Julian Menendez | Contributing Writer
A people whose stories were told and spread — but not by themselves, and not by those who truly understood their culture. This is what the Seminole people of Florida experienced before the opening of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on Aug. 21, 1997, the 40th anniversary of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
On July 2, Gordon Oliver Wareham, the director of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum and nephew of the first director, gave attendees of the Frost Museum’s Frost After Dark event a vivid glimpse into Seminole culture, history, and resilience.
Wareham opened the evening by recounting what led to the museum’s founding and its core purpose: to tell Seminole stories from Seminole voices. He explained how for most of their history, like many other Indigenous peoples, stories were told by outsiders: the Dutch, English, or Spanish — but rarely the Seminole themselves. Wareham explained, “We don’t have a place to tell our story, so they said, Well, it’s time to have our museum so we can tell our stories, not just to the outside world, but to our people.”
The museum is located on the Big Cypress Reservation in Hendry County, Florida. It features boardwalks through natural cypress hammocks and a reconstructed Seminole village, which immerses visitors in traditional life.
Inside, the museum houses more than 200,000 pieces of art, historical documents, photographs, militaria, and cultural items — some dating all the way back to the early 19th century. These items help preserve Seminole heritage, offering insight into their resilience, culture, way of life, and their ever-evolving cultural identity.
Wareham went on to discuss Seminole storytelling and how it is interwoven into the culture and not simply as static folklore, but as a living act of survival for the tribe. Through oral storytelling, song, and memory, he brought Seminole traditions into the present just as his elders passed them down to him.
He began by playing a song on his traditional, Eastern-style wooden flute. As he played, the room went silent. The moment felt sacred.
The song, aptly named “Mother,” Wareham explained, was inspired by a dream he had in 2001 before Mother’s Day. In the dream, his late mother is picking medicine in a field as his nine-year-old self plays. His mother calls to him, not just as his mother, but also as a teacher.
In that moment, he realized that being Seminole is not simply about blood or ancestry. “It’s more than the DNA running through your veins,” he said. “It’s the knowledge that’s passed down from generation to generation. That’s what makes you Seminole — what you can learn, because it was taught to you.”
Through story, song, language, and living symbols, Wareham gave more than a history lesson; he cultivated a space for cultural connection, remembrance, and reflection. Many in the audience were not only moved by the stories, but what hearing them in person meant.
“When he emphasized that culture isn’t just in your blood but in the stories passed down, it really stood out,” said one student, an English major at FIU. “He hears stories from his mother, adds his own, and that knowledge builds from generation to generation. It reminded me how much of our daily lives are shaped by storytelling — even things like Instagram are just stories in different formats.”
Another attendee, an FIU alumnus who recently graduated with a degree in history, reflected on the importance of learning about Native cultures, especially in educational spaces.
“I think as residents of South Florida, we sometimes forget the original people of this land,” they said. “[These] stories go back many generations — and for many of us, this was our first time hearing them. It shows why Indigenous voices matter and why these stories need to be shared, especially in a place of learning like FIU.”
To close the night, Wareham offered a final reflection to the audience. “Curiosity about yourself — that’s what I hope people leave with,” he said. “I’m glad you come to our museum, but our museum is for the Seminoles. What I really want is for people to think about their own journey, their own legacy, and be proud of wherever they come from.”
He reminded attendees that America is a patchwork of many different stories and experiences, and it is important to keep those stories alive.
“We all come with knowledge and wisdom from generations,” Wareham said. “And when we come together as one, we can overcome anything.”
He left the crowd with a final question:
“What is your story — and what will you pass on to the next generation?”
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