Miccosukee Fleamarket
One Saturday morning in November 2013, I spontaneously decided to take a leisurely drive to Naples. Rather than the mundane route via I-75, I chose the more scenic journey along the Tamiami Trail, also known as US-41, stretching from West Miami to Naples. This southernmost portion of the US highway spans a little over 100 miles, offering breathtaking vistas and wildlife sightings, from alligators to various other fauna. It's a picturesque drive that I relish whenever I get the chance.
Much of the drive from Miami to Naples is through the Everglades, and rarely you find people until you pass by the tourist attractions found along the way. Then you encounter the Miccosukee Indian Village, which is also an attraction, but most of the time you only see few cars at the parking of the Village.
Surprisingly, on that day, I saw a considerable number of cars parked and lots of people arriving and going to a site with lots of tents across from the Village. I parked and followed the crowd not knowing what was happening, until I asked a person. There was a flea market for the members of the reservation, but visitors were also welcomed. So, I decided to check it out.
The Miccosukee Indians were originally part of the Creek Nation, and then migrated to Florida before it became part of the United States. During the Indian Wars of the 1800s, most of the Miccosukee were removed to the West, but about 100, mostly Mikasuki-speaking Creeks, never surrendered and hid out in the Everglades.
To survive in this new environment, the Miccosukee adapted to living in small groups in temporary “hammock style” camps spread throughout the Everglades’ vast river of grass. In this fashion, they stayed to themselves for about 100 years, resisting efforts to become assimilated. Then, after the Tamiami Trail highway was built in 1928, the Tribe began to accept New World concepts.
To ensure that the federal government would formally recognize the Miccosukee Tribe, Buffalo Tiger, an esteemed member of the Tribe, led a group to Cuba in 1959, where they asked Fidel Castro for, and were granted, international recognition as a sovereign country within the United States.
Following this, on January 11, 1962, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, representing the embarrassed U.S. government, approved the Miccosukee Constitution and the Tribe was officially recognized as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. This legally established the Miccosukee’s tribal existence and their sovereign, domestic dependent nation status with the United States Government.
The Miccosukee Tribe now operates a Clinic; Police Department; Court System; Day Care Center; Senior Center; Community Action Agency and an Educational System ranging from the Head Start Pre-School Program through Senior High School, Adult, Vocational and Higher Education Programs and other Social Services. These programs incorporate both the traditional Miccosukee Indian ways and non-Indian ways into their system and are all located on the Tamiami Trail Reservation, where the Miccosukee community resides.
Through this photo essay, I want to document that day when I was able to have a closer encounter with members of the tribe.
