The Two Tribes of Florida: A Shared Environment
Friday, January 17, 2025
Miller Hall (DeVoe L. Moore Center at FSU)
8:30 Coffee and Registration
9:00 Welcoming Remarks (Dr. Andrew Frank, Director of NAIS Center)
9:15 Tribal Stewardship of the Environment of Florida (Chaired by Dr. Kathleen Powers Conti, FSU History Department)
- Michelle Diffenderfer, Esq. (President and Shareholder, Lewis Longman Walker, representing Seminole Tribe of Florida)
-
Edward R. Ornstein, Esq. (Deputy General Counsel & Tallahassee Embassy Director, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
10:15 Everglades Restoration (Chaired by Dr. Eren Erman Ozguven, Director of Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center, FSU College of Engineering)
- Tina Osceola (Executive Director of Operations, Seminole Tribe of Florida)
- Kevin Cunniff (Chief Sustainability Officer, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
11:15 Coffee Break
11:30 Indian Removal Era (Chaired by Dr. Christine Rizzi (FSU, History Department)
- Dave Scheidecker (Senior Historian Seminole Tribe of Florida)
- Dr. Jason Daniel (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Indigenous Education (Chaired by Dr. Stacey Rutledge FSU, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies)
- Michele Thomas (Administrative Assistant to the Principal, Liaison to Glades County School District, Seminole Tribe of Florida)
- Lymarie Muniz (Chief Education Officer, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
2:30 Language Preservation (Chaired by Dr. Kristin Dowell, FSU, Art History)
- Diane Smith (Director of Brighton Reservation Culture Program, Seminole Tribe of Florida) & Francine Osceola (Director of Tribal Language Programs, Seminole Tribe of Florida)
- Sec. William “Popeye” Osceola (Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
3:30 Coffee Break
3:45 Climate Change and Indigenous Knowledge (Dr. Tyler McCreary, FSU Department of Geography)
- Juan Cancel (Assistant Director, Seminole THPO) and Lonnie Billie (Cultural Advisor, Seminole Tribe of Florida)
- Betty Osceola (Judge & Everglades Advisory Committee, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida)
4:45 Concluding Remarks
The event will be followed by a celebration at FSU's Student Union of “Osceola’s Vistion,” a painting by Erica Deitz (STOF). Transportation will be provided for those who need it. Some parking will also be reserved by the Strozier Library. A map will be provided.