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Native American Cultural Experiences

When it comes to tourism, travelers can take trolley tours, ride a roller coaster or hurtle down a zip line practically anywhere. But there are only a few places in America where groups can hear authentic Seminole war cries, walk the same paths that Hopi tribal members have used for more than 300 years and see the homes of the Taos Pueblo, which Taos Indians have lived in since roughly A.D. 1000, making the pueblo the United States’ oldest continuously inhabited community.

Consider making one of these Native American cultural experiences part of your next travel adventure.

Big Cypress Shootout

Big Cypress Reservation, Clewiston, Florida

Cannons boom. Horses gallop. Seminoles shout war cries. The Big Cypress Shootout has been an annual event since the late 1990s; it takes place every February or March at Billie Swamp Safari, a tribe-owned attraction on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in south Florida.

The event is a re-enactment of the Second Seminole War, the longest of three prolonged wars between the Seminoles and the United States military during the 1800s. Although many Seminoles died and some were relocated to what is now Oklahoma, the tribe was never defeated and is today known as the “Unconquered” Seminole Tribe of Florida.

About 40 re-enactors, 20 on each side, stage three battles over the three-day festival: two battles on Saturday and one on Sunday. Friday is an educational day. The battles are the showstoppers: The boom and pop of pyrotechnics ring through the field as re-enactors “fire” both cannons and guns, and the whoop of Seminole war cries gives guests goose bumps.

“It’s an emotional event,” said Melissa Sherman, promotional coordinator for Seminole Florida Tourism. “It makes your eyes water.”

Organizers use pyrotechnics to re-create the crash of cannonballs, and “there’s mud, dirt, water, sand flying into the air,” said Pedro Zepeda, a Seminole tribal member, living historian and traditional arts demonstrator.

Guests have many opportunities to experience Seminole heritage and culture from tribal members such as Zepeda. Visitors can learn how to hew wood and make knives, watch tomahawk throws and traditional Seminole stomp dances, and experience “chunkey” games, in which one player throws a stone and the other tries to throw a spear as close to it as possible.

www.bcshootout.com

www.floridaseminoletourism.com

Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter worked as a newspaper reporter for eight years and spent two years as an online news editor before launching her freelance career. She now writes for national meetings magazines and travel trade publications.