Florida Humanities Council visits Mound House
Thirty-five educators from all across Florida were involved in the “Calusa, Creeks and Crackers: Peoples of Florida” seminar at Mound House at 451 Connecticut St. on Wednesday, June 17.
The workshop was held last week and is one of a handful of week-long teacher programs around the state offered by Florida Humanities Council.
The field trip at Mound House explored “the rich history of three distinct groups who have occupied Florida: The Calusa nation which came to dominate south Florida over 2,000 years ago; The Creek Indians, most notably the Seminole Tribe, who have had a presence in the sunshine state since the 18th century; and pioneer settlers, often referred to as ‘Florida Crackers,’ who began to appear in the late 1700s.”
Many members of the Florida Humanities Council enjoyed their initial visit of Mound House.
“This is the first year we have done this particular seminar. It was an attempt to look at some of the first people of Florida and see how they impacted history, culture and heritage,” said Florida Humanities Council Executive Director Janine Farver.
Dr. Jacqui May, program director conducted the workshop, while former Mound House Director Theresa Schober, M.A., aided as the program scholar. Schober, who has conducted archaeological research in the area since 1998, is vice president of the Florida Anthropological Society and of the Archaeological Research Cooperative.
Farver stated Florida Humanities Council has been involved with Mound House since it was purchased by the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
“We gave them some of the original grants to help build the interpretation of the site,” she said. “I feel like we have had a long commitment with the Mound House. It really is an incredible site and will continue to be a focus of our program and activities.”
Participant evaluations of the FMB cultural site included: “I would have to say the Mound House along with Ceel (Spuhler) and Parker Lewis and the combination of Calusa history along with environmental education was just tremendous;” “I found the Mound House session the most beneficial. It was hands on and directly correlated with how I could teach my students;” “The Mound House provided me ideas for activities that I could do with my students and a possible field trip idea that directly relates to my instruction. It was also nice to see excavation of an archaeological dig up close;” “Mound House especially Theresa Schober’s excavation site of pool area. Just seeing the evidence her work discovered is fascinating;” and “The Mound House: actually seeing a Calusa midden in cross-section (with the lead archaeologist present!) Was an amazing way to connect to the history.”
Regular tours of Mound House are currently held each Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. They are expected to increase when the museum is open this fall.
According to website www.floridahumanities.org, the mission of the Florida Humanities Council is dedicated to building strong communities and informed citizens by providing Floridians with the opportunity to explore the heritage, traditions and stories of our state and its place in the world.
Established in 1973, the Council is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It develops and funds public programs and resources around the state that explore Florida’s history and cultural heritage, literary and artistic life, environment and development, issues and ideas, communities and traditions.
“These seminars are really great hands-on opportunities for the teachers to think about how to bring great Florida content into their classrooms,” said Farver. “We are not just Disney and beaches. There is some really neat rich history here in the state, including the Mound House.”