This painting was used as a centerpiece in a 1998 video about Florida's early peoples. The video was produced by The Florida Anthropological Society to inform the public about Florida's rich history.

The Calusa believed there were three gods who ruled the world. The greatest and most powerful of these gods controlled the weather, sun, moon, and starts. Elaborate carved wood masks were part of the Calusa religious pageantry.

This stoic and proud warrior wears a panther headdress perhaps as a symbol of high military rank. The eyes of the panther are of highly polished shells that reflect light, giving a more formidable appearance to this warrior's headdress.

A Jeaga maiden greets a familiar Florida scrub jay. Both their worlds encompass only a few miles. Like a tribe, scrub jays live in families of up to eight birds. They cooperate in food gathering, watching for enemies, and even feeding babies.

This Timucua Chief was described in 1564 by the French artist, Jacques LeMoyne, as being painted red and walking alone in solitary grandeur in the middle of his warriors. The chief and high-ranking members of the tribe were the only ones allowed to wear tattoos.

After coming down from the mound temple, this high Calusa priest prepares himself to participate in a secret ceremony. Perhaps a ritual that would insure a plentiful harvest from the sea, as shellfish and other seafoods were a mainstay of the Calusa diet.

This fierce warrior contemplates battle. His distinctive eagle headdress, brutal war club, pearl beads, and shiny copper ornaments indicate is status as a war leader. This large agricultural based tribe occupied a third of the northern Florida peninsula.

In the misty morning hours, a Tocobaga tribesman stalks his prey. The intricate tattoos on his body indicate he is a leader among his people. The Tocobaga people around Tampa Bay fished, hunted, and gathered food from their rich environment.

As dawn breaks, a hunter stalks prey in the bountiful Everglades. The hardwood hammocks disappear over the horizon, like a flotilla of ships. Although we have no accurate description of these people's personal adornments, the bone and shell artifacts were found in the territory of Tequesta.

The Apalachee spiritual beliefs divided the earth into three worlds: the Upper World, the Under World, and This World; where people lived. The priest's face paint design and hair forelock with beads is based on an engraved copper plate found near Tallahassee, Florida.

This chief from Northeast Florida is based upon an early etching of these native Florida Peoples. The tattoos were achieved by making small cuts in the skin and then rubbing in dye.

At the end of the Second Seminole War, Holata Micco and his followers lived in peach with the white settlers near their home in the Big Cypress Swam. In 1885, Holata Micco and 30 of his warriors attacked an Army survey party who were secretly pinpointing Seminole villages, fields and livestock. This started the third war. In 1885, he surrendered, along with 123 of his followers, and was sent to Oklahoma.

When the United States government ordered the Seminoles to Oklahoma in 1832, Osceola assumed leadership of Indian rebels who refused to go. His action started a war that lasted until 1942. The Seminoles used guerilla tactics to create a military stand-off. It was the most costly Indian war in the United States history. In 1837, Osceola decided to end the bloodshed. When he met with Army representatives, under a white flag of truce, he was arrested and taken to Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos). On January 30, 1838, he died of malaria at Fort Moultrie in South Carolina.

Starting in 1810, the U.S. Government fought three wars against determined groups of Seminole men, women, and children who were fighting for their freedom. The objective of the U.S. Government was to open up new lands to white settlers. During the night of November 29, 1837, eighteen warriors and two female Seminoles escaped at the southwest angle of the Castillo de San Marcos.

The Timucua were actually many tribes living in the north and northeast areas of Florida who spoke dialects of the Timucuan language. They were one of the largest groups of Native Americans in Florida at the time of the Spanish arrival in the 16th century.

The stoic and proud Timucuan warrior wears a panther headdress, perhaps as a symbol of his high military rank. The eyes of the panther are of highly polished shell that reflect light.