# Back to school in (2026)

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aseminole_tribe_fl%3Ae7be96ad1ef9d181

## Record

- **Collection:** Tribal code
- **Document type:** Tribal code

## Text

Back to school in
Immokalee
EDUCATION 1B

Edward Aguilar Jr.
in the Navy
COMMUNITY 3A

Brody Riley helps
lead OHS to victory
SPORTS 2C

www.seminoletribune.org

Free
September 2026

Volume L • Number 9

‘A’ reason to celebrate as
PECS earns top rating

Tribe
welcomes
Rep. Soto
to Brighton

BY BEVERLY BIDNEY
Staff Reporter

BRIGHTON —
The Pemayetv
Emahakv Charter School gym was
transformed into the Land of Oz on Aug.
14 to celebrate the school earning its tenth
“A” grade from the Florida Department of
Education.
In addition to the “A” rating, the
department named PECS a school of
excellence for the third year in a row. The
school also has the distinction of being a high
performing charter school and ranks in the
top 4% of schools in the state.
Students walked the “yellow brick
road” before they entered the gym for
the festivities. Along the way, they were
greeted by characters from the film version
of the “Wizard of Oz” played by familiar
faces. Brighton Councilman Larry Howard
and principal Tracy Downing dressed as
the Wizard of Oz. Administrative assistant
Michele Thomas was Dorothy and held a
small stuffed dog named Toto in a basket.
Teachers and administrators dressed as the
tin man, cowardly lion, scarecrow, Glinda the
good witch of the North, the wicked witch of
the west and Oz residents.
“We have something big to celebrate
today,” Thomas said to the students in the
gym. “Not only have we earned an “A”
school grade for the 2025-2026 school year,
but we are also beginning a very special
journey- our 20th year. We have 20 years of
learning, 20 years of growing, 20 years of
building dreams, creating opportunities and
educating our children.”

BY KEVIN JOHNSON
Senior Editor

Beverly Bidney

Dressed as characters from the "Wizard of Oz," Brighton Councilman Larry Howard, left, and PECS administrators and teachers, including administrative
assistant Michele Thomas, far right, and principal Tracy Downing, greet students Aug. 14 as they walk the yellow brick road in celebration of the the school
See PECS on page 3B earning an "A" rating from the Florida Department of Education.

BRIGHTON — For three hours on
the afternoon of Aug. 7, U.S. Congressman
Darren Soto visited the Brighton Reservation
and received a synopsis about the Seminole
Tribe of Florida with plenty of attention
given to the Brighton Reservation. He heard
from Brighton Councilman Larry Howard
and tribal department leaders who explained
the tribe’s agriculture, education, culture,
environmental protection, public safety and
other aspects of life and government on the
reservations.
Florida’s District 9, which Soto
represents and includes Osceola County and
parts of Orange and Polk counties, has been
expanded south. It now includes Glades,
where Brighton is located, Highlands,
Okeechobee and Indian River counties. The
district expansion is one reason why Soto
made his first visit to the reservation.
“Thank you for coming to breathe our air
and walk our roads and our halls and break
bread with us because that’s the way you truly
get to know the heartbeat of this community,”
Michele Thomas, the Pemayetv Emahakv
Charter School administrative assistant and a
lifelong Brighton resident, said to Soto as she
started a presentation about the school on the
reservation during a gathering in the Florida
Veterans Building.
See SOTO on page 5A

Zae Thomas begins second season on FSU football team
BY KEVIN JOHNSON
Senior Editor

TALLAHASSEE — Heavily favored
Florida State opened its 2026 football season
with a 34-17 win against New Mexico State
in front of 65,919 fans Aug. 29 at Doak
Campbell Stadium.
FSU has dozens of new players on
its roster – including starting quarterback
Ashton Daniels – but among the returnees
from last year’s club is Zae Thomas from
the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The 6-foot3 defensive back, who did not see game
action against New Mexico State, enters his
sophomore season after what he said was a
positive summer of working out.
“It was good. I put in a lot of work to
prepare and hopefully get on the field. It was
a goal for me to get stronger, a little more
muscle,” Thomas said after the game, just
before he stepped outside the Moore Center
to meet his parents, sisters and grandparents
who came up from South Florida to watch
the game.
A year ago, Thomas was listed at 196
pounds; this year the roster has him at 207,
although he said his weight is closer to 200

Kevin Johnson

Led by coach Mike Norvell, the Florida State Seminoles, including the Seminole Tribe's Zae Thomas (22), get ready for their season opener against New Mexico State on Aug. 29 at Doak Campbell Stadium in
Tallahassee. Thomas is in his second season at FSU. The Seminoles won, 34-17.

Kevin Johnson

The Seminole Tribe of Florida seal is on the
helmets of all FSU football players.

now.
Thomas played in two games last year
as a freshman (vs East Texas A&M and
Kent State). He has four years of eligibility
remaining. With new NCAA rules,
redshirting has disappeared, giving way to

Community......................3A

Education........................1B

Health.............................8A

Sports..........................1C

a new rule that allows athletes five years of
competition.
Thomas said his freshman season had
its “ups and downs.” This season he said he
needs to take advantage of opportunities.
Thomas is the second student-athlete

from the unconquered Seminole Tribe to
play football for FSU; Justin Motlow (201417) was the first. Thomas is also one of two
Seminoles on FSU varsity sports teams in
2026-27. OB Osceola III is in his freshman
year on the FSU baseball team. The tribe’s

Xavier Osceola was a member of the FSU
men’s basketball team as a freshman in the
2025-26 season, but he is no longer on the
team.

Visit the Tribune's Instagram (@seminoletribune)
for news throughout the month

See FSU on page 4A

2A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Editorial
When the bulldozers move before
tribal consent
• Levi Rickert

I

magine living with your family
on land that has been yours for
generations — only to have the
government draw a line through it and divide
your property.
Then, to make matters worse, the
government decides it wants to build a
wall across your lot – without asking your
permission.
This is the dilemma facing the Tohono
O’odham Nation of Arizona. The Nation
took its fight to federal court in June.
Leading the fight against the wall is
Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon
Jose, whom I met at a National Congress
of American Indians convention several
years ago. When I asked him to tell me
about his Nation, he immediately included
a large swath of land extending beyond the
southern border of the United States into
Mexico. He told me the reservation stretches
62 miles along U.S.-Mexico border and the
Nation’s ancestral homeland extends about
75 miles into Mexico. He told me that some
2,000 Tohono O’odham citizens still live in
Mexico.
As he told me about the geography of his
tribal nation, I was reminded of something
Native Americans often say: “Their borders
are not necessarily ours.”
Since then, I have seen him at other
national Native American conventions
and I ran into him at the Democratic Party
convention in Chicago two years ago. He
told me that if Donald Trump got elected for
a second term, the Nation would still oppose
the construction of a border wall on the
Tohono O’odham reservation.
That conversation has stayed with me.
The Tohono O’odham homeland
predates the U.S.-Mexico border. Today, the
Nation’s federally recognized reservation
encompasses approximately 2.8 million
acres and shares 62 miles of international
border with Mexico. But O’odham people
have lived across what is now southern
Arizona and northern Sonora for thousands
of years. The international boundary divided
their people, communities, families and
sacred places.
[In August], U.S. District Judge Richard
Leon in Washington denied the Nation’s
request to stop construction while its lawsuit
proceeds. Leon ruled that the Tohono
O’odham Nation had not demonstrated
that construction would unlawfully alter
its reservation boundaries or constitute an
illegal trespass. He also found that the federal
government’s interests in border security and
public safety outweighed the potential harm
to the Nation for purposes of the preliminary
injunction.
But this case should be about more
than whether a line on a government map
technically moves. It is about whether the
United States can enter Indian Country, begin
construction on tribal lands and damage
sacred cultural resources without the consent
of the tribal nation that has governed those
lands for centuries prior to the existence of
the United States.
The Tohono O’odham Nation says it
was not asked for consent before the federal

government moved forward with the project.
The Nation also argues that construction
threatens sacred places, religious practices,
wildlife and the cultural connections that
have survived despite an international border
being imposed across its homeland.
And there is already evidence of why the
Nation’s concerns should not be dismissed as
hypothetical.
In April, construction connected to the
border wall damaged the Las Playas Intaglio,
a sacred archaeological site featuring an
ancient image carved into the desert floor.
The Nation has warned that other sacred
places also face potential harm.
Judge Leon acknowledged that the
international border is an area of great
significance to both the United States
and the Nation. He also said he expects
the government to honor its promises of
consultation and cooperation with the Nation.
But consultation after construction
begins is not how sovereign nations should
operate. A federal promise of consultation
should not substitute for the legal rights of
a tribal nation.
For generations, Native nations have
heard the federal government say that
treaties, laws and executive orders protect
their sovereignty—only to see those
protections narrowed when they conflict
with federal priorities.
Border security is a legitimate federal
responsibility. But protecting the border
does not give the federal government a blank
check to disregard tribal sovereignty.
The Tohono O’odham Nation has worked
with federal authorities on border security
for decades. The Nation has supported
technology and other measures when it
believed they could protect its people while
respecting its lands and culture. In 2019, for
example, the Nation approved rights-of-way
across its lands for a Customs and Border
Protection Integrated Fixed Tower system
used for electronic surveillance.
That
cooperation
should
mean
something.
The federal government should not be
allowed to say, in effect, “trust us,” while
bulldozers are already moving.
The Tohono O’odham Nation is not
asking the United States to abandon border
security. It is asking the federal government
to respect Tribal sovereignty and protect
a homeland that existed long before an
international boundary divided it.
The judge’s decision may be a setback,
but it should not be the final word.
This is about more than a wall. It is
about whether the United States will honor
its relationship with Tribal Nations when
doing so becomes inconvenient.
Native people have heard those promises
before. It is time for the United States to keep
them.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen – We are all
related.

The Everglades Coalition will hold its
annual conference from Jan. 28 to 30, 2027,
in Naples. The theme of the conference
is “Uniting for America’s Everglades:
Protecting Our Investment.”
The conference will be the largest forum
for discussing the Everglades restoration
progress, challenges and opportunities by
bringing together conservation groups,
elected officials, business leaders, local,
state, tribal and federal partners to engage
in meaningful dialogue about restoring the
Everglades.
The Coalition, a 501(c) (3) non-profit
corporation, is an alliance of 55 local, state
and national conservation and environmental

groups dedicated to the full restoration of
the Greater Everglades Ecosystem from
the Kissimmee chain of lakes into Lake
Okeechobee and the estuaries, through the
river of grass and out to the Florida Bay and
the Keys.
The Coalition works in the public arena
to inform decision makers on the collective
view of the conservation community
regarding the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
It uses policy papers, comparisons of
proposed policy decisions focused on sound
science and public comments on critical
aspects of restoration.
For more information about the
conference, visit www.evergladescoalition.
org/conference.

Hard Rock Cafe sponsors music
competition for emerging bands
FROM PRESS RELEASE

Hard Rock Cafe and Coca-Cola Brand
have partnered in a global music competition
for emerging artists. The Hard Rock Rising
music competition spans 34 countries and
64 Hard Rock Cafes around the world. Hard

BY JOE ANDREOLI
Invasive Wildlife Biologist, Department of
Conservation
and
CRAIG VAN DER HEIDEN
Director, Department of Conservation

The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s
Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP)
continues to grow, offering Tribal youth
ages 14 to 24 an opportunity to explore
careers across Tribal departments. Since its
founding in January 2025, the Department
of Conservation (DOC) has made youth
engagement and Tribal Member career
development a central part of its mission to
protect and sustainably manage the Tribe’s
natural resources.
In just two years, DOC has welcomed
seven SWEP interns, each completing
an eight week internship culminating in
a final presentation to their community.
This summer, three interns—Koty Gopher,
Marley Jimmie, and Karter Puente—joined
DOC teams on the Big Cypress, Brighton,
and Immokalee Reservations, contributing to
wildlife, fisheries, and forestry conservation
projects. On July 31, they shared their
experiences in a PowerPoint presentation to
their community in Brighton.
Highlights of the summer included
setting and checking 80 live capture traps
in different habitats off Buster Twin Road
in Brighton. Koty, Marley, and Karter
learned how to bait and set the Sherman
traps, identify the mammal captured, take
the mass, and mark the belly of the mammal
with a Sharpie to document recaptures. They
captured Cotton Mice, Cotton Rats, and
Virigina Opossums, with some individual
Cotton Mice and Virginia Opossums
recaptured multiple times throughout the
week.
In Kissimmee Billie Slough, Big
Cypress, Koty, Marley, and Karter waded in
waist-deep water to set and check long nets
called fyke nets. Part of what makes this
long-term project so fun is that you never
quite know what you’re going to catch.
Koty, Marley, and Karter learned to identify,
safely handle, and release native fish like
Florida Gar, invasive fish like Brown Hoplo,
amphibians like Greater Siren, Pig Frogs,
and Two-toed Amphiuma, reptiles like
Chicken Turtles and Striped Mud Turtles,

Rock Rising will conduct multiple live
performances being held at various Hard
Rock Cafes. Local fans will be able to vote
for artists that will advance round by round
until a global winner is announced.
Live competition rounds will be held
Sept. 2, 9, 16 and 23. A global winner will
be announced on Oct 5.

The Seminole Tribune is a member of the
Indigenous Journalists Association.

The following deadline applies to all
submissions to The Seminole Tribune:

Letters/emails to the editor must be signed
and may be edited for publication.

Issue: October 2026
Deadline: September 16, 2026

Subscription rate is $35 per year by mail.
Make checks payable to:
The Seminole Tribune
6365 Taft Street
Suite 3003
Hollywood, FL 33024

Advertising rates along with sizes and other
information may be downloaded online at:
http://SeminoleTribune.org/Advertise
Postmaster:

Marley Jimmie, Koty Gopher and Karter Puente with a recaptured Virigina Opossum.

and Everglades and Slough Crayfish. Instead
of using a Sharpie to document recaptured
Florida Gar, Koty, Marley, and Karter used a
hole puncher to “mark” captured Florida Gar
by making a hole in the dorsal fin.
Koty, Marley, and Karter also learned
some of the technological tools used by
biologists, ecologists, and foresters. Such
tools included drones and Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). Koty, Marley,
and Karter learned how to use some of
the GIS applications scientists use to
gather important information like ArcGIS
Field Maps, ArcGIS QuickCapture, and
ArcGIS Survey123. Drones, GIS, and GIS
applications are used in many Seminole
Tribe of Florida departments, and DOC
is proud to introduce and develop these
skillsets in SWEP interns working with us.

DOC

Reflecting on their summer, each intern
spoke about the impact of the experience.
“Working in DOC this summer was fun
because I met new people and I got to do
hands on activities,” said Koty Gopher.
“By doing this it has influenced me to
study botany in college, and I hope to work
here in the future after I finish high school,”
added Marley Jimmie.
“All these fun projects we get to do
working in DOC in the summer, I would for
sure do again,” said Karter Puente.
Are you a tribal member between the
ages of 14-24 that wants to conserve the fish,
wildlife, and forests of the Seminole Tribe of
Florida? Do you want to learn the latest in
drone and GIS technology? Are you looking
for a fun SWEP experience in 2027? Email
DOCStaff@semtribe.com to learn more.

PBS to air film about Indigenous scientific knowledge
Band Cherokee) in a press release. “We are
honored to co-produce this film and we are
proud of the important work that has been
accomplished here by producer and director
Daniel Golding (Fort Yuma Quechan) of
Hokan Media, LLC, who previously coproduced the VMM series Native America
2.0, and co-producer Chris Neighbors
(Choctaw) of NOVA.”
“Knowledge Keepers” reveals how
deeply-held cultural traditions inform
remarkable innovations, from ancient sea
farming techniques that optimize ecosystems
to celestial navigation methods perfectly
adapted to extreme environments like
the frozen Arctic. Viewers will learn how
centuries of observation, experimentation,
and adaptation have forged solutions to
complex challenges like living in the harsh
climate of the desert Southwest. Today,

knowledge keepers fight to preserve this
ancient expertise and consider how it could
transform our future.
The film features unique insights from
many experts including Roberto Nutlouis,
farmer and executive director of Nihikeya, a
grassroots organization focused on restoring
regenerative Diné ecological, cultural,
social, and economic systems and lifeways,
guided by traditional knowledge, teachings
and practices, based in Pinon, Arizona;
Ryan Spring, the cultural research assistant
for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
in Calera, Oklahoma; Nicole Norris, a
shellfish aquaculture specialist from Halalt
First Nation in Nanaimo, Canada; Octavio
Cruz, a marine manager from Pauquachin
First Nation in Victoria, Canada; and Fred
Sangris, Chief of the Yellowtail Dene First
Nation in Yellowknife, Canada.

Please send address changes to:
The Seminole Tribune
6365 Taft St.
Suite 3003
Hollywood, FL 33024

Staff Reporter: Beverly Bidney, ext. 16466
BeverlyBidney@semtribe.com

Contributors: Teresa Snow, Gordon
Wareham

Staff Reporter: Calvin Tiger, ext. 10739
CalvinTiger@semtribe.com

© 2026 Seminole Tribe of Florida

Publisher: The Seminole Tribe of Florida

Staff Reporter: Daniella Hakim, ext. 10704
DaniellaHakim@semtribe.com

FROM PRESS RELEASE

Vision Media Maker (VMM) has
announced a new film for PBS science series
Nova titled “Knowledge Keepers.” The film
focuses on Indigenous scientific knowledge,
built on relationships with the environment
and passed down through generations. The
film will premiere on Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. (ET)
on PBS and will stream at pbs.org/nova and
the PBS app.
“Native people have developed and
utilized essential scientific knowledge over
millennia. These practices, based on respect
and careful observation of the natural world,
hold timely lessons for all of humanity. I
am thrilled that NOVA is shining a spotlight
Levi “Calm Before the Storm” Rickert on Indigenous science,” said VMM CEO
(Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the and President Francene Blythe-Lewis
founder, publisher and editor of Native (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, Diné, Eastern
News Online. This opinion was published on
nativenewsonline.net.

Everglades Coalition to hold
annual conference in Naples
STAFF REPORT

Three tribal youth complete summer
internships with Department of Conservation

Official
Notice
The Fleet Management Department
of the Seminole Tribe of Florida is in the
planning phase to install electric vehicle
chargers at the following Tribal office
locations within the existing parking lots. Per
the EPA review the entire property and the
specific location areas may have a potential
to flood. The EV charger impact is being
mitigated by installing all electrical wires in
conduit and the EV chargers will be installed
on a pedestal to avoid being submerged in
water. The EV chargers are being funded by
an EPA grant EPA-PRJ-021585.
Hollywood – Recreation Center, 3100 N
63rd Ave.; 6365 Taft St.; Fleet Facility, 4161
State Rd. 7; TCD Building, 5700 Griffin Rd.
Big Cypress – Frank Billie Field Office,
31000 Josie Billie Hwy.; Medical clinic,
30851 Buffalo Jim Loop N; Ahfachkee
School, 31200 Josie Billie Hwy.
Brighton – Administration Bldg., 650
Harny Pond Rd.; Health Center, 17201 Civic
St.
Immokalee – Administration Bldg.,
295 Stockade Rd.; Medical Center, 850
Seminole Crossing Trail.
Fort Pierce – Community Center, 3300
Sally Chupco Tommie Way.
If you are interested in reviewing the
proposed plans, contact Sandy Leonard,
Director of the Fleet Management
Department, sandyleonard@semtribe.com.
The question and answer session will be
open for general inquiries from September 3,
2026, to September 17, 2026.

Phone: 954-985-5700
Senior Editor: Kevin Johnson, ext. 10715
KevinJohnson@semtribe.com

Advertising: Donna Mason, ext. 10733
DonnaMason@semtribe.com

3A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Community

A

‘Answering his call of duty to serve our country,’
Edward Aguilar Jr. graduates Navy boot camp
BY BEVERLY BIDNEY
Staff Reporter

Edward Aguilar Jr., who graduated
from the U.S. Navy boot camp July 9, has
committed to serve his country in the Navy
for eight years.
Aguilar Jr., 26, graduated as an E-3
rank and is a section leader. He is training
to be a gunner’s mate, which will make him
responsible for the operation, maintenance
and repair of all weapons systems onboard
a ship.
His wife, Rayanna; daughter, Elaine;
and parents, Cindy and Edward Aguilar Sr.
attended the boot camp graduation ceremony
in Great Lakes, Illinois.

“My son has always
been military minded
and is an enthusiast for
weaponry,” wrote Aguilar
Sr. in an email. “There
was no better feeling
than to see our son sworn
into oath to defend our
freedom and our country
like many of our veterans
in the Seminole Tribe
have done for decades
and decades.”
Before joining the
Navy, Aguilar Jr. was
in ROTC at Palmetto
Ridge High School in
Naples, worked in the
security department at the
Seminole Casino Hotel
in Immokalee and as a
security supervisor at the
Coconut Creek Casino.
He later left to work as
a corrections officer in
North Florida, returned
to the Tribal Career
Development
program
and returned to South
Florida, where the call
to duty inspired him to
enlist.
“Cindy and I are both
very proud of our son for
a few reasons,” Aguilar
Sr. said. “First, his
bravery for stepping up to
the plate and answering
his call of duty to
serve our country. And
secondly, for following
and pursuing one of
his lifelong dreams of
service at the highest level. His enlistment
did not come too easy for us, however we
know that this is his calling.”
His family doesn’t know where he will
be assigned to serve, but they believe “God
has plans for him and will keep him safe.”

Edward Aguilar Jr.

Courtesy photo

“At a time where patriotism seems hard
to find, his actions have revitalized my hope
for a better America and he is doing his part
for us to achieve that,” Aguilar Sr. said.

Courtesy photo
Edward Aguilar Jr. with his parents, Cindy and Edward Aguilar Sr., at the graduation ceremony for the
U.S. Navy boot camp July 9 in Illinois.

Courtesy photo
Edward Aguilar Jr. with his wife, Rayanna, and
daughter, Elaine, at graduation.

Animal Wildlife Services offers
free spay and neuter clinics
BY HANNAH MCQUEEN AND ALEX KLING
Animal Wildlife Services

The Department of Conservation’s
Animal Wildlife Services (AWS) has
partnered with Cape Coral Animal
Shelter (CCAS) to host free spay,
neuter, microchip, and vaccine clinics
this year in Hollywood, Brighton, Big
Cypress and Lakeland. The last event
in Brighton brought in 19 animals for
full service, along with two additional
pet owners who came solely for
vaccinations.
These clinics are essential for longterm pet health and community safety.
Spaying and neutering remain one of
the most effective tools for managing
pet overpopulation. Florida ranks fourth
in the nation for shelter euthanasia,
largely due to overcrowding. Brighton
alone took in 321 dogs and 48 cats last
year from multiple reservations. Just
one unspayed female cat can produce
more than 100 kittens in her lifetime,
and in theory, she and her offspring
could contribute to more than 400,000

cats in only seven years.
AWS encourages residents to
fix not only household pets but also
stray or feral cats in the community.
AWS assists with trapping. Beyond
preventing litters, fixing pets can
reduce health risks such as uterine
infections, mammary tumors, and
testicular cancer, as well as behavioral
issues including roaming, fighting, and
territorial marking.
Vaccines were another major
focus of the clinic. Vaccinating dogs
helps prevent dangerous illnesses such
as Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis,
Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza, and
Rabies. Cats benefit from protection
against Rhinotracheitis (FHV-1),
Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, Feline
Leukemia, and Rabies. Feline
Leukemia can even be transmitted to
Florida Panthers when they consume
infected domestic or stray cats. Many
of these diseases are inexpensive
to prevent but costly and highly
contagious once contracted.
Microchipping was also offered

as a free service. In a area frequently
affected by hurricanes and severe
weather, microchips help ensure
lost pets make their way back home.
Although microchips are not GPS
trackers, they allow animal control
officers, veterinarians, rescues, and
good Samaritans to identify and
contact owners—provided the chip is
registered. Microchips offer permanent
identification in cases of theft,
impoundment, or ownership disputes.
AWS provides free microchipping and
registration year-round and can assist
at their office or travel to residents who
need help. AWS encourages pet owners
to reach out to their local officer for
microchipping.
The next clinic will be held at the
Lakeland Reservation’s gymnasium on
Sept 9. Drop off at 8 a.m. We will call
you for pickup. Pets must not eat the
day of the visit. EVERYONE MUST
PREREGISTER WITH Cape Coral
Clinic at (239) 573-2002, ext. 106


     

Unity Players Points Accepted in all
Seminole Trading Post Locations!

VISIT THE TRADING POST LOCATION NEAREST YOU!

IMMOKALEE

HOLLYWOOD

1100 S. 1st Street
Immokalee, FL 34142

3103 N. State Road 7
Hollywood, FL 33024

BRIGHTON


  

14685 Reservation Road NE
Okeechobee, FL 34974



 
     






    ­

€ ‚ ­

LOTTERY

& Scratch Tikcets
AVAILABLE

Get your ticket &
start your winning streak!
Must be 18 or older to play.
Play responsibly. ©2025 Florida Lottery

4A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Seminole Hearts: Denim & Diamonds Gala celebrates a night of giving
FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole
Tribe of Florida hosted its annual Denim &
Diamonds Gala on Aug. 13 at the Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, bringing
together guests for an evening of celebration
with a purpose: giving back to organizations
that make a meaningful difference in the
lives of children and families.
At the heart of the annual Gala is
Seminole Hearts, a message that reflects
the spirit of generosity, compassion and
community behind the Tribe’s charitable
giving. Through Denim & Diamonds, that
spirit is put into action by raising funds and
supporting nonprofit organizations whose
work provides critical resources, services
and opportunities to those who need them
most.
While the Gala has a particular focus
on organizations serving Native American
communities and families, the reach of
Seminole Hearts extends beyond Indian
Country. This year’s charitable giving also
included support for organizations such as
Ronald McDonald House Charities and Els
for Autism, reflecting a shared commitment
to improving the lives of children, adults
and families facing significant challenges.
Els for Autism is devoted to helping
people with autism of all abilities reach
their fullest potential and live meaningful,
fulfilling lives, while supporting the families
and caregivers who walk alongside them.
Ronald McDonald House Charities provides
vital resources and support to families with
children receiving medical care, helping
keep families together during some of their
most difficult times.
The evening also offered an opportunity
to celebrate the generosity that makes
this work possible. Guests enjoyed a
Western-themed reception, dinner and live
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
entertainment by country artist Graham
From left to right, Esther Gopher, President Holly Tiger, and Tribal Secretary Naomi Wilson.
Barham at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Attendees sport a Western style look at the annual Denim & Diamonds Gala on Aug. 13.
Casino.
Tribal members and leaders joined
nonprofit and community organizations, that can be achieved when people come & Diamonds, the Seminole Tribe of Florida both within and beyond Indian Country.
Gala a success. Their support ensures that
business and community partners, and together around a common purpose.
continues that tradition by supporting
The Seminole Tribe of Florida extends its the spirit of Seminole Hearts continues long
elected state and local representatives for the
Seminole Hearts is more than a theme organizations working every day to sincere appreciation to the sponsors, donors, after the evening ends, through the people,
evening. Together, their participation and for an evening—it reflects a tradition of strengthen families, create opportunities for organizations and guests whose generosity families and communities touched by the
support demonstrated the collective impact giving and caring for others. Through Denim children and improve lives in communities helped make this year’s Denim & Diamonds organizations the Gala supports.

Courtesy photo

Helene Buster, from Seminoles in Recovery, receives a donation for the program from President Holly
Tiger.

FSU

From page 1A
FSU was listed as a 31-point favorite
against New Mexico State. The Seminoles,

who led 17-7 at halftime, had a grip on the
game all night, but perhaps not as firm a
grip as many expected. With new players at
several positions, the Seminoles had some
bumpy moments. New Mexico State’s 10
3rd down conversions sent uncomfortable
ripples throughout the crowd.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Country artist Graham Barham, with President Holly Tiger, receives money
raised from the silent auction on behalf of St Jude Children’s Research
Hospital.

Michele Thomas, Connie Whidden, Helene Buster, Linda Spurlock and Jodi
Clay

Offensively, the Seminoles generated a
few big yardage plays set up scoring. Two
short TD runs by running back Samuel
Singleton Jr. and another by Daniels paved
the way for the opening night victory.
FSU will host a rare Monday night
game when SMU visits Doak Campbell on

Labor Day at 7 p.m. The game, which will
be broadcast on ESPN, marks the start of
a tough stretch for FSU, which has four of
its next six games against teams currently
ranked in the top 25, including road trips to
No. 13 Alabama (Sept. 19) and No. 7 Miami
(Oct. 7).

Kevin Johnson

Zae Thomas, Chavez Thompson (52) and the rest of the Seminoles enjoy the postgame celebration
after the win against New Mexico State on Aug. 29.

Kevin Johnson

Zae Thomas does pregame drills.

Kevin Johnson

Zae Thomas

5A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

SOTO

From page 1A
Thomas stressed the important role that
the school plays in keeping the Muscogee
(Creek) language alive on the reservation
and the vital connection between those who
speak it and those who are being taught to
learn it.
“We’re language revitalization,” she
said.
She also pointed out the school’s
impressive track record, earning several ‘A’
ratings and ‘school of excellence’ accolades
from the state.
Soto also heard from Dr. Paul
Backhouse, senior director of Environmental
Protection Office, who spoke about issues
the tribe deals with regarding water quality,
water supply and evasive species, among
others.
“When I first started, 20 years ago,
Brighton was not connected really to any of
the other surrounding urban areas, but as you
come today, you can see those communities
getting closer and closer. That’s pushing
species onto this reservation,” he said.
Backhouse added that black bears
are among the species making more of a
presence in Brighton. In Big Cypress, which
has bears, too, it’s pythons whose numbers
have increased.
“As we see climate shifting and habitat
shifting, species are moving further north
as the environment changes,” he said, later
adding that “The tribe’s core philosophy
is that harmony between environment and
culture.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Alex

Johns, Agriculture executive director, who
spoke about the history and vital role cattle
has played in the tribe and its families. He
even took Soto back hundreds of years.
“1521 Ponce De Leon showed up and
introduced the first cow to the United States,
and our ancestors were the folks that actually
received it,” Johns said.
Johns discussed the importance of water
quality as it relates to cattle and land. He
mentioned a pilot project aimed at making
sure water received from a lake is not going
to be detrimental to Seminole lands; and if it
is, to work at finding solutions.
“We’ve always been good stewards,
we do follow the best management practices
that we were part of creating,” Johns said.
Representatives from Seminole Police
and Emergency Management also briefed
Soto on the work they do, including the
differences between the issues they face
in rural reservations like Brighton and BC
compared to urban settings like Hollywood.
The brief ride in an SUV that Soto made
from the Veterans Building to the historic
Red Barn provided him with a glimpse of
the expansion and progress being made on
the reservation, which serves as one example
of what is taking place at other reservations,
too. He drove past the new preschool that is
being built, and other new facilities, such as
the skate park and Cultural Center Complex.
Also on the way, he passed the “A” rated
Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School,
whose banner on its front fence declares
“Successful learners today, unconquered
leaders tomorrow.”
Soto didn’t leave disappointed. He
said he’s a history buff and was thrilled

Kevin Johnson

Jack Chalfant leads a tour and discussion with U.S. Congressman Darren Soto, Brighton Councilman Larry Howard and others in the Red Barn on Aug. 7.

with the visit to the Red Barn, which was
built in 1941 and served as a tribal hub for
cattle industry and cowboys and an informal
setting in the 1950s for discussions about
the tribe becoming federally recognized and
forming its own government. Jack Chalfant,
who has a wealth of historic knowledge
about the tribe and is THPO cultural
resources supervisor, hosted the tour with
Soto, Councilman Howard and others. It
wasn’t just a quick peak inside and get out.
The group stayed inside the barn for about
25 minutes, chatting about its history and
importance.
As for key takeaways from the overall
visit?
“Tribal sovereignty is essential,” Soto
said in an interview at the end of his visit.
“Water continues to be a huge issue,” he
added. “I’ve worked on it for years when I
was in the state legislature. In fact, it was one
of the ways I started working with the tribe.
Kevin Johnson
Everybody wanted to work on the casino
stuff; I worked on water and agriculture and Dr. Paul Backhouse, senior director EPO, has a discussion with U.S. Congressman Darren Soto.
making sure with eminent domain that they
were consulted on these things.”
upcoming election results, having tribal land my heart since it would actually be in the
Soto, a Democrat, has served in in his district would be a first for him.
district,” he said.
Congress since 2017. Depending on
“Brighton will have a special place in

Kevin Johnson

Michele Thomas, PECS administrative assistant, speaks at the gathering with U.S. Congressman
Darren Soto.

Kevin Johnson

Brighton Councilman Larry Howard, left, and Alex Johns, Agriculture excutive director, right, chat
with U.S. Congressman Darren Soto in the lobby of the Florida Seminole Veterans Building.

Kevin Johnson

U.S. Congressman Darren Soto, Brighton Councilman Larry Howard and others who attended Soto's visit to Brighton gather outside the Red Barn.

Online prediction markets rile up state lawmakers
BY KEVIN HARDY
Stateline

CHICAGO — The escalating feud
between states and online prediction markets
was on full display at a summit of state
lawmakers [in July] as legislators publicly
scolded Kalshi and Polymarket, the two
most prominent platforms.
Prediction market platforms say they are
like commodity markets that offer contracts
to speculate on the future price of corn or
oil — not sportsbooks that allow gamblers
to place bets. But many states reject those
justifications, arguing the platforms are a
backdoor to skirt state gambling regulations,
particularly on sports.
The issue has sparked action from state
regulators, new legislation, and a flurry of
lawsuits from states, prediction markets, and
the Trump administration, which has sought
to sideline state oversight.
During a sometimes-heated panel
discussion at the annual gathering of the
National Conference of State Legislatures
in Chicago, Iowa Republican state Sen. Dan
Dawson told the audience that a group of
students at his son’s high school recently
enrolled in Kalshi to bet on World Cup
matches. In Iowa, people must be at least 21
to participate in legal online sports betting.
“States are the ones that pick up the
pieces,” Dawson said as a Kalshi executive
looked on.
Dawson has previously raised concerns
about the public health consequences of
prediction markets. While an industry
representative pledged to work with states,
Dawson said a legislative subcommittee
that recently studied the issue could not get
even basic information from the prediction
markets about their reach in Iowa.
“We couldn’t get one answer,” he said.
In March, Kalshi preemptively sued to
block Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird,

a Republican, from taking civil or criminal
enforcement action against it. In its suit,
Kalshi claimed there was “a substantial risk
that the attorney general of Iowa will bring
an enforcement action.”
Regulation of prediction markets
Sara Slane, Head of Corporate
Development at Kalshi, told lawmakers in
Chicago that the company was committed to
building relationships with the states. But she
said the prediction markets are not subject to
state oversight, as they are regulated by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
which regulates derivatives such as futures
contracts on stocks.
She said prediction markets require a
national standard rather than a “state-bystate regulatory patchwork.”
“This was exactly what the commodity
exchange was set up for,” she said.
The
five-member,
presidentially
appointed CFTC currently has four
vacancies. But it has aggressively sought to
exclude states from overseeing prediction
markets, suing red and blue states alike to
maintain its jurisdiction over the markets.
[In July], a coalition of 44 state attorneys
general wrote to the agency, arguing it does
not have the power to regulate sports-related
event contracts, which they say are subject
to state gambling regulations.
In addition to encroaching on stateregulated and state-taxed sports gambling,
states argue that prediction markets are
subject to potential insider trading, lack
consumer oversight and can fuel problem
gambling.
Slane said her firm works to prevent
money laundering and allows people
who have problems with gaming to block
themselves from the site. She said Kalshi
also works with major sports leagues to
prevent athletes and referees from trading on

sports events.
“We take this very seriously,” she said.
“We want to promote integrity around our
exchange.”
But prediction markets continue to
gain national attention for allowing people
to unfairly bet on the outcome of events by
leveraging nonpublic information.
[In July], the White House announced
the president’s teleprompter operator was
no longer on staff after he was accused of
using inside knowledge to make bets about
presidential speeches on Kalshi.
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz
[on July 28] signed an executive order
prohibiting state employees from using inside
information to bet on prediction markets.
At least eight states, including Arizona,
California, Maryland and Wisconsin, have
implemented similar restrictions.
Mick Mulvaney, executive director of
the Gambling is Not Investing Coalition,
said he was sympathetic to the argument
that prediction markets want to avoid a
regulatory patchwork across the states.
“That being said, there’ve been two
areas where the states have almost always
been entirely sovereign: That’s on booze and
gambling,” he said.
Mulvaney, a Republican, represented
South Carolina in the U.S. House and served
as acting White House chief of staff during
President Donald Trump’s first term. His
organization argues that prediction markets
should be subject to the same state and tribal
regulations as other forms of gambling.
With litigation flying, he said there’s
no question the debate is heading toward
the U.S. Supreme Court. Mulvaney said
it’s unclear how the conservative court will
rule, given its recent decisions. Some of
those rulings have allowed the expansion of
federal executive power, while others have
tilted toward the states.
“So that will be fascinating to see how

it shakes out at the Supreme Court,” he told
Stateline. “But I have every expectation that
this is going all the way up.”
Threat to tribal casinos
Casino gambling has been the sole
economic engine for many Native American
tribes for years, said Michael Hoenig, vice
president and associate general counsel for
gaming at the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel
Nation in Southern California.
He said tribes have built up the gambling
industry over the last 40 years — sometimes
in cooperation with states, other times “in
friction with the states.”
“This is just a profound affront to tribal
sovereignty, tribal self-government,” he said.
“Tribes are supposed to have the sovereign
right to decide who gets to operate gaming
on their lands and who doesn’t.”
Aside from regulatory concerns,
state leaders worry about how the rise of
prediction markets may impact the financial
and mental health of their residents. Since a
2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened the
door for states to legalize sports gambling,
39 states and the District of Columbia have
done so.
Advocates, researchers and lawmakers
are already raising alarms about how the
burgeoning market could fuel gambling
addiction and hurt household finances.
Aside from regulation, there is little
difference between the potential impacts
of prediction markets and online sports
betting, said Rachel Volberg, a professor
emerita of epidemiology at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst.
Volberg, who has studied gambling
addiction for 40 years, told lawmakers in
a separate presentation that the research
is clear about how over involvement in
gambling can hurt individuals and families.
However, she told Stateline that legal

sports gambling is too new for researchers
to fully measure how much the high-speed
and accessible world of online gaming has
changed the dynamics.
In North Carolina, a new poll found
that most people generally approve of sports
betting, but a majority wants the state to ban
prediction markets.
In the Meredith College poll released
[July 28], 51% of registered voters said
they were satisfied with state regulation of
sports gambling. Only 11% said they were
dissatisfied, while 38% said they didn’t
know.
In that poll, two-thirds of registered
voters said they would support state
legislation banning prediction markets,
while 24% said they should be legal.
Though sports fans, policymakers and
the researchers continue to grapple with the
quickly evolving landscape, experts gathered
in Chicago were clear that this industry is
here to stay.
“It’s not going anywhere,” said Anthony
D’Angelo, who leads responsible gaming
efforts at Fanatics Betting & Gaming.
D’Angelo
said
his
company’s
sportsbook invests heavily in providing
assistance for problem gamblers, flags
potentially problematic transactions and
incentivizes customers to set and stick to
betting limits.
He said lawmakers can help keep
people away from illegal and offshore
betting platforms that have no oversight or
consumer protections.
“We all want the same things to happen,”
he said. “I think we want a sustainable,
long-term industry where customers are
protected.”
Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be
reached at khardy@stateline.org. This story
was originally produced by Stateline, which
is part of States Newsroom.

6A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

100 years ago, the Great Miami Hurricane
wreaked havoc far beyond the city
BY DANIELLA HAKIM
Staff Reporter

Buffalo Tiger was six years old leaving
the Willie Willie Seminole Indian Village
on Palm Avenue in Hialeah towards the
Everglades when the Great Miami Hurricane
swept through South Florida in September
1926.
“We were so cold. I remember that,”
Tiger said to Harry Kersey in an interview on
July 2, 1998. “I was so hungry. The wind blew
everything around. Thankfully, our people
picked out a hammock on higher ground. If
not, we would’ve been underwater.”
Miami swelled with new residents;
according to the National Weather Service,
Miami-Dade County had amassed a
population of over 100,000 in 1926. Still, no
warnings had been issued until Sept. 17—
hours before the category four hurricane’s
effects would surface.
“It must’ve been three in the morning
when the storm hit,” Tiger added. “We
thought it would just rain, but this was a real
bad hurricane.”

The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926
was of Cape Verde origin, made known to
the Weather Bureau from ship reports. It
swept north, passing through the Leeward
Islands and Puerto Rico on Sept. 14, 15, and
16. The eye of the hurricane swept through
Miami-Dade, Coconut Grove, and South
Miami around 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 18.
On Oct. 9, the Red Cross reported that
372 individuals died in the storm - including
150 in Moore Haven - and over 6,000 were
injured. According to the Miami Springs
Historical Society and Museum, villages at
Musa Isle and the Everglades were wrecked
in the storm.
“We didn’t stay at the village in Hialeah
all the time,” Tiger said. “When we got
home, back to the Everglades, everything
was underwater. Everything was blown
down. It was not easy to find food; there was
just too much water.”
According to the Clewiston Museum,
the hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 - the latter
which devastated the southeastern towns
around Lake Okeechobee and claimed more

than 2,000 lives - led the federal government
to begin its dike construction project around
the lake in 1931, as its water control efforts
including a muck dike and drainage canals
proved no match for such weather disasters.
Often dubbed “The Big ‘O’,” the lake
is the second largest natural freshwater lake
after Lake Michigan, measuring 30 miles
from north to south and 33 miles from east to
west. For centuries prior to the Great Miami
Hurricane in 1926 and a similar hurricane in
1928, the lake would overflow from heavy
rainfall, flooding the land with water flowing
south into the Everglades.
“The experience we had in the hurricane,
I will never forget, even though I was little,”
Tiger added. “We didn’t mind because as
long as we had each other, we felt good.”
The Willie Willie Seminole Indian
Village in Hialeah was never rebuilt.
Tiger’s uncle, Willie Willie, relocated to
the Hollywood reservation soon after the
hurricane.

Kevin Johnson

A display at the Clewiston Museum features information and photos about the impact of the hurricanes
of 1926 and 1928 in and around Lake Okeechobee.

Courtesy of Miami Springs Historical Society and Museum

Seminole children at the Willie Willie Seminole Indian Village on Palm Avenue in Hialeah in 1926. The boy on the left is holding a racoon pelt.

Courtesy of the National Weather Service

The killer hurricane swept through the city of Hollywood.

Remembering - 30 years ago
Atlanta powwow
BY CALVIN TIGER
Staff Reporter

Back in the summer
of 1996 in downtown
Atlanta, the Seminole Tribe
organized the Discover
Native America American
Indian Powwow from July
19 to Aug. 4. During the
same time of the powwow,
the 1996 Summer Olympics
took place in Atlanta whereas
the powwow received a big
boost in attendance. The
powwow featured more
than 100 Native American
dancers,
drummers,
comedians, musicians, and
crafts people.
The powwow was also
aired via television where
millions of viewers got to
witness every day of the
event.
Observers
at
the
powwow called it the
“greatest powwow show on

Courtesy of the National Weather Service

The damage on Bayshore Drive, Miami Beach, was significant, resulting in a boat being swept inland.

Mark Cruz, from Klamath
Tribes, named IHS director
FROM PRESS RELEASE

earth”.
At the time, attendees
and powwow organizers
were under a great amount
of stress and uncertainty as
the result of a homemade
pipe bomb attack at the
Olympics. The bomb went
off beneath a bench at a
public concert area. One
person died and more than
100 were injured.

File photo

Billy Mills, an Olympic gold
medal winner, was honored in
1996 with a special dance at
the Seminoles’ Discover Native
America event in Atlanta.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
announced in August that Mark Cruz, a
citizen of the Klamath Tribes, has been
confirmed to serve as director of the Indian
Health Service (IHS). Cruz becomes the
agency’s 12th Senate confirmed director,
filling the leadership position that had been
unoccupied since January 2025.
Cruz will oversee IHS, which provides
health care services to 2.8 million Native
Americans through nearly 600 federally
operated hospitals and clinics, tribal health
care programs and urban Native American
organizations.
“Mark has already been an invaluable
partner in advancing our priorities across
Indian Country as my senior advisor,” HHS
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a
release. As director of the Indian Health
Service, he will build on that work by
supporting tribal self-determination and food
sovereignty, and ensuring Native families
receive the high-quality healthcare they
deserve.”
“I want to thank President Trump and
Secretary Kennedy for their trust in me and
appreciate the U.S. Senate’s confirmation.

HHS

Mark Cruz

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve
American Indian and Alaska Native
communities as the new director of the Indian
Health Service,” Cruz said in the release.
“I look forward to working closely with
tribal leaders, urban Indian organizations,
our dedicated workforce, and partners
across Indian Country to strengthen tribal
consultation, improve access to high-quality,
culturally appropriate healthcare, hire health
professionals our communities need, and
modernize the Indian health system.”

7A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Seminole Classic Casino honored with Green Visionary Hard Rock to host
9/11 memorial
Award for sustainable development leadership

Native comedians
to perform at
Classic Casino
Sept. 25

FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole
Classic Casino recently received the 2026
Green Visionary Award for Sustainable
Development Leadership by the South
Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
during its annual sustainability luncheon
on Aug. 21 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral
Gables.
The award recognizes individuals,
businesses
and
organizations
that
demonstrate leadership in sustainability
through
innovative
practices
and
environmental strategies that reduce waste,
lower carbon emissions and address plastic
pollution.

FROM NIGC

HOLLYWOOD — Seminole Classic
Casino in Hollywood will host Native
American comedians Ernest Tsosie and
Tonia Jo Hall for two live performances
Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Tickets starting at $45 are available at
Ticketweb.com. Guests must be age 21 or
over to purchase tickets.
Tsosie is a comedian, actor and
member of the Screen Actors Guild whose
credits include the Netflix film “Rez Ball”
and appearances on AMC’s “Longmire,”
“Better Call Saul” and “Dark Winds,” as
well as NBC’s “Rutherford Falls.” He has
entertained audiences nationwide at venues
including the Laugh Factory in Hollywood,
the House of Comedy in Phoenix and the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Hall is known for her popular character
Auntie Beachress, a bold and unapologetic
auntie who delivers relatable storytelling and
“rez humor.” Her viral content has attracted
a loyal following across Facebook, YouTube,
Instagram and TikTok throughout the United
States and Canada.
For more information, visit doclassic.
com.

“Receiving the Green Visionary Award
is a tremendous honor and a reflection of
our Team Members’ commitment to making
sustainability part of how we operate
every day,” said Edward Aguilar, general
manager of Seminole Classic Casino, in a
press release. “Their ideas, dedication and
willingness to take action have produced
measurable results while supporting
Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock’s broader
commitment to protecting the planet. We
are proud of what we have accomplished
and remain focused on finding new ways to
reduce our environmental impact.”
The Seminole Classic Casino’s Save
The Planet Committee has implemented
team member-driven food waste diversion

and glass recycling programs designed to
incorporate sustainability into the property’s
daily operations.
Over the past year, the casino diverted
47,553 pounds of organic waste and 9,701
glass bottles from landfills. The initiative
generated an environmental impact
equivalent to planting 313 tree seedlings,
eliminating 47,172 miles of driving and
conserving 2,139 gallons of gasoline.
The resulting energy savings were also
sufficient to charge more than 1.25 million
smartphones. The casino said the results
reflect its ongoing commitment to reducing
waste and improving environmental
sustainability.

stair climb
FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will
host the second annual Rock The Climb
9/11 Memorial stair climb to honor heroes
on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 at The
Guitar Hotel on Sept. 11 at 8:30 a.m. The
Firefighters of Davie are also in partnership
with the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood to honor the heroes that lost their
lives, support survivors and uplift families.
Rock The Climb will begin with an
opening ceremony at 8:30 a.m., followed by
a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the
time the first plane struck the World Trade
Center. The memorial stair climb will begin
at 9:30 a.m.
Registration is $75 in advance and
$100 on the day of the event. Registration
includes participation in the stair climb,
access to DAER Dayclub, a finisher medal,
commemorative t-shirt, food and beverage,
and a challenge coin.
For more information or to register for
Rock The Climb, visit rocktheclimb.net. For
more information about Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino Hollywood, visit https://
casino.hardrock.com/hollywood/events/
rock-the-climb.

Global gaming
women’s
conference
to be held at
Hard Rock
FROM PRESS RELEASE
Courtesy Classic Casino

Humberto Marchante

Ernest Tsosie and Tonia Jo Hall

Seminole Classic Casino team members and Lourdes Mola, vice president of Latin Business Development for Seminole Gaming, accept the 2026 Green
Visionary Award for Sustainable Development Leadership during an awards luncheon at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables on Aug. 21.

4th show added
for Maniscalco

Slot machine crackdown takes place in Cape Coral
FROM PRESS RELEASE

FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD — Hard Rock Live
at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
in Hollywood has added a fourth show for
renowned comedian, actor and podcast host
Sebastian Maniscalco on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m.
with the first three shows at very limited
inventory. For ticket information, go to
myHRL.com.

The
Florida
Gaming
Control
Commission in collaboration with the
Cape Coral Police Department recently
seized 60 illegal ballot slot machines
from a business disguised as a legal bingo
establishment, according to officials. The
enforcement operation, known as Operation
Going Downtown, took place at 2708 Santa

Barbara Boulvard, Suite 108, in Cape Coral,
at an establishment called Uptown Bingo.
Slot machines are lawful at eight
licensed locations in Miami-Dade and
Broward Counties, as well as at facilities
operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
“Bingo is fun, and the FGCC supports
lawful play,” said FGCC Commissioner
Peter Cuderman in a press release.
“Unfortunately, criminals prey on Floridians

Hard Rock properties receive accolades

St. Johns County man hits $1.1M jackpot
FROM PRESS RELEASE

TAMPA — A St. Johns County man
hit a jackpot totaling $1,104,476.06 on Aug.
29 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa.
The guest won the jackpot while playing

a Dragon Link Panda Magic slot machine by
Aristocrat Gaming with a $150 bet on a $2
denomination.
This is the second million-dollar jackpot
awarded in August and the seventh Dragon
Link jackpot of more than $1 million
awarded at Hard Rock Tampa this year.

Classic doles out nearly $10M in jackpots
FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole
Classic Casino in Hollywood reporter that
it paid out more than $9.4 million in 2,246
jackpots that were awarded in July.
The biggest three jackpot winnings

included Dragon Link Grand Jackpots
totaling $504,275.50, which consisted of
$258,769.58 jackpot won with a $25 bet on a
$1 denomination, $140,060.40 jackpot won
with a $5 bet on a 10-cent denomination, and
$105,445.72 jackpot won with a $2.50 bet on
a 5-cent denomination.

Seinfeld to perform two shows in Hollywood
FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD
—
Legendary
comedian Jerry Seinfeld is coming to Hard
Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &

Casino Hollywood on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23,
2027, at 8 p.m.
For ticket information, go to myHRL.
com.

by using a bingo theme on slot machines and
falsely claiming these games are legal..”
If you suspect someone is operating an
illegal bingo hall or casino, or conducting
any other illegal gambling, you can submit
a crime tip online at FLGaming.gov/Filea-Report, by email at Tipline@FLGaming.
gov, or by phone at 850-880-3433.

FROM PRESS RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD —
Hard Rock
International announced Aug. 28 that seven
of its venues have been recognized in
Pollstar’s 2026 Top 25 U.S. Casino Venues
ranking.
Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino Hollywood earned the No.
1 position for the second consecutive year.
Honored venues include:
Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood: Ranked
No. 1 for the second consecutive year,
this 6,600-seat venue at the iconic Guitar
Hotel has established itself as a leader in
world-class entertainment with 77 live
performances in the past seven months,
grossing $53.2 million from more than
380,000 tickets sold – including Shakira’s
three ‘Up Close & Personal’ headline shows,
The Eagles, Guns N’ Roses, Chris Stapleton
and the Jonas Brothers.
Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena,
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic
City: Ranked No. 4 nationally with nearly
$13.4 million in gross revenue from more
than 97,000 tickets sold, this Atlantic City

landmark is the Jersey Shore’s premier
destination for major headliners paired
with premium gaming experiences. Recent
performances have featured Rod Stewart,
Nikki Glaser and The Chicks.
Hard Rock Live Sacramento at Fire
Mountain: Ranked No. 10 nationally, this
intimate Northern California venue generates
over $5 million in annual gross revenue by
combining distinctive concert experiences
with Hard Rock’s renowned casino and
dining offerings. This year, the venue hosted
Jefferson Starship and Myles Smith among
others. Upcoming performances include
Earth, Wind & Fire; Chance the Rapper; and
Alice Cooper.
Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa: This
top Florida regional hub ranked No. 11
with $4.5 million in gross revenue. In the
past year, the venue hosted comedian Adam
Ray, country star Maren Morris, and DJ and
producer Fisher amongst a host of other
talent for fans across generations.
Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana:
Ranked No. 15 nationally with over $3.1
million in gross revenue, this premier
Midwest venue serves as a regional leader
in concert entertainment and gaming

954.522.3500

Travis W. Trueblood, LL.M
Advocacy for Sovereignty & Justice

helping the
seminole community
For Many Years

Areas of Practice:
• Native American Law Matters
• Civil Rights & Serious Legal Matters

24 houRs a daY

• Business Law
• Tribal, State and Federal
Court Representation
Admitted to Practice:
Tribal Courts / FL / DC / MD / TX / U.S. Supreme Court

Call or Text:
(954) 871-ATTY (2889)
Calls Answered 24 Hours
Consultations Always Free

500 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 900, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33397

www.truebloodlaw.com

O f f i c e s i n F o r t L a u d e r d a l e , F L , a n d Wa s h i n g t o n , D C

hospitality, drawing audiences from across
the Great Lakes. In 2026, the venue hosted
a mix of talented performers spanning
multiple genres, including Boy George &
Culture Club and Wiz Khalifa.
Hard Rock Live Rockford: Opened
in 2024, this Illinois destination has rapidly
established itself as a preferred Midwest
venue, ranked No. 18 nationally. The venue
has hosted a diverse mix of major concert
headliners, comedians and special events. In
2026, the venue has brought diverse musical
talent to the stage, from singer-songwriter
Don McLean to blues guitarist Kenny Wayne
Shepherd.
Hard Rock Live Bristol: Ranked No. 22
nationally, this Virginia venue demonstrates
Hard Rock’s strength in the Eastern regional
market with strong audience appeal and
consistent performance since opening in
2024. The venue has featured a wide variety
of country, rock, pop, and comedy acts, from
Blake Shelton and Foreigner to Boyz II Men
and Gabriel Iglesias, appealing to diverse
music interests and audiences.

RichaRd
castillo

WHO’S YOUR ATTORNEY?

Choctaw Tribal Member
Veteran - U.S. Navy and Air Force

HOLLYWOOD — The Seminole Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will host
the Global Gaming Women’s Foundations
Conference Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 from 7:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. The program’s focus is for
women gathering essential skills for career
development. During the conference,
scholarships will be available for women
that work in the gaming industry who would
like to expand their career aspirations and
further leadership skills.
Seminole Gaming is a gold sponsor for
the Global Gaming Women’s Organization.
For more information on how to register
and to view scholarship requirements,
visit globalgamingwomen.org/event/ggwfoundations-conference-miami.

RIchaRD caStIllo

FloRIDa cRIMInal DeFenSe attoURney

www.caStIllolawoFFIceS.coM

Since 1990 I have protected rights like yours.
My office defends DUIs, drug offenses, suspended
licenses, domestic violence, and all felonies and
misdemeanors throughout Florida and the
United States.
The hiring of an attorney is an important decision
that should not be based solely upon advertisement. Castillo worked as a Public Defender in
Broward County from 1990-1996 and has been in
private practice since 1996. In 1995, he was voted
the Trial Attorney of the year. He graduated from
Capital University in 1989 and was admitted to the
Florida Bar in 1990, Federal Bar in 1992, and the Federal Trial Bar in 1994.

8A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum

Exhibit rendering of "Our Grandmother’s Grandmothers" gallery from the 90% phase of exhibit designs, completed June 2026.

Our story: The past and present
of the museum redesign project
BY TERRY RUNNER
Exhibit Specialist

BIG CYPRESS — After three decades
of preserving and sharing the vibrant culture
and deep history of the Seminole Tribe of
Florida, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum will
close its doors in November to begin a
transformative new chapter through a full
museum redesign. The plans for this redesign
have been many years in the making, with
careful consideration to the full and complete
story of the Seminole Tribe and their longstanding heritage in Florida.
The vision for the museum’s redesign
began in late 2015, when former Chairman
James E. Billie, recognized that the museum
had the opportunity to tell much more of the
Seminole Story. To help bring this vision to

reality, the museum, under the leadership
of then-Director Paul Backhouse, partnered
with Studio Tectonic, an exhibit design firm
specializing in building immersive culture
experiences.
From the beginning, community
input played a central role in the planning
process. Museum staff worked closely
with community members, listening to
their feedback on exhibit concepts and the
museum's overall narrative. Their insights
helped shape the visitor journey, ensuring
the redesigned museum reflected the stories,
values, and histories that mattered most. In
2018, after reaching multiple benchmarks
of the concept design phase, the museum
transitioned its focus to architectural
planning. Rather than expanding the
building's footprint, the goal was to

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum

reimagine the existing space while retaining
the mile-long boardwalk, as well as the
recreated village and ceremonial grounds.
As development of the redesign was nearing
completion, the project was temporarily put
on hold during the COVID pandemic.
Shortly after joining the museum as
Director in 2021, Gordon Oliver Wareham
jump started the project and began reviewing
the plans for the museum. He emphasized
that the Seminole story is not simply a story
of the past, but a living story—one rooted
in the people, traditions, and enduring spirit
of generations of Seminoles. Guided by the
belief that the Seminole story is Our Story,
Director Wareham and Museum Curator Tara
Backhouse began reshaping the museum
experience to place Seminole voices and
perspectives at the heart of every gallery.

The pathway to the Observation Hallway on the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki boardwalk. The boardwalk and the
Observation Hallway will be open while the museum is closed for the redesign of its galleries.

The culmination of these efforts has
produced a visually stunning and culturally
immersive experience telling the Seminole
story from the Seminole perspective. While
the museum’s original exhibits focused on
a very short period of Seminole life (18901910), the redesigned experience presents
a past to the present continuum reinforcing
that Seminole people have always lived
and thrived in Yak-ne Fash-ke (what is now
known as Florida).
The new museum will feature four major
gallery spaces: The Seminole Experience,
Our Grandmother’s Grandmothers, Strength
and Survival and Being Seminole Today.
The design of each experience illustrates

Miccosukees leave their mark in
Miami-Dade County time capsule
BY DANIELLA HAKIM
Staff Reporter

In 2076, a Miccosukee palmetto
fiber doll accompanied with a
letter signed by the Chairman of
the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians
of Florida Talbert Cypress, will be
unburied at Tropical Park in Miami.
The time capsule, containing a
100-item collection that resembles
life in Miami-Dade County, was
sealed on June 29, 2026, honoring
America’s 250th anniversary.
“How amazing to be a part of
something monumental like this,”
said Kendal Osceola, a Miccosukee
tribal member, in a post on Instagram.

The palmetto fiber doll was
dressed in traditional patchwork
clothing.
“Our palmetto dolls are,
themselves, a time capsule of our
Miccosukee culture,” said Cypress in
a statement. “They tell the story of a
people who have kept our traditions,
our clothes, and our language, but
have adapted to a modern world.
We are a proud people, but like all
peoples, we derive our strength
through the relationships we build
with others.”
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
joined officials and stakeholders
at one of the county’s best-known
parks, placing sand over the capsule.

According to Miami-Dade County,
the capsule was designed to celebrate
the county’s shared history and its
diverse range of cultures, while
encouraging civic engagement and
community connection.
The
celebration
included
activities beyond the capsule’s
burial at Tropical Park, including
a community art competition and
a naturalization ceremony at the
historic Freedom Tower in downtown
Miami.
The capsule will be unsealed
Courtesy photo
on June 29, 2076, on the 300th
anniversary of the founding of the This time capsule was sealed June 29, 2026, and will be opened in 50 years
United States of America. Osceola’s when the United States turns 300.
son, Eele, will be 56 years old.

ARTIFACT OF THE MONTH
For almost as long as people have needed light, there have been lamps. The
oldest lamps can date back as far as 40,000 years ago. Archaeologists
in France have discovered Neolithic age lamps made from sandstone
(Gralókkr & Matthews, 2025)(Fig1), while in the Americas lamps made from
bone were used by Native populations such as the Inuit (Clark, 2002)(Fig2).
This month’s artifact is much more recent than its Native and Paleolithic
counterparts, however.

September 2026

Figure 1: hanging soapstone oil lamp

atlantia.sca.org

Figure 2: Inuit lamp
ĂĨŽŐŶĂŬ͘ŽƌŐ

afognak.org

FROM PRESS RELEASE

BRIGHTON — The Marshall Tucker
Band, with classic hits such as " “Heard It
in a Love Song,” “Can’t You See,” “Fire
on the Mountain,” “Long Hard Ride,” and
“Ramblin," will perform Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. at
the Seminole Brighton Bay Hotel & Casino's
Seminole Event Center. Go to ticketmaster.
com for tickets.

SURVIVING THE
STORMY SEASON

September is peak hurricane season in south Florida, and
hurricanes have had a major influence historically in the region.
In fact, hurricanes are partly to blame for keeping colonizers
away from the gulf coast during the 17th and 18th centuries
(fierce resistance by Seminole ancestors like the Calusa was the
other reason). Colonizers simply did not know how to identify
signs of coming storms and prepare for them, and their large
ships and immobile settlements left them especially vulnerable.

The most obvious clue for archaeologists attempting to track down the age
of the lamp is the fuel. Kerosene fuel is relatively new, having come about in
1846 (Sheridan, 2020). Before kerosene, lamps were fueled with a variety of
oils and animal fats to produce flames that allowed everything from late
night reading to long journeys. Some of these fuel sources were olive oil,
beeswax, and whale fat (Arnold, 2004).

Finally, the very nature of the lamp’s discovery allows archaeologists to
estimate its age as well. The lamp, as stated above, was a “surface find”
meaning it was recovered without digging. While surface finds can still be
quite old, when viewed along with the other clues uncovered with the lamp,
archaeologists are able to piece together a relatively accurate date range.
This lamp is a great example that in archaeology sometimes deductive
reasoning is the only course of action when everything else is exhausted.

Marshall Tucker
Band to perform
in Brighton

SEMINOLE HISTORY STORIES - SEPTEMBER 2026

The artifact of the month is a well-preserved glass base of a mass-produced
kerosene lamp (Fig3). It was recovered by TAS (Tribal Archaeology Section)
after being found above ground in what is called a “surface find.” While exact
dates may be fuzzy, there are clues to help narrow down when this lamp was
manufactured and used.

The next clue comes from a close examination of the lamp’s creation. The
lamp has two long seams running down either side which means it was
created through mass-production from a factory mold rather than by the
hands of a single craftsman (Fig4). This narrows down the lamp’s age to
between 19th century (when the kerosene lamp was invented) to sometime in
the 20th century (when lamp usage declined following electricity) (Wells,
2026). Surprisingly, the glass lacks a maker’s mark, so it’s currently unknown
where exactly it was produced and by whom, limiting our dating capabilities.

the gallery themes though Seminole art
and architecture, while stories are told by
the voices of those who live here using
thoughtfully integrated text panels, audio
and captivating visuals.
While the museum is expected to be
closed for the duration of almost two years,
the construction phase of this project,
the boardwalk and museum store will
remain open to the public, with a smaller
“mini-museum” experience located in the
Observation Hallway behind the Curatorial
building for visitors to enjoy.

THPO

Figure 3
Figure 4

THPO

Of course, the opposite is true for the Seminole and Miccosukee,
and their ancestors. Traditional knowledge of their surroundings
and adaptive strategies developed over generations allowed
them to deal with all kinds of weather, hurricanes included. As
Miccosukee Tribal member Betty Osceola once explained to a
reporter, “Our ancestors were taught not to fear the hurricane”
because they could recognize the signs and prepare. One such
sign was blooming sawgrass, which Tribal members noticed just
before the 1928 hurricane that devastated south Florida. Shifts
in atmospheric pressure just before a hurricane cause the release
of sawgrass pollen and trigger it to bloom early. Recognizing
this, Seminole ancestors packed up their canoes and retreated
to higher ground where trees like palmettos, that were adapted
to high winds, provided shelter.
Flexible and adaptable structures, like chickees, also had an
important role in helping the Indigenous communities of
south Florida, past and present, weather severe storms. Tribal
members share memories of roofs of chickees being removed
and placed on the ground so their families could shelter beneath
them during storms. According to Seminole Tribal member,
Mr. Lonnie Billie, a long-time chickee builder, the light, flexible
construction of chickees keeps them from being destroyed by
high winds, unlike modern buildings.
These aren’t the only ways that the ancestors and their modern
descendants who form the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes
today have survived hurricanes, but they are two important
strategies, and both are great examples of how generational
knowledge continues to serve the Indigenous communities.

Gralókkr, E. (2025, October 20). European oil lamps from prehistory through the Viking Age. The Oak.
https://oak.atlantia.sca.org/european-oil-lamps-from-prehistory-through-the-viking-age/
Clark, D. W. (2002, September). The native village of Afognak. Native Village of Afognak :: Litnik Site 2002.
https://www.afognak.org/archaeology/litnik-site-2002/
Sheridan, A. (2020, April 24). The History of the Kerosene Lamp. Iowa State University.
https://museums.iastate.edu/news/history-kerosene-lamp
Arnold, B. (2004). Description and history of oil lamps. Milwaukee Public Museum. https://www.mpm.edu/index.php/researchcollections/anthropology/anthropology-collections-research/mediterranean-oil-lamps/description-and-history-oil-lamps
Wells, B. (2026, July 13). Kerosene rocket fuel. American Oil & Gas Historical Society. https://aoghs.org/products/kerosenerocket-fuel/

To see more Seminole History Stories, please visit the THPO website at www.stofthpo.com
Painting: Harold Newton, Untitled [Hurricane] n.d. Oil on Upson board 27 x 47 in. Courtesy of
the Schlesinger Collection © Harold Newton
Visit the Tribal Historic Preservation Office website at stofthpo.com
or use the QR code on the right for more Seminole history resources

9A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

Health
Chronic fatigue and
exhaustion
BY TERESA SNOW
Health Contributor

Why Am I Always Tired?
Every morning, Lena promised herself
she would feel better after one more good
night’s sleep. But even after eight hours
in bed, she dragged herself through work,
skipped family visits, and stared at simple
chores she could not begin. At first, she
blamed her busy schedule. She wondered
whether she needed vitamin B12, vitamin
D, or iron. What she did not expect was that
her tiredness might also be connected to the
sadness, worry, and loss of interest she had
quietly carried for weeks.
What It Is
Everyone feels worn out sometimes.
A late night, a demanding week, illness,
caregiving, grief, or too little food and water
can drain anyone’s energy. Usually, rest and
a return to normal habits help.
Ongoing exhaustion is different. You
may wake up tired, move more slowly,
struggle to focus, or feel that small tasks
take enormous effort. Sleep may not leave
you refreshed. You may also lose interest
in cooking, visiting people, exercising, or
doing things you normally enjoy. There
is no single cause. Low iron can lead to
anemia, which means the blood cannot carry
oxygen as well as it should. Low vitamin
B12 or vitamin D, an underactive thyroid,
diabetes, sleep problems, infection, pain,
and some medicines can also reduce energy.
Loud snoring and gasping during sleep may
point to sleep apnea, a condition in which
breathing repeatedly stops and starts.
Depression can cause deep physical
tiredness too. It is more than a bad mood or
a difficult day. It can affect sleep, appetite,
concentration, movement, motivation, and
the ability to enjoy life. Some people notice
exhaustion before they recognize sadness.
Others feel empty, irritable, disconnected, or
unusually guilty rather than tearful.

medicines, eating habits, recent illness,
stress, and mood. Blood tests may help
check for anemia, thyroid trouble, blood
sugar problems, or certain vitamin shortages.
Do not assume that a supplement will solve
the problem. Taking large doses without
knowing what is low can waste money, cause
side effects, or delay the care you actually
need.
Depression can also exist alongside
another condition, so the care plan may need
to address both.
Did You Know? Depression does not
always look like crying. For some people,
the strongest clues are constant tiredness,
body aches, poor sleep, and losing interest
in everyday life.
If this sounds familiar, you are not
lazy or failing. Your body and mind may be
asking for care, and you deserve support for
both.
What To Do
• Track seven days. Write down sleep
hours, naps, energy, mood, meals, caffeine,
medicines, pain, and snoring. Bring the
notes to your visit.
• Schedule one health appointment. Say,
“I have felt unusually tired for ___ weeks,
and it is affecting ___.” Ask whether a
physical exam, blood tests, sleep review, and
depression check make sense.
• Skip guesswork with supplements. Ask
before taking high-dose iron, vitamin B12,
or vitamin D. The right treatment depends on
the actual cause.
• Protect the basics. Keep a steady sleep
time, drink water, eat regular meals with
protein and fiber, and take a short walk if you
can do so safely.
• Tell one trusted person. Ask a family
member, friend, elder, counselor, or
community health worker to check in and
help you follow through.
• Get urgent help for thoughts of
hurting yourself. Call or text 988 for free,
confidential support at any hour. Call 911 if
you are in immediate danger.

Gila River
Indian
Community
entity launches
historic medical
partnership
FROM UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

CHANDLER, Ariz. — On Aug. 18,
the University of Arizona and Gila River
Health Care (GRHC), the Gila River Indian
Community's tribally operated healthcare
system, announced a long-term partnership
to establish the nation's first MD-granting
medical school branch located on the lands
of a sovereign Tribal Nation.
The University of Arizona College
of Medicine – Phoenix Regional Medical
Branch in Sacaton, Arizona, is designed to
educate future physicians within a tribal
healthcare system while strengthening
access to care in tribal, rural and medically
underserved communities. Beginning in
July 2027, ten students will be admitted
annually to the University of Arizona
College of Medicine – Phoenix's three-year
MD-granting Primary Care Accelerated
Program at the Gila River Branch. Students
will receive full tuition scholarships funded
by GRHC. They will complete the first
18 months of their foundational medical
education in Phoenix before relocating to
Sacaton for the final 18 months of clinical
education.
"Tribal and rural communities have
some of the nation's greatest unmet primary
care needs," University of Arizona President
Suresh Garimella said. "This partnership to
establish the country's first medical school
branch within a Tribal Nation will train
physicians through an accelerated threeyear MD program, support them with full
scholarships to free them of debt burden and
provide residency opportunities that anchor
them to the places and patients they know.
That is how you build a physician workforce
that remains in the communities that need
them most."
The U.S. continues to face persistent
physician shortages, particularly in rural and
Tribal communities. Arizona ranks No. 42
in the nation for primary care access, and its
rapidly growing population has intensified
the demand for primary care physicians.
Research shows that physicians are more
likely to practice where they train, making
community-based medical education a
proven strategy for strengthening Arizona's
long-term healthcare workforce.
Rather than expanding medical
education solely through large academic
medical centers, the Regional Medical
Branch places students within a community-

Why It Matters
According to the National Institute of
Closing Takeaway
Mental Health, fatigue or lack of energy is
Constant exhaustion is not something
a common sign of depression. One symptom you must simply push through. It may
alone does not prove that depression is the come from sleep, stress, a health condition,
cause. The pattern matters, including how depression, or more than one cause at the
long the changes have lasted and how much same time. Finding the reason can open the
they interfere with daily life.
door to treatment and steadier days. Today,
Pay attention when tiredness continues put a seven-day energy log beside your bed
BIA awards
for two weeks or longer, keeps returning, or or save one in your phone. Record your first
makes work, driving, caregiving, or basic entry tonight, then use it to make a clear,
grants for
chores harder. Notice whether it comes with informed request for help this week. You do
family services
low mood, loss of interest, sleep changes, not have to guess alone.
appetite changes, hopelessness, trouble
Source: Centers for Disease Control and
FROM PRESS RELEASE
thinking, or pulling away from others. These Prevention and National Institute of Mental
clues help a doctor or nurse practitioner see Health guidance on fatigue and depression
SERVING FLORIDA symptoms.
AND
FULLY STOCKED Two million dollars in
the whole picture.
funding from the Bureau
A physical check
still
matters.
A
doctor
THE VICINITY
We
keep
our
response
hubs
of Indian
Affairs will go to
or nurse practitioner may review sleep,
seven
Native
organizations,
supplied with critical post-storm
We specialize in serving the
with a goal to strengthen
emergency materials
including
Florida, southern Georgia, and
child and
family services.
According
to a press
plywood, generators, roof
southern Alabama markets, and
release, the Indian Child
patching materials,
and more.
we’re always ready to assist you
Welfare
Act off-reservation
grants
will
support culturally
anywhere in these areas.
appropriate services that
INSURANCE MANAGEMENT
promote family stability,
prevent unnecessary family
A TRUSTED SOURCE
After handling thousands
separation and help ensure
removal
of claims, we can the
deal
withof an Indian child
We are a certified General
from a parent or custodian
insurance companies
Contractor, licensed, bonded,
occursskillfully
only as a last resort.
Grant recipients and
and efficiently.
and insured.
award amounts:
• ICWA Law Center,
Minneapolis,
Minn.
–
$300,000
• Bristol Bay Native
Association,
Anchorage,
Alaska – $300,000
• Rocky
Mountain
24/7 emergency response
Tribal Leadership Council,
anywhere in Florida
Billings,
Mont. – $280,000
AL
GA
• Nebraska
Indian
6 response hubs across Florida
Child Welfare Coalition, Inc.,
Bloomfield, Neb. – $280,000
100+ trucks ready to roll
• The
American
Indian Community Center,
100+ dedicated employees
Spokane, Wash. – $280,000
• Cook Inlet Tribal
Workmanship guarantee
Council, Inc., Anchorage,
Alaska – $280,000
FL
Track record of nearly two decades
• Native
American
Fatherhood
&
Families
Association, Mesa, Arizona –
$280,000

Chris Richards/University of Arizona

University of Arizona leaders, tribal leaders, healthcare professionals and federal legislators gather
Aug. 18 to celebrate the announcement of the nation's first MD-granting medical school branch
located on the lands of a sovereign tribal nation.

based healthcare system, where they will
learn by caring for patients and working
alongside physicians serving Native
communities every day. Under exploration is
the development of primary care residency
programs at GRHC, which will further
strengthen the long-term goal of retaining
physicians to serve the Community and
other underserved areas.
"This is a tremendous opportunity
for our community and for the next
generation of physicians," said Stephen Roe
Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian
Community. "For too long, many of our
young people who dreamed of becoming
doctors had to leave home to pursue that
goal. This partnership with the University
of Arizona changes that. It gives them the
opportunity to learn, train and build their
careers right here in the Community, where
they can make a real difference for the people
they serve."
GRHC has committed more than $25
million through 2034 to establish and support
the Regional Medical Branch, including
faculty positions, student scholarships and
educational infrastructure. Unlike traditional
clinical rotations, students will become
part of a healthcare system. Working under
faculty supervision, they will care for patients
across a broad range of clinical settings
while gaining firsthand understanding of
the historical, cultural, and social factors
that influence health. University and GRHC
leaders also believe the partnership will
inspire more Native American students to
pursue medicine while strengthening longterm pathways into Arizona's physician
workforce.
"This partnership challenges us to think
differently about where and how physicians
are educated," said Dr. Fredric Wondisford,
dean of the University of Arizona College of
Medicine – Phoenix. "Clinical excellence is
shaped not only by scientific knowledge, but
by understanding the communities physicians
serve. By educating future physicians within
a tribally operated healthcare system serving
Native communities, we are creating a

THE RRT ADVANTAGE

Get a customized disaster recovery plan
for your business or home. Contact us
at 877-711-8001 or visit RRTFL.com.

See ANSWERS on page 6C

© 2025 Rapid Response Team RRT.SEM.09.25

learning experience that cannot be replicated
in a traditional academic medical center."
Developed through close collaboration
between the U of A and GRHC, the partnership
reflects shared leadership, mutual respect
and a long-term commitment to improving
health outcomes when training the next
generation of physicians. It demonstrates
how public research universities, sovereign
tribal nations and community healthcare
systems can work together to strengthen the
physician workforce while improving access
to care. The partnership also reinforces the
U of A's long-term investment in preparing
physicians to serve communities across the
state.
"There's a real challenge for rural health
hospitals to recruit trained professionals to
come and work in their communities," said
Robert Pablo, chairman of the Gila River
Health Care Board of Directors. "We are
very fortunate to launch this first-of-its-kind
partnership between Gila River Health Care
and the University of Arizona, which will
establish a starting ground for these young
doctors to jumpstart their careers."
Inspired by a similar partnership
announced last year with Onvida Health
in Yuma, the Regional Medical Branch
further advances the University of Arizona's
commitment to expanding community-based
medical education across Arizona. The
Association of American Medical Colleges
projects the United States could face a
shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036,
with Tribal and rural communities expected
to be among those most affected.
Leaders from the U of A, Gila River Indian
Community and GRHC are confident that this
first-of-its-kind collaboration demonstrates
how public research universities, sovereign
tribal nations and community healthcare
systems can work together to strengthen
the physician workforce, improve access to
care and expand educational opportunity for
generations to come.

Proud Vendor Partner
of the Seminole Tribe

Residential and Commercial Property

RECOVERY
EXPERTS

Labor Day
events in
Okeechobee
STAFF REPORT

The Okeechobee Labor
Day in the Park is set to be
held Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. downtown at Flagler
Park. A parade, food and
vendors will be part of the
day. The summer concert
series is slated to wrap up
with an evening performance.
Guests
encouraged to
CGCare
024735
bring lawn chairs.

Water Damage
Mitigation

Mold
Removal

Fire and Smoke
Restoration

Biohazard and
Disinfecting

Reconstruction
and Remodeling

Storm Damage
Repair

For service
24/7 Emergency
Service
For 24/7 emergency
call, 877-711-8001.
RRTFL.com
CGC 024735

CGC 024735

call, 877-711-8001
RRTFL.com

10A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

SEMINOLE SCENES

Kevin Johnson

VOLLEYBALL SISTERS: Seminole descendant
Kiani Runkles, right, and her older sister, Kali,
pose after their schools met in junior varsity and
varsity volleyball matches Aug. 25 at Clewiston
High School. They didn’t play against each other,
but both had outstanding games. Kiani, a seventh
grader, plays for Moore Haven High School JV;
Kali, a ninth grader, plays for Clewiston High
School varsity.

Gordon Wareham

Beverly Bidney (2)

NEW PRINCESS VISITS NEW MEXICO: Newly-crowned Miss Florida Seminole Serena Zepeda and her
father, Brian, check out artwork at the Santa Fe Indian Market that was held Aug. 15-16 in New Mexico.
The event is described as the world’s largest Native American art market. Serena won the Miss Florida
Seminole Princess Pageant on July 25.

TRADING PLACES: Above and below, construction has commenced on Brighton’s new 4,700-squarefoot trading post, which will be on the same site as the existing one. The trading post will have 10
double-sided fuel pumps under a new 5,994-square-foot canopy. Construction of the trading post is
estimated to be completed in May 2027. The existing trading post will remain open until the new one
opens.

Beverly Bidney

WELCOME BACK: Jr. Miss Florida Seminole Dahlia Sanders and her sister, Presleigh Osceola, attend
Immokalee’s Back-to-School Bash on Aug. 4. They posed for photos and interacted with students. The
2026-27 school year began Aug. 10.

Calvin Tiger

DOLLY PARTON: The entertainment industry
and many others mourned the passing of
country music star, actress, business owner
and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who died
Aug. 25 in Nashville at age 80. A robe she wore
when photographed for TV Guide is displayed
at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. The plaque
highlights her songwriting career and mentions
notable hits such as “Jolene” and “I Will Always
Love You.”

Elgin Jumper

HOT PAINTING: In August, Seminole artist Elgin
Jumper completed an oil painting for the tribe’s
Environmental Protection Office’s Climate
Resiliency department. Jumper titled the painting
“Feeling the Heat.” He said he wanted the painting
to reflect “sadness, despair and anguish” as it
relates to global climate concerns.

Kevin Johnson

SHERIDAN SITE: A Broward
County project that will
increase the height of the
bridge on Sheridan Street
over the Florida Turnpike
-- an area just south of
the Hollywood Reservation
-- requires traffic flow to
be temporarily altered. In
August, motorists began
using one lane in each
direction as the westbound
lanes were closed. The
project is expected to be
completed in spring 2027.

Hard Rock

Kevin Johnson

REMEMBRANCE: A poster at the Florida Seminole Veterans Building outlines 9/11 and the Afghanistan
and Iraq wars during the early 2000s.

K-9 CONTRIBUTION: In August, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol donated $15,500 to help fund the
Bristol, Virginia, Police Department’s newest K-9 officer named Ace. The donation will go toward the
purchase of the K-9 and the specialized training required for its deployment. Ace, whose name was
selected by Hard Rock team members, will be the only drug and patrol K-9 at BVPD. “We are incredibly
grateful to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol for this generous investment in public safety,” Chief D.
Byron Ashbrook, Bristol, Virginia Police Department, said in a statement. “This donation will allow
us to place another highly trained K-9 team into service, providing a resource that enhances officer
safety, strengthens our ability to apprehend dangerous offenders, and better protects the citizens of
Bristol.”

Beverly Bidney (3)

KIDS ENJOY NEW REC CENTER: The new Immokalee Recreation Center and Boys & Girls Club is getting a workout judging by the number of kids who are there after school on a daily basis. On Aug. 25, kids (in left photo), including Elijah Garza and Amis Guerrero
keep busy coloring with markers. (In right photo) Teens Zielah Cantu and Cali Osceola work on an arts and crafts project. In the gym (center photo) Kyren James and Amis Guerrero shoot hoops with some help from work experience employee Darius Billie.

11A • The Seminole Tribune • September 2026

NATIONAL NATIVE NEWS
California lawmakers kill grizzly
bear reintroduction bill
Lawmakers on Aug. 13
killed a
controversial plan that could have allowed
grizzly bears to one day return to California.
The
Assembly
Appropriations
Committee spiked Inglewood Democratic
Sen. Laura Richardson’s Senate Bill
1305. The measure would have tasked the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
with creating a “roadmap that evaluates
whether, and under what conditions,
reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible
and advisable.”
As is typical with the Legislature’s
appropriations committees, lawmakers
didn’t discuss the bill; nor did they take
public testimony before the committee’s
chairperson, Democratic Assemblymember
Buffy Wicks of Oakland, announced the
decision.
Wicks later told reporters that before
intentionally reintroducing grizzly bears,
the state must figure out how humans can
best coexist with predatory wildlife. She
pointed to the controversial return of gray
wolves to California and the subsequent loss
of cattle.
“The state needs to really invest in how
we are actually addressing and dealing with
those conflicts,” she said.
Grizzlies once lived across most of
California. As many as 10,000 may have
roamed before the Gold Rush. They were
so prevalent that when California settlers
tried to form their own nation, they called
it the Bear Flag Republic. A grizzly bear is
memorialized on California’s flag.
Settlers systematically exterminated
the animals. They were gone by the 1920s,
leaving the smaller black bear as California’s
only surviving native bear species.
Two
Native
American
tribes
consponsored the bill, and several animal
welfare
and
environmental
groups
supported it. They argued that bringing
the second largest land predator back to
America’s most populated state would
right an ecological wrong and help restore
California’s degraded ecosystem.
Opponents included ranchers, hunting
associations and rural communities. They
argued California is far too populated with
people to sustain another apex predator.
Rural communities are already overwhelmed
with conflicts with mountain lions, black
bears and wolves that attack livestock and
wander into their towns, opponents said.
The measure set aside no funding for the
study, but it allowed for a future Legislature
or an outside group to do so.
- Cal Matters (California)

Much of New Mexico’s tribal,
pueblo land ripe for geothermal
power, energy leader tells lawmakers
The majority of New Mexico’s tribe,
nation and pueblo land could be ripe for
exploring geothermal energy, an energy
expert told a panel of state lawmakers Aug.
10.
Rebecca “Puck” Stair, the New Mexico
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources
Department’s Energy Conservation and
Management Division director, spoke
before the interim Indian Affairs Committee
in Shiprock about the potential for the state’s
Indigenous populations to harness the heat
beneath the ground as a form of energy.
The state’s largest electric provider,
PNM, has already tapped into a southern
New Mexico geothermal plant that uses
the heat beneath the earth’s crust to create
steam, turn turbines and generate electricity.
Stair’s presentation to the committee
focused on the advantages of geothermal
energy — such as its renewable nature and
its relatively low water demand — and said
tribal leaders could consider investing in the
technology not just to generate electricity,
but potentially to sell excess energy or to
strengthen New Mexico’s outdated power
grid.
“If you’re using geothermal, the heat
beneath our feet to generate electricity,
that’s wonderful,” Stair told lawmakers. “It
could offer electricity revenues to tribes…
it’s clean energy, and that’s in alignment
with a lot of tribal values.”
State leaders have increasingly eyed
geothermal energy alongside renewables
such as wind and solar as deadlines
approach to comply with the landmark
Energy Transition Act’s renewable energy
goals. The ETA, which Gov. Michelle
Lujan Grisham signed in 2019, requires that
utilities use 50% renewable energy by 2030,
80% by 2040 and 100% by 2045.
A 2025 report from Project InnerSpace,
New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico
Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
found that “a significant amount of Tribal
land sits on top of some of the best subsurface
heat.” In addition to generating jobs and
revenue on Native lands, the technology
could also help Indigenous communities
achieve “enhanced energy sovereignty,” the
report said.
One state lawmaker at [the Aug. 10]
hearing spoke along similar lines.
Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero
(D-Albuquerque) said she would like to see
leaders in New Mexico’s 23 tribes, nations
and pueblos work together and collectively
benefit from the technology.
“I am proposing — and have proposed
— that they come together and pool their
resources and create their own geothermal
development group,” Roybal Caballero,
a member of the Piro Manso Tiwa Indian
Tribe, Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe,
said. “It’s natural heat coming from our
natural earth, and it belongs to us.”
- Source NM (New Mexico)

Sen. Murkowski pushes for
release of $41.3M in delayed federal
grants for Alaska Native education
The U.S. Department of Education is
expected to award $41.3 million in grant
funding through the Alaska Native Education
Program to 26 Alaska grantees after some
delay, according to an announcement
from Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa
Murkowski.
The grant funding was expected on
July 1, but has been delayed more than
a month. Grantees alerted Murkowski’s
office they had not yet received the funding,
prompting Murkowski to press the U.S. Sec.
of Education Linda McMahon to release the
awarded funding, according to the statement
on Aug. 5.
“Last week, I raised this issue with
Secretary McMahon, and I’m pleased she
agreed to expedite the obligation of the
funds for the Alaska Native Education
Program grants that Congress appropriated
earlier this year,” Sen. Murkowski wrote.
The Alaska Native Education Program
provides federal funding to “meet the
unique education needs of Alaska Natives”
and to support education programs to
benefit Alaska Native people, according to
the program website.
Officials with the U.S. Department of
Education’s grant office for the program did
not give a reason for the delay or specify
when the funds will be dispensed after a
query on Friday.
The grants are awarded to Tribes,
tribal organizations and school districts
with a majority of Alaska Native students
to support a variety of initiatives across a
three-year grant period.
“Grants provide, for example, culturally
relevant curriculum, tutoring and other
academic supports, indigenous language
revitalization, workforce development
opportunities,
teacher
professional
development, postsecondary planning
and support, and success, early childhood
education, and afterschool programming,”
Murkowski said in the statement.
“I will continue to champion this
program and work with the Department to
ensure this funding is administered more
expeditiously going forward,” she said.
Grantees include several early learning
and literacy programs. Millions are slated
for Indigenous language, art, science, and
medicine including $2.1 million for the
Baby Raven Reads project by Sealaska
Heritage Institute and $1.4 million for
tutoring and college readiness programs
through the Rural Indigenous Students
College Readiness Alliance launched by
the Bering Strait and Lower Kuskokwim
School Districts, two of Alaska’s largest,
rural districts.
Rosita Kaaháni Worl, president of
the Sealaska Heritage Institute, a Native
non-profit corporation focused on Tlingit,
Haida and Tsimshian cultures, said her
organization was one of the grantees that
alerted Murkwoski’s office to the delay.
Sealaska has not received its grant funds yet.
Worl said in an interview [Aug. 7] that
federal funds and support for Alaska Native
communities is critical, given Alaska’s
history of suppressing Native education and
language.
“So these programs have helped
us overcome the effects of that kind of
suppression,” she said. “Our data shows
definitely that it promotes and enhances
Native education, and we show that through
all of our evaluations…it’s led to higher
academic performance.”
She said SHI has seen success in early
childhood programs like Baby Raven Reads
project and initiatives to support students
continuing education, which reduces drop
out rates. “We’re still behind non-natives,
but we’re gaining ground,” she said.
Worl said the federal support helps
Sealaska Heritage Institute provide annual
funding for education across Southeast
Alaska where state funding has fallen
short. SHI provides $1 million each year to
the Juneau School District and $2 million
annually to the University of Alaska
Southeast, as well as funding to support
school districts across the region for teacher
training, arts and language programs.
“It’s a program that has proven
benefits,” she said. “There, there’s no doubt
about it.”
- Alaska Beacon

Solar Developer Cancels
Washington State Project on Sacred
Indigenous Land
A renewable energy developer has
pulled its controversial permit application
to build an industrial-scale solar facility on
an Eastern Washington mountain sacred to
Indigenous nations.
Avangrid, a powerful player in
the Northwest’s push for green energy
development, sought for at least five years
to build a solar plant on Badger Mountain.
The project site straddled private as well as
public lands. The Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation and the Confederated
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
have protected rights to practice cultural
traditions, such as food gathering and
ceremonies, on Badger Mountain and other
ancestral public lands.
A 2024 investigation by High Country
News and ProPublica found that Avangrid
and a consultant it retained, Tetra Tech, had
omitted key archaeological and cultural
information from a state-mandated review
of the site, which would have been used for
a solar farm. Avangrid continued pushing
the project despite a state archaeologist’s
warning that the planned development
would threaten significant historic sites
and current ceremonial activity. An elected

member of the Colville Tribal Business
Council told the newsrooms at the time that
the project would destroy roughly half the
root vegetable harvest in the area.
An Avangrid spokesperson said then
that the company had followed “all relevant
law and regulation” with regard to the
Badger Mountain solar project and had
“taken additional steps to accommodate
stakeholder feedback where possible.”
It’s unclear whether the company’s
decision to cancel the project had anything
to do with Indigenous rights. Avangrid
declined to clarify its reasoning to HCN.
The Colville Tribes chair, Cindy
Marchand, praised the decision in a
statement last week. “While the Colville
Tribes certainly appreciates the value of
renewable energy such as solar power,
sacred sites must remain pristine to pass
down to future generations.”
After the publication of HCN and
ProPublica’s investigation, some members
of the Wenatchi-P’squosa, one of the
12 Confederated Colville Tribes, held a
demonstration on Badger Mountain, saying
that while they support renewable energy,
they’re against facilities being built on
important cultural sites. Following the
demonstration, Avangrid announced that
it would pause development to reconsider
tribal input and public response. The public
comment process is one of the only avenues
available for tribal nations to advocate for
their rights regarding land development.
At a meeting of the state’s permitting
authority council in July, an Avangrid senior
director sought a continued pause of the
permitting work, pointing to anticipated
construction delays affecting the power
grid. At the same meeting, the council chair,
Kurt Beckett, characterized concerns over
the project’s environmental and cultural
impacts as “noise,” but he also said tribal
objections should be considered in the
state’s permitting decision.
Five days later, Avangrid filed a request
to completely withdraw its proposal.
And last week, the permitting council
formally announced the withdrawal and
said it was “closing out existing financial
arrangements and notifying interested
and agency partners.” It did not provide
further comment, referring questions to
the developer. The state Department of
Natural Resources, which owns the public
parcel on Badger Mountain, said it had not
received any other requests to develop it
for clean energy projects at this time, and
a spokesperson did not have additional
information about future plans for the site.
No matter the reason for the project’s
cancellation at Badger Mountain, the
outcome is a good one, said Steven
Wynecoop, vice chair of the Wenatchi
Advisory Group, an independent body
that advises the Colville Tribal Business
Council and that organized the 2024 Badger
Mountain demonstration.
The mountain is a “very sacred site
to us,” said Wynecoop, grandson of the
Wenatchi Advisory Group founder Matthew
Dick. “Generations, we’ve been going
to that mountain for plenty of reasons:
medicines, foods like roots and berries.”
- ProPublica and High Country News

Osage Congress considers
language charter school following
immersion school closure
The Osage Nation Congress is
considering a public charter school with the
state of Oklahoma after the executive branch
recently closed the immersion school.
Congressman Eli Potts introduced
the idea to the 12-member body during
an emergency education committee
meeting Tuesday. He said the school
would be regulated by the Oklahoma state
government, would act outside of Osage
executive authority and would be subject to
state education standards.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s a path that I’m
willing to discuss,” Potts said. “In this room,
all options are on the table.”
The state standards mean the tribe
couldn’t limit enrollment to Osage students,
nor could it enroll students outside of
Oklahoma. According to Skyler Lusnia,
auditor for the Oklahoma Statewide Charter
School Board, it would have to define
its school district boundaries and accept
students within that area.
But Lusnia said it could still include
Osage language immersion.
“It would also have its own independent
governing board that would establish
policies and procedures that align with
state standards and certainly would be
allowed to have the full immersion language
component,” Lusnia said.
Daposka Ahnkodapi, meaning “Our
School,” was a private Osage language
and cultural immersion school designed for
students from six weeks old to eighth grade.
It was closed by the tribe’s executive
branch on Aug. 5, about one week before
the incoming school year. Principal Chief
Joe Tillman declared a state of emergency
before announcing the school would close
alongside the tribe’s visitors center and
Harvest Land Farm due to a financial
shortfall.
Tillman encouraged parents to enroll in
Pawhuska Public Schools, which extended
its enrollment period to Aug. 6.
The Osage Nation Congress told citizens
Tillman’s statements were inaccurate
and that the tribe was not experiencing
a financial crisis. It released a letter last
week asking the executive branch to reopen
Daposka Ahnkodapi. That letter also
included signatures from 1,000 community
members in support of the school.
Tillman lifted the state of emergency
[Aug. 14.]

Osage Congressional leaders Alice
Goodfox and Whitney Red Corn met with
Tillman Monday. Goodfox said Tillman
rejected congress’ request to reopen the
closed locations and return them to the
2027 fiscal year budget. Red Corn said the
executive branch did not have a plan, and
that congress must devise one.
Potts suggested the tribe could enter
into a five-year contract with the school
board that would outlast Principal Chief
Joe Tillman’s administrative term. He said
developing a public charter school would
take around 12-18 months.
The idea was met with debate from
other members.
Congresswoman Maria Whitehorn
argued putting schooling authority in
the hands of the state could undermine
sovereignty.
“Privatization is much superior
to charter,” Whitehorn said. “I believe
(chartering) really stomps on our
sovereignty.”
Red Corn said she is pursuing her
doctorate in educational leadership and
recognized that charter schools are not a
monolith.
“I need us to get out of a colonial
schooling mindset for just a minute and
recognize our sovereignty and the ability to
create a chartered school,” Red Corn said.
“And it does not have to look anything like
what the state charter schools look like. …
We can still have a very Osage school —
Osage-controlled, Osage-funded, Osageran.”
Potts said regardless, the tribe has to
find a path forward.
“It’s really cool to walk into a room
and have a state leader acknowledge
that you have the right to be there,” Potts
said. “They’ve carved out in state law the
ability for tribal nations to charter schools.
We should exercise that because that is an
exercise in sovereignty in itself.”
Potts said the tribe is looking for
solutions but he doesn’t want to codify a
charter school into Osage law yet, adding
the congress isn’t ready to write such
legislation.
According to Goodfox, the tribe never
codified Daposka Ahnkodapi at the request
of former Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing
Bear. If the congress were to litigate the
school’s closure, she said she’s unlikely they
would win.
Red Corn said parents could enroll their
children in Epic Charter Schools while the
congress considers its option.
Oklahoma has seen some Indigenous
charter schools over the years.
Cherokee Nation opened an immersion
charter school, Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi, in
2001. The charter expired this June and the
school transitioned into tribal governmental
oversight.
Comanche Nation operates a charter
school, Comanche Academy, in Lawton.
Sovereign Community School was an
OKC-based charter school designed around
Indigenous education more broadly. The
Oklahoma State Board of Education ended
sponsorship for it in 2023, citing multiple
issues including financial instability, low
academic performance and enrollment.
- KOSU (Stillwater, Oklahoma)

Poll shows Deb Haaland with
17% advantage in NM governor’s
race
Former Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland has made her return to New
Mexico and is running to be the state’s next
governor.
Recent data from BSP Research finds
Haaland, a Democrat, with a 17% advantage
over Republican Greg Hull. The survey,
which focused on the upcoming governor’s
race in New Mexico, asked registered voters
statewide about who they would pick if the
election were held today. More specifically,
41% of the survey respondents plan to vote
for Haaland, compared to 24% who intend
to vote for Hull, with another 3% planning
to vote for another candidate/write in
candidate. A substantial 27% of the sample
remains undecided, with 4% not planning to
vote in the November election.
- From press release

Tribe makes $150M loan to
company for magnet manufacuting
Niron
Magnetics,
a
company
commercializing the world’s first rareearth-free Iron Nitride permanent magnets,
announced Aug. 18 a $150 million loan
from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux
Community (SMSC) to advance the
construction of its Sartell, Minnesota,
magnet manufacturing plant.
According to a press release, funding
will support construction, equipment and
operational readiness activities at Niron’s
Sartell plant, advancing domestic production
of rare-earth-free permanent magnets.
SMSC’s relationship with Niron
began more than a decade ago following
an introduction through the University
of Minnesota’s Research and Innovation
Office and Technology Commercialization
team. SMSC became one of Niron’s earliest
investors in 2016, helping the company
advance Iron Nitride from promising
university research towards a scalable
manufacturing pathway. The Community
later participated in Niron’s 2023 financing
syndicate, supporting the development of
end-to-end manufacturing capabilities in
Minneapolis and customer qualification
programs across industries.
“The relationship with the SMSC is a
core part of Niron’s success to date. This

financing helps accelerate construction
of our Sartell manufacturing plant and
brings us closer to establishing a domestic
source of permanent magnets for critical
industries,” said Jonathan Rowntree, CEO
of Niron Magnetics. “As demand for rareearth-free permanent magnets continues
to grow, investments like this support our
efforts to build a resilient domestic supply
chain and scale manufacturing to serve
customers across critical industries.”
“Niron
Magnetics
is
building
technology with the potential to strengthen
domestic manufacturing while creating
economic growth and opportunity here in
Minnesota,” said SMSC Chairman Cole
Miller. “We prioritize investments that align
with our Dakota values — including being
a good steward of the earth. We recognized
Niron’s potential early on to benefit the
broader Minnesota community and have
remained committed to investing in its
success.”
The investment adds to a series of
public and private commitments supporting
Niron’s efforts to establish large-scale
domestic manufacturing of rare-earth-free
permanent magnets. The financing is in
addition to Niron’s recently announced $150
million conditional commitment from the
U.S. Department of War Office of Strategic
Capital, further strengthening the capital
foundation supporting construction and
operational readiness at the Sartell plant.
The Sartell plant will serve as
Niron Magnetics’ first full-scale magnet
manufacturing plant and is expected to
begin production in 2027. It is set to create
approximately 175 full-time, high-quality
jobs and strengthen domestic supply chains
supporting AI infrastructure, automotive,
industrial and consumer applications. It
also represents the first step in Niron’s
modular manufacturing platform. Final site
selection is underway for a subsequent U.S.
manufacturing plant capable of producing
10,000 tons of annual capacity that is
expected to break ground in 2028.
- From press release

Cat Lake First Nation, Lac Seul
First Nation and First Mining sign
Project Agreement for gold project
VANCOUVER, BC, Canada - First
Mining Gold Corp. announced Aug. 27
that it has entered into a Springpole Project
Consultation and Benefits Agreement with
Cat Lake First Nation and Lac Seul First
Nation covering the Springpole Gold Project
in northwestern Ontario.
According to a press release, the
definitive Project Agreement solidifies a
mutually beneficial and collaborative longterm relationship for the development of
one of Canada’s largest gold resources.
The definitive Project Agreement covers all
phases of the Project including construction,
operations, and closure, in a manner that
respects the land, air, water and culture,
and provides key benefits to Cat Lake and
Lac Seul, and certainty for the Project’s
successful future, the release stated.
Russell Wesley, Chief of Cat Lake
First Nation, said: “Developed over more
than four years, this agreement is rooted in
Anishinaabe teachings and law. It reflects
our Anishinaabe-led Impact Assessment that
was completed in partnership with Lac Seul
First Nation. We know from our Members
that this project will impact our lives and
connection to our home. The process to
get here involved many difficult decisions,
and we are thankful for all the dedication of
our people to the land, culture and way of
life. This Agreement will create meaningful
opportunities for our members and youth,
strengthen our ability to shape our future,
and protect our enduring relationships with
the land, water, and all who call this place
home.”
Clifford Bull, Chief of Lac Seul First
Nation, stated: “We stand in solidarity
with Cat Lake First Nation in signing this
Agreement. This milestone reflects years
of hard work, cooperation, respect and
willingness to share the rich resources within
our Traditional Territories, in accordance
with our Anishinaabe laws and traditions.
This land will always be home to our people
long after the Springpole Project has ended.
The conditions we built into the Agreement
from our ALIA process will ensure that
this Project - from beginning to end - will
be guided by our laws so that our lands and
waters, and all our relations are protected for
generations to come. This Agreement will
provide meaningful opportunities for our
people to both benefit from and participate
in this Project.”
The Project Agreement includes
provisions for CLFN and LSFN to take part
in the Project’s environmental management
and monitoring, the implementation of
adaptive management and preferential
training and employability measures, equity
and participation in the economic upside
of the Project, the promotion of business
opportunities during the mine’s construction
and operations, as well as the recognition of
Anishinaabe culture. The Project Agreement
also sets out the sharing of financial benefits
from the Springpole Project.
- From press release

12A • Th

[Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.]

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aseminole_tribe_fl%3Ae7be96ad1ef9d181. Public record. Not legal advice.