a couple of different larger projects we're working on,” he said, "one that's focused on the Big Cypress area. We're trying to buy mineral rights working in conjunction with WildLandscapes International. That's in Collier County directly. That way, we can try to prevent oil drilling and things like that within the larger Big Cypress.”

Another priority revolves around section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. The CWA gives states and tribes the option of assuming, or taking over, the permitting responsibility and administration of the Section 404 permit program for certain waters.

“One of our main goals is trying to fight this 404 assumption,” Popeye said. “We're not really consulted with matters going on with the environment around us. It's kind of been handed off to the state.”

Education is also a priority for Popeye, who spent 10-plus years as a schoolteacher on the reservation after getting his degree from Full Sail University.

"I was kind of raised with the understanding that you have to learn as much you can about the modern world,” Popeye said, "but just within the context of using that knowledge to protect the traditional because that is what the priority is for us. I would relay the message to my students that our culture, our traditions, our community were here before the American government. So, we know it can last because it's sustained us this far. So, no matter what happens, that's what we maintain. Because it's worked before. It can work again.”

Popeye also wants to see more engagement among the Miccosukee Tribe, which currently numbers just over 600.

“Just trying to get more young people involved in government,” he said. “Just seeing for themselves and asking questions themselves. But also learning to communicate and having it goes both ways. The older generation and younger generation both have to learn how to communicate more effectively with each other so there isn't such a generational divide. I know within the tribe that's improved because somebody like me, I'm pretty young and I'm in office, so that means people are willing to hear things out or just try a different perspective."

The We Are Still Here Exhibit runs through May 11th. Admission to the Museum of the Everglades is free.