Miami Circle Board	1999

South Florida's Heritage

Posted by Robert M. Baker on October 27, 1999 at 14:11:12:

South Floridians, for whatever reason, do not seem to recognize the heritage of their home. Prior to the discovery and colonization of the region by Europeans, there lived several vibrant and thriving civilizations that were the equal in many ways to the great civilizations of Mexico. The Tequesta, Calusa, and related cultures didn't live in hovels and make their living through a hand-to-mouth existence. They built mounds out of huge piles of shells which probably looked much like the pyramids of Mexico from offshore, and they traveled from coast-to-coast through hand-dug canals which are still visible in some places. It seems that there is a strange bias against the idea that the Native American cultures which lived South of the Okeechobee Basin were capable of anything more than a rudimentary existence. Perhaps the discovery and recovery of the Miami Circle will bring a new awareness to the public of the accomplishments and the stature of those tribes of Native Americans who lived here before the Seminole and American settlers. South Florida has a rich heritage just waiting to be recovered.

Robert M. Baker

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