Page 16 - LIN M-J-J-2023 web-low

chickee talk

Photos 1 and 2
Julian Dimock
Photos,
Courtesy of
American
Museum of
1 2 Natural History

Pedro Zepeda, Courtesy History Miami Pedro Zepeda, Courtesy History Miami 3 O.B. Osceola, Sr. & Jr., 4

Photos 3 and 4
building canoes at
Dugout Canoes

by Tina Marie Osceola Traditional Transportation: Florida Folk Festival 1977-78

grew up hearing, “April showers bring environment surrounded his village, and the only mode of
May flowers.” So, as I drove across transportation was the dugout canoe, made from a cypress tree.
th
I ligator Alley one morning in April, Some of Julian Dimock’s photographs at the turn of the 20
Al
I didn’t think a whole lot about the rain Century captured incredible images of the canoes from that period
being dumped on my black Honda minivan. (see photos). Just like cars of today, or boats, the canoes were built in
However, living in Florida my whole life, different sizes, shapes, and styles given the circumstances.
rain is common and not something we think about at first. I hadn’t Seminoles and our ancestors had long established trade routes
listened to the news for a few days and so I didn’t know what throughout the state of Florida using rivers, swamp, and marshes,
the weather forecast had in store for me. In fact, I wore an ankle to navigate and travel inside of the state, the Atlantic Ocean and
Gulf of Mexico. Images flashed through my mind as I made my way
length dress that day and was kicking myself that I didn’t check
in my warm, dry minivan and although I felt lucky for my current
the weather and opt for pants. I spent my morning at my office
circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel removed or even spoiled
on the Big Cypress reservation and had to get back on the Alley
that my relatives and ancestors were exposed to the elements and
for a 3:00 p.m. meeting at our headquarters in Hollywood. It was
would have either taken a rest at a tree island or just kept on poling
that drive that seemed a bit overkill. I couldn’t drive faster than
through the water.
55-60 mph because the rain was pouring down on top of me like
When I was growing up, I watched my one-armed Grandpa,
a broken fire hydrant. As I approached what we call the “spaghetti
Cory Osceola, my dad and brother (the two O.B.s) go search
bowl,” where I-75, Sawgrass Expressway, and I-595 meet up, the
for cypress logs and demonstrate canoe making for the public at
water was pouring off the overpasses like an overflowing sink. Our
festivals and museum events. They used axes to shape the canoe’s
headquarters are located near the Turnpike and Stirling Road in
stern and bow and a hand adze to hull out the flesh of the tree.
Hollywood. That area is kind of like a basin and the streets are very
This was no easy task. Today, my cousin, Pedro Zepeda, who lives
low and retain water in a mild rainstorm, let alone, whatever this
in Naples is a master of traditional arts and has preserved the art of
was. The roadways were already holding water and I knew that we
canoe making. There are several others in both the Miccosukee and
were in for some flooding, but little did I know that the water I was Seminole Tribes, as well as the Independent Seminole community,
holding my breath driving through would become even higher and who have kept this tradition going.
by 6:00 p.m. the airport and downtown areas would begin to flood, If you get a chance over this long summer, or if the weather
closing runways, Port Everglades, and the entire downtown. forecaster predicts a rainy day, I urge you to visit either the
The drive home wasn’t any better than before, however, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum or the Miccosukee Village and Museum,
further I drove west, the rain began to slow to a drizzle. It was that to get a close look at the canoes of our people today and our
ride across Alligator Alley, looking over the sawgrass prairies and at ancestors. There is something refreshing about being in the rain as it
the tree islands that my mind wandered back in time. returns to the earth.
My grandfather was born in 1893 on an island where Treetops Remember, Florida has two seasons, wet and dry.
Park now sits in west Broward County. The Everglades’ water
The wet season is upon us.
16 Life in Naples | May/June/July 2023