The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act which granted Native peoples U.S. citizenship. However, despite this milestone, Native Americans are often overlooked and forgotten in the present day, seen as relics of the past, they are not considered to exist in the present as distinct and vibrant communities that continue to shape our nation.
In commemoration of National Native American Heritage Month, Blanchard House Institute (BHI) invites you to delve deep into the remarkable history of the Seminole Maroons, the only undefeated Native American tribe in U.S. history and their quest for freedom by launching the Seminole Maroon Freedom Trail. Today, the majority of Americans know little to nothing about Indigenous peoples. Despite the challenges they encountered in their quest for freedom, the Seminole Maroons remained steadfast and tenacious. Their story serves as a reminder of the indomitable spirit that can be found within individuals and communities, inspiring future generations to persevere and overcome obstacles. To preserve their heritage and culture is not only necessary but also crucial for future generations to develop character, values, and self-determination.
The Seminole Maroon Freedom Trail is a national public-private-philanthropic partnership across industries to build an economic and cultural trail which honors the Seminole Maroon’s quest for freedom from Florida to Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as Mexico and The Bahamas. An American story that celebrates freedom, SMFT serves as a catalyst for community-building through facilitating intergenerational gatherings and storytelling, entrepreneurship and economic development, and Indigenous language use and cultural production to preserve values of the past, while imagining and investing in the future.
This helps to ensure a world where the Seminole Maroons are authors of their own stories, able to build awareness and power to advance self-determination which can serve as a blueprint for other Indigenous communities.