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chickee talk

Climate Change and the

Land of My Ancestors

this article was first published in August of 2022

by Tina Osceola
As we close out the Summer of 2022, most of you will probably Our ancestors lived here and
agree, it seems to get intolerably more hot with each passing survived. Uncle Pete didn’t go
year. I tried walking on the beach to get some steps in and deep into explaining this to me. I
found the sand to be equal to walking on asphalt. Now, it may always felt that he owed me no
be my age, but as a person who grew up on the beach and
spent a great deal of my time enjoying the sun and fun of living explanation, he was there just to
in paradise, I never remember the sand burning my feet. I realize give me the facts. In my
that discussing climate change is a touchy subject because many professional life with the
deny its existence and the mere mention of it can provoke violence. Seminole Tribe of Florida, this
That is not my intent. I want to tell you about climate change and question still comes up and it’s
my Tribe… mostly about the land of my ancestors. fairly common. Remember, the
question of where an “Indian” is
As a Seminole, I am asked quite regularly, from can be loaded?

“Where do y’all come from?” Toes in the Sand
This is why… We are not a race of people. We are legally defined as
Could you hear my Southern accent? Just kidding, but the a political entity given that we are members of a federally
question is what some call “loaded” because depending on who you recognized Tribe. All three branches of government still struggle
ask, the answers will vary. In some cases, like my own, my answer has with the “Indian problem.” If you want to weaken a Tribe, how best
varied depending on which chapter of my life the question was posed. to do that? You disconnect them from their homelands. You
As a young child, I would reply that we are from Florida. My answer alienate, isolate them from their traditional plants, sacred sites, and
was solely based that I knew I natural resources. Every day when I go to work, it is a face off with a
was Seminole and that I lived in federal agency, public institution or private citizen who tries to use
Florida, so Seminoles must be academic scholarship to sever the bond between our people and
from Florida. our ancestral lands.
As I grew older and reached
middle school, I had begun How does this tie back to my burnt,
reading books about my own
people and was listening to red feet from this summer?
the academic scholars of the
day, who said that we were a It’s easy. The Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) for the
tribe of runaways. We were all Seminole Tribe of Florida has developed a map that illustrates the
originally from Georgia and expanse of our ancestral lands. It is our duty to figure out a way to
Alabama and were all forced protect the cultural resources within this area. We need to make sure
into Florida because of the Civil we do everything we can to protect our traditional plants, historic
War, and the “Indian Wars.” To sites, and burial resources. We also
me, that was shocking because I have to plan for our communities.
felt disconnected from my own Once our resources are compromised
Uncle Pete Osceola, Sr. sense of home. by rising sea levels and excessive heat,
Of course, I have always been very inquisitive. I want to know we may have to look to move our
and understand the big picture. I was not satisfied with that story… people back to some of these areas.
it did not feel “right” to me. I would eavesdrop on conversations, This year, I am going to focus on
and I remember hearing my dad’s older brother, Uncle Pete, talk sharing some of these stories with you
about the Calusa. He would let me ask questions because I think my and take you on a journey to show you
interest intrigued him. As an adult, my questions probably annoyed where my people come from. See you
him, but as a young person, he was generous with his time. He told in the next issue!
me not to believe the stories that we aren’t from here. That you can’t
believe what they write in books because the “experts” don’t know.
16 Life in Naples