How can Seminole memories & narratives be shared through a translation into embodied space of haptic experiences? while respecting tribal identity
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Oratorium Joy Mullappally
Today the Seminoles of Florida are only a frail remnant of that powerful tribe of Osceola’s day. Their history presents a character, a power and a romance that impels respects and an acknowledgement of their presence.
1817-1818 First Seminole War
1855-1858 Third Seminole War
1830 Indian Removal Act signed into effect
1800
1858 Seminole Wars are declared over
1910-1920s Draining of Everglades and rise of Indian villages
1850
1900
Larger Region
Historical Events
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Analysis of Site Perceptions Interview with Marty Bowers
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y mit y i x imit ro x P o r Site ural P t l y Cu lan raph g P o e p Sit /To ture c u r St nds l Mou a i r u B rails Roads/T Land Use Boundaries Livestock
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N eig Se hb m Sem or ino Size le ino C /La l nd e Leg lans Ow e ner nds s Wi hip Gro l dl und Tex ife ture Vege tatio n Topo graph y Lone A reas Wooded A reas Water Weather
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l ria e t a M ale n Sc nctio Fu
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y mit y i x imit ro x P o r Site ural P t l y Cu lan raph g P o e p Sit /To ture c u r St nds l Mou a i r u B rails Roads/T Land Use Boundaries Livestock
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RICAL EVENTS HISTO
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N eig Se hb m Sem or ino Size le ino C /La l nd e Leg lans Ow e ner nds s Wi hip Gro l dl und Tex ife ture Vege tatio n Topo graph y Lone A reas Wooded A reas Water Weather
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Typol og Char y a Age cter For m Pla n Su r Str face Co uctu lor re
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Draining of Everglade s Ancestry/L and
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NATU RAL ELE ME NT S
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Seminole War III Seminole War II ar I Seminole W Act emoval s Indian R f Tear Trail o ma aho Okl erer ath r-G lorida nte F z Hu Re s ss/ pre ade Cy ergl wn Big To Ev
Seminole War III Seminole War II ar I Seminole W Act emoval s Indian R f Tear Trail o ma aho Okl erer ath r-G lorida nte F z Hu Re s ss/ pre ade Cy ergl wn Big To Ev
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Typol og Char y a Age cter For m Pla n Su r Str face Co uctu lor re
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Draining of Everglade s Ancestry/L and
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Analysis of Site Perceptions Seminole Voices: Compilation of Interviews
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2005
Relationships
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1997 Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum opens in Big Cypress Rez.
2000
Buildings and Structures
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1950
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Natural Elements
1970 Nixon supports Native American governance
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1700
1835-1842 Second Seminole War
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1730-1750s Creeks migrate into Florida (early Seminoles)
1856 U.S. Govt recognizes Seminole as a tribe
1957 U.S. Govt recognizes STOF as a federal tribe
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*1510 First Recorded Contact with the Seminoles
1860-1890s Cultural trade on the edge of Everglades
The methodology involved a deductive study of available oral histories and interviews with tribal members to better understand the means of perception. The hypothesis being that these perceptions are largely haptic and nonocularcentric in nature.
PA-HAY-OKEE ‘There are no other Everglades in the world. Unique, remote, and never wholly known The miracle of light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and water, shining and slow-moving below. It is a river of grass.’
Quote by Marjory Stoneman Douglass The Everglades: River of Grass
Jacksonville
FORT PIERCE RESERVATION
BIG CYPRESS RESERVATION
Kanapaha BRIGHTON RESERVATION
Everglades Pkwy Route 75
Lake Okeechobee
Clinch’s Battle Dade’s Massacre
West Palm Beach
Orlando
IMMOKALEE RESERVATION
Tampa
BIG CYPRESS RESERVATION
Boca Raton MICCOSUKEE RESERVATION
Sarasota
HOLLYWOOD RESERVATION
Naples Okeechobee BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE
MICCOSUKEE RESERVATION
West Palm Beach
Tamiami Trail E Route 41
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
Miami
0
25
50 Miles
Miami
Loop Rd Drive
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10
20
30 Miles
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2.5
5 Miles
MICCOSUKEE RESERVATION
AH-TAH-THI-KI ORATORIUM
Ambassador to Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Big Cypress Reservation
‘Whether on or off the reservation, the chickee is a symbol of cultural pride for the Seminole Tribe of Florida (STOF).’
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B
A Canoe building Chickee Site Parti and Oratorium Plan B Cooking Chickee Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Oratorium C Detail of Chickee
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Chickee photographs taken on Big Cypress Reservation
U.S. soldiers hunt Seminoles Quote by Major Ethan Allen Hitchcock
“the Treaty of Payne’s Landing in 1832 by which it was attempted to remove Indians, was a fraud upon them and they have in fact never agreed to emigrate. I say therefore that the Indians are in the right to defend themselves in the country to the best of their ability.”
Musa Isle Village Miami
The newcomers felt that they were entitled to the Indian lands, and on May 9, 1832, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act.
“The tourists could go in and see the Seminole and Miccosukee people actually living in a village on display. People paid a fee... almost like going to the zoo.”
Absorption Inner Chamber, Oratorium
Procession Aerial View, Oratorium
Threshold Outer Chamber, Oratorium
FORM
REMOVE
EMBED
Formwork held together by anchor points mould the oratorium massing.
Formwork and anchor points are removed.
Seminole stories infill the anchor cavities. The architecture becomes a vessel of memories.
Process and Mockup Embedded Narratives
Dispersion Deck, Oratorium
where
0.3” Slat 45o
Aeolian Slat
Cypress Wood (Diameter varies)
V : Wind Velocity D : Diameter of Cylinder St : Strouhal Number (approx 0.2)
Anchor to Ground Weathered Steel
Detail and Mockup Aeolian Flute
Mad Bear Osceola Bird Clan
‘The land is a living history, a reference point around which the Indian world whirs.’
Betty Osceola Panther Clan
“I want to make sure that the Everglades don’t disappear. It can happen. I love my homeland, and my hope is to share that love - We live off the land.”
‘In fact, the Tribe’s identity is so closely linked to the land that Tribal members believe that if the land dies, so will the Tribe.’