Manatees Were Once Important Seminole Food Source
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Big Cypress hosts Edie Robbins earns Tribal-wide rodeo Senior Culture Day engineering honor roundup COMMUNITY Y 7A EDUCATION Y1B SPORTS Y 5C Volume XLIII • Number 3 March 29, 2019 Tribal businesses have a shot with thriving Broward, Super Bowl BY DAMON SCOTT Staff Reporter HOLLYWOOD — Seminole Tribe of Florida small business owners were recently reminded of some big economic opportunities that are currently in South Florida and on the horizon. At the Chairman’s Economic & Small %XVLQHVV 'HYHORSPHQW 6HPLQDU RI¿FLDOV representing the upcoming Super Bowl in Miami, and Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen, laid out ways Tribal businesses can grab a piece of what they say is a big pie. 7KH¿UVWRILWVNLQGVHPLQDUWRRNSODFH March 1 at the Native Learning Center in Hollywood. It was organized by Derrick Beverly Bidney Smith, senior director of operations in the Seminole students discuss sovereignty statements written by other Close Up USET participants before the vote on which ones should be presented to the USET leadership March 6 in Washington, D.C. &KDLUPDQ¶V RI¿FH 6PLWK VDLG WKH PDLQ reason for the event was simply to promote the growth of Tribal businesses. In D.C., Seminole students excel in Close Up USET program South and Eastern Tribes program from more than a sightseeing trip. Students students represented tribes from Maine, BY BEVERLY BIDNEY 0DUFKLQ:DVKLQJWRQ'&2XWRIWKH spent the week learning about U.S. and Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Staff Reporter KLJKVFKRROVWXGHQWVIURPWULEHVZKR tribal governments while working together North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, participated, 24 were Seminoles. WR DGGUHVV VSHFL¿F LVVXHV DIIHFWLQJ WKHLU Louisiana and Texas. WASHINGTON — The Seminole Although the students toured the U.S. individual tribes as well as the meaning of Many Seminole youth wore patchwork Tribe of Florida had the largest contingent of Capitol and a variety of historic monuments, sovereignty for all tribes. students in the annual Close Up and United the Close Up USET program was much In addition to Florida, Close Up USET )See STUDENTS on page 2B Manatees were once important Seminole food source BY DAMON SCOTT Staff Reporter Damon Scott Rashad D. Thomas, who is the Business Connect representative for the NFL, talks to some of the Recalling his younger years, Big attendees at the Chairman’s Economic & Small Cypress Councilman Mondo Tiger puts it Business Development Seminar on March 1 at the EOXQWO\ ³:H ZHUH VRPH SRRU SHRSOH MXVW Native Learning Center in Hollywood. trying to stay alive.” The time he speaks of wasn’t really that long ago either. Bogen started out praising the Seminole Councilman Tiger said even though Tribe’s ongoing contribution to the county’s the Seminole Tribe’s economic situation strong economy to the roomful of attendees. has clearly transformed in recent years, “[The Hard Rock] is one of the county SRYHUW\ZDVVLJQL¿FDQWIURPEHIRUHIHGHUDO and state’s largest employers,” Bogen said. UHFRJQLWLRQLQWKURXJKWKHODWHV “In addition to providing jobs, there is a huge He recently thought back on his years as indirect impact on our economy through the D\RXWKLQWKHVDQGKRZKHKHOSHGSXW many businesses it owns and operates. The IRRGRQWKHWDEOHE\KXQWLQJDQG¿VKLQJ2QH Hard Rock [Hotel & Casino Hollywood] source of food at the time was the manatee. is also a massive tourist draw which also He remembers how important the aquatic EHQH¿WVWKHVXUURXQGLQJEXVLQHVVHV´ mammal was to sustain life. But this seminar was about business ³:KHQ \RX IRXQG D PDQDWHH LW ZDV D opportunities outside of the Hard Rock’s blessing in disguise,” Councilman Tiger operations. said. “You could live on the amount of meat Bogen let the attendees (which included it provided for weeks. They were part of our a couple Tribal caterers and a construction diet.” company owner) know how they could do Preservation was tough without business as a vendor with the county. refrigeration, however, he said. +H VWUHVVHG WKDW EXVLQHVVHV PXVW ¿UVW ³,W¶V IDWW\ OLNH EHHI :H ZRXOG IU\ go through a registration process to be an it or grill or boil it. If you could, you’d RI¿FLDOYHQGRU dehydrate it under the chickees and smoke “Eligible contractors in Broward have to it,” Councilman Tiger said. use 25 percent of small businesses as part of Manatee hides were also sold for coffee, their contracts,” Bogen said. sugar and salt. Some of the bones were used Bogen added that the recent “penny for traditional purposes, he said. tax” for public transportation projects that “I believe they blessed the carcass, voters recently approved will generate even giving thanks back. It was a means of Florida State Archives survival back then,” Councilman Tiger said. more opportunity for small businesses in the This archival image shows Seminoles using the manatee for sustenance. future. Sandy McDonald, the director of the Struggle of the ‘sea cow’ 2I¿FH RI (FRQRPLF DQG 6PDOO %XVLQHVV not because the Seminoles hunted them for from an endangered status to a downgraded at the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum Development at Broward County, spoke to Manatees have been traced in the fossil IRRGEXWEHFDXVHRI¿VKHU\FRQÀLFWVKDELWDW WKUHDWHQHGVWDWXVLQ in Inverness, recently organized a new WKHJURXSDQGVDLGKLVRI¿FHZDVDYDLODEOHWR UHFRUG WR PLOOLRQ \HDUV DJR 7KH\ FDQ loss and boat collisions. Most recently the 7RGD\ WKH 86 )LVK DQG :LOGOLIH exhibition focused on the manatee. answer questions or provide any assistance. be found in both saltwater and freshwater toxic red tide plaguing much of Florida’s Service think the Florida manatee (a “Manatee Mania” runs through May at The programs throw around a lot of habitats. Gulf Coast killed scores of the “sea cows” VXEVSHFLHV RI WKH :HVW ,QGLDQ PDQDWHH the museum. acronyms – CBE/SBE and DBE/ACDBE :HLJKLQJ SRXQGV RU PRUH WKH – a nickname that comes from their diet of QXPEHUDERXW$HULDOVXUYH\VLQ Hinnrichs said it wasn’t just the to name a few. But the bottom line is they “gentle giant” is symbolic of Florida and a seagrasses and other aquatic plants. SXWWKHQXPEHUDWDERXW Seminole Tribe that historically used the DPRXQW WR ORFDO DQG IHGHUDO FHUWL¿FDWLRQ GUDZ IRU WRXULVWV 0DQDWHHV ¿UVW DSSHDUHG In order to combat this, the federal manatee for food, but “all people in Florida.” programs through the county, as well as in the shallow bays and rivers of the state 0DULQH 0DPPDO 3URWHFWLRQ $FW RI ‘Manatee Mania’ The exhibition includes a “Coffee and free small business assistance and other about 15 million years ago, according to DQG WKH (QGDQJHUHG 6SHFLHV $FW RI Conversation” speaker series – one features opportunities. WKH)ORULGD)LVKDQG:LOGOLIH&RQVHUYDWLRQ was put into place to help protect the Lindsey Gilbert Hinnrichs, the historical -DQLH*RXOGRQ$SULODWSP Commission. manatee. Due to overall improvements in resources program assistant for the Citrus numbers and habitat, the manatee moved County board of county commissioners )See BUSINESS on page 5A Populations dwindled over the years, )See MANATEES on page 8A Editorial......................2A Health.............................9A Sports............... ............1C @TheSeminoleTribune @SeminoleTribune INSIDE: Community..................3A Education....................1B 2A • The Seminole Tribune • March 29, 2019 What kind of democracy? One New dollars, sure, where Native votes are counted but same political game measured by representation, is only one- Parliament that started in 1867. In addition, There are several crucial elements in • Mark Trahant third of one percent. And that is even less so that country switched from a district based • Niigaan Sinclair this year’s budget that will make real-life in the Electoral College because the ballots system like the U.S. House in 1993 to differences. are cast state by state and are not awarded by mixed member proportional representation. The biggest swath of funding ($1.3 congressional district (except in Maine and This increases the broad representation in n November 2005, in the waning billion over three years) is allocated to serve hat kind of “democracy” is the Nebraska). Parliament. days of a Paul Martin-led Liberal Jordan’s Principle, a program that ensures United States? Presidential Then as bad as the Electoral College Since the mixed member proportional Ifederal government, the Kelowna First Nations children receive services such Wcandidate Elizabeth Warren is … the Senate is worse. Warren’s place in system began “Maori representation in Accord was forged. as speech therapy, medical supports and asked the question in a big way. politics is a democratic aberration. A voter in Parliament has remained at least proportional It was the result of an unprecedented equipment and mental-health services. “I believe we need a constitutional Wyoming has 70 times more say about the to the Maori share of the national population,” 18-month consultative process between the There are other important investments, amendment that protects the right to vote for country’s future than a citizen of California. writes Dominic O’Sullivan, an associate federal government, provincial and territorial such as more than $800 million to First every American citizen and to make sure that Seventy times! When you think of the professor at Charles Sturt University in JRYHUQPHQWV DQG DOO ¿YH PDMRU QDWLRQDO Nations, Métis and Inuit education, and $700 vote gets counted,” she said on CNN. “We diversity in a country of 325 million, what Australia. “The Maori party advocated for Indigenous organizations. million to support education initiatives in need to put some federal muscle behind that. kind of democracy allows a small rural state greater tribal authority while in government. The result was a $5-billion commitment northern communities. And we need to repeal every one of the voter to have far more power than those states that Maori voters will expect that advocacy to RYHU ¿YH \HDUV DLPHG DW DGGUHVVLQJ 7KHUH LV DOVR PLOOLRQ RYHU ¿YH suppression laws …” DUH PRUH UHÀHFWLYH RI WKH FRXQWU\ DQG LWV continue given they largely believe full massive inequities in Indigenous health, years to support the proposed Indigenous Sen.