Saved by the Swamp
Written: Mar 08 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: excellent signage of medicinal plants, boardwalk, museum
Cons: didn't have long enough to explore it all
The Bottom Line: fascinating displays and information in and around the museum
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| NancySont's Full Review: The Everglades |
Saved by the swamp
By Nancy V. Sont
Imagine being saved by the mosquitoes, alligators, snakes and swamp water of the south Florida Everglades. The Seminole natives, under repeated attacks from the white men determined to exterminate or expel them, fled into the forbidding land only a few generations ago. Today the Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum, meaning ‘a place to learn, a place to remember’, takes visitors into the lives of the Seminoles. The unconquered tribe still speaks and teaches their native language and customs to their children.
They have built a mile and a half long, winding boardwalk through 60 acres of tall lush everglade ‘cypress dome’, the forest of the everglades. Every tree and plant is labeled with details of the Seminole’s uses. Benches are provided under the shelter of a thatched roofed amphitheatre teaching area. Seminoles who still wear the traditional homemade clothing teach their various crafts such as basketry to visitors at a live village at the end of the boardwalk.
The museum shows how they lived an isolated existence, growing traditional gardens, fishing and hunting for bream, garfish, manatees, turtles and alligators. For many years they were afraid of outsiders, holding onto their own ways. As the settlers moved in, draining the land, they found new ways of trading with the them. They found they could wrestle alligators for show and trade clothing, baskets, toys and woodcarvings with them.
High spots in the flat wetland afforded camps where they built their chickees, raised structures they used for family life. From the plants they found food, nourishment, medicine and construction materials. They even had insect repellant.. In front of the museum, surrounded by huge cypress logs, burns a fire where visitors can relax and ponder the past while learning of the rituals and religious rites of the tribe. An alligator lies on the muddy bank of swampland alongside the boardwalk in front of the museum.
Inside, lifelike displays fill the museum. A canoe, hollowed out of a tall cypress tree, sits in the swamp display with its occupants and their gear. Although it took them four years to hollow out each canoe, they last a lifetime. Labels inform guests about the Seminole culture and lifestyle from the manners and customs children were taught to the religious rituals and games they played. Rare artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution are also on display such as moccasins and leggings, turtle shell rattles, bracelets and beaded sashes, and medicine baskets. To show how legends are passed down for generations, the museum provides a Legends Theatre as well.
Any of the Seminole people who work in the museum can also answer questions from first hand experience. Tours are also provided. A 17-minute orientation movie, ‘We Seminoles’, shows an overview of the Seminole wars and how they managed to outsmart the American army. It also details how they herded wild cattle, left from when the Spaniards came to this continent.
The Seminoles have self-esteem. They were never conquered, so they maintain their dignity. It shows in the way they hold themselves, the way they speak of their past and the way the museum is set up and run. Although 4000 Seminoles were finally captured and forced to leave, the vast Florida swamp hid many who still remain to this day.
“We are a people of continuity and change, we are proud to be one of the most modern and successful tribes. We are still the unconquered Seminoles,” says Billy Cypress whose grandfather lived in the swamp.
Be sure to plan enough time at the museum as well as along the boardwalk and the Indian village at the end of it. Handicap accessible, the whole family will benefit from the experience.
IF YOU GO:
The Ah Tah Thi Ki museum is located on the Big Cypress Reservation, just north of Alligator Alley which runs east to west across south Florida,
For more information contact: museum@semtribe.com or http://www.seminoletribe.com/museum (941) 902-1113. The museum is located at HC-61, Box 21-A Clewiston, FL 33440. It is open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call for holiday hours. Admission is $6.00 adults, $4.00 students and seniors. Call for special group rates
To get there from Naples or Ft. Lauderdale take I-75 to EXIT 14, then 17 miles north on County Road 833 to West Boundary Road. While you’re in the area take time to check out Billie Swamp Safari Wildlife Park’s airboat rides, swamp buggy tours and restaurant. (941) 983-6101, or stay at Big Cypress Campground where they provide RV sites, cabins, tent sites, swimming pool. (800) 437-4102.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
NancySont
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Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 1 member
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