Featuring Postcards and Perceptions: Seminole Culture and Tourism
LAKE WALES, Florida – Now on display at the Lake Wales Museum is the traveling exhibit, “Postcards and Perceptions: Florida Seminoles and Tourism,” on display through June 1, 2019, from the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum which is owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Postcards serve as guidepost to the changes of early 20th century Florida history. Their simple, yet evocative imagery reveals the adaptive nature of the Seminole people and attest to the complex pressures and adjustments Seminoles endured to assert their identity.
“The Seminole Tribe is alive and well in Florida, and this exhibit shows us the modern side of the Seminole people today,” states Jennifer D’hollander, director of the museum. “We imagine native people as they were in our childhood history books, but they are a thriving part of Florida’s tourist economy, cattle industry and stewards of the environment.”
The Seminoles, like many Native American groups, became integral to the tourist trade in the early 1900s. As their traditional lifestyle of hunting and canoeing faded away under Florida land development, tourism offered an alternate source of income. Many traditions, like patchwork and alligator wrestling, blossomed under the tourist trade. Over time, important Seminole leaders and entrepreneurs learned vital skills as shop owners. These skills remain relevant today as the modern Seminole Tribe of Florida navigates its ever increasing role in international business and as key voice in Indian Country.
This exhibition features pop up banners about the history, crafts, and significant figures of Seminole tourism, dating from the 1900s to the 1950s. There is an interactive true/false station and an oral history station that shares stories from seven tribal members.
The exhibit is made possible by the City of Lake Wales and sponsored by Visit Central Florida. It will be on display now through Saturday, June 1, 2019. The Lake Wales Museum is free and open to the public Tuesday – Saturday from 9 AM – 5 PM.
About the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum is owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Situated in the Everglades on a 66-acre cypress dome on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, the Museum offers more than 5,000 square feet of gallery space. Exhibits feature rare artifacts and lifelike dioramas that depict Seminole life at the turn of the century. In 2009, the Museum became the first tribally governed museum to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. Open seven days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the museum is located 18 miles north of Interstate 75 at Exit 49. For more information, visit www.ahtahthiki.com or call 877-902-1113.
About the Lake Wales Museum
The Lake Wales Museum features historical exhibits, train cars, educational programs and group tours, and is open Tuesday – Saturday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is free and the first floor is accessible for persons with disabilities, wheelchairs and strollers. For more information contact the Lake Wales Museum, 325 S Scenic Highway, Lake Wales, Florida 33853; 863-676-1759 or visitwww.lakewalesfl.gov.
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