Barefooted In The Snow

if i ran off from the mission once
i ran off a thousand times
but it didnt do me any good
my folks would take me back
the very next day and id get
a whipping besides
i dont think there ever
passed a day that i didnt get
punished for something
i ought to be an authority
on punishment

we had to learn english and wed
never hear it except at school
its a wonder we ever learned
anything
i dont remember any of the
teachers and dont want to
why   i stayed in the first
reader till i was twenty years old
and then just got to the center of it
the first half of the book
was as dirty as could be and
the last half was just like new

i dont like to think about the past
people now dont know what
hard times are
little children went barefooted
in the snow
i dont know why the indians
sent their children to school
unless it was because they would be
better taken care of

Wallace Cook, b. 1880

Seminole War Exhibit at Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum

Struggle for Survival, 1817-1858

The War Years and How the Seminoles Became Unconquered

On December 14th, 2015, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum opened its newest exhibit, Struggle for Survival 1817-1858. Often called the Seminole Wars or Florida Wars, the years of 1817-1858 are recounted by many Seminoles as one long war of resistance. The Seminoles wanted to live on their chosen lands and not move west under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This exhibition will explore the tactics the Seminoles used to fight the U.S. government and the tools they needed to survive in the hidden Everglade hammocks. Oral histories of the stories and traditions passed on from the war years provide the Seminole voice to a history largely written by U.S. troops.

This exhibit explores the struggles faced during the war years to help exemplify the strength of the Seminole people today. The exhibit also features the Buckskin Declaration, which was presented to President Eisenhower in 1954. This document is a declaration of sovereignty and the right of the Seminoles to live their lives as they see culturally fit.

Visit www.ahtahthiki.com

Tiny Horrors: A Chilling Reminder of How Cruel Assimilation Was—And Is