Gobbler
Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2840
November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023
Learning on Stolen Land
In November, we celebrate and remember National American Indian Heritage Month. The month offers the chance to look into the culture and history and how it helped create the cohesive landscape of Tampa Bay. There are several areas around Tampa Bay where one can see past and present American Indian culture. Like the ancient shell mounds on Weedon Island where coastal communities would pile oyster and clam shells after a successful harvest, or the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa. Yet a somewhat surprising location to find American Indian culture is on the campus of St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College.
CAMERON HEALY
By Aaron Chimelis
Tampa Bay American Indian History Before the beginning of colonization, the land surrounding what would become known as Tampa Bay belonged to the Tocobaga, ancestors of today’s American Indians in Florida. Subsisting on the plentiful fish and game found throughout the area, their culture thrived with complex societal structures, language, and trade routes to other people along the
When learning about Tampa Bay’s American Indian history, you will find Eckerd College is home to four traditional chickee huts.
western coast of present-day Florida. The Tocobaga used the coastline and massive network of waterways to traverse their environment in search of food, tools, and resourc-
es and trade with other communities. However, this flourishing culture would soon suffer at the hands of the Spanish in the 16th century, Indian continued on page 6
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