Fumicheliga: A History of the First Peoples of Florida

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Art & History Museums of Maitland

A painting showing indigenous Floridians battling colonizers.

Florida has been home to thriving indigenous populations well before it received statehood in 1845. In September, A&H will examine these important histories in the Maitland History Museum’s exhibition, Fumecheliga: A History of the First Peoples of Florida. Fumecheliga is Muscogee (or Creek), which is one of the languages spoken by the Seminoles, and translates to “muskmelon place”. In this exhibition, guests will experience Florida’s beginnings through the indigenous cultures that inhabited it.

From the indigenous Timucua, who lived among the tropical landscape well before it was known as “La Florida”, to the unconquered Seminole and Miccosukee who endured through the Seminole War era, this exhibition aims to examine the histories of these indigenous peoples and discuss the truths that history hasn’t always acknowledged. The artwork of Black Seminole descendant Johnny Montgomery will also be featured.