Book
The enduring Seminoles: from alligator wrestling to ecotourism
University Press of Florida • Gainesville • Published In 1998 • Pages: xvi, 150
By: West, Patsy.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Early in the twentieth century the Florida Seminoles struggled to survive in an environment altered to great extent by the drainage of the Everglades and a dwindling demand for hides, previously used as a principal item in trade. In this book West describes how the Seminoles turned to tourism as a major factor in their economy, using their own culture as a marketable commodity. The reticent I:laponathli (Mikasuki speaking Seminoles), first developed the tourist trade with the greatest success, but by the 1930s nearly all of Florida's Seminole population was engaged in the business. The Seminoles participated in fairs and expositions in Chicago, New York, and Canada and established large commercial villages in Miami and Ocala in which they sold their craft products to the tourists, wrestled alligators, and opened their palm-frond CHICKEES (dwellings) to the public. Although this exhibition economy was condemned by the government, it did provide income for the Seminole families and established a lasting cultural identity for the people (book jacket).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Production and supply
- External trade
- Spectacles
- Exhibitions
- Community heads
- External relations
- Public welfare
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Seminole
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2003
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnohistorian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2001
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- late nineteenth century - 1990s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- southern Florida, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Patsy West
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [121]-135) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 98026996
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Seminole Indians