by Images compiled by Cindy Bear and Bill Marquardt
About 800 people attended the sixth annual Calusa Heritage Day on March 12, 2011.
Basket making using local plant materials is taught by Dick Workman to Rennick Bruno. Rennick has participated in fi eld trips to the Calusa Heritage Trail with his home school group and this was the second Calusa Heritage Day Festival where he participated in hands-on learning events. Photo by Charles O’Connor
On a clear, crisp, spring-like day, our visitors enjoyed archaeological exhibits provided by the Florida Museum of Natural History as well as talks by John Beriault, Robin Brown, Bill Marquardt, and special guest speaker Lee Newsom, who was visiting from Pennsylvania State University.
Vendors of native plants, arts and crafts, and food were popular with the crowd, as were information tables provided by local archaeological, historical, and conservation organizations. “Calusa Tastings” was again offered, with free samples of foods eaten by the Calusa Indians, such as mullet, clams, and papaya.
Many children enjoyed hands-on activities, and both kids and adults tried their hand at throwing the atlatl, an activity organized by the Florida Public Archaeology Network.
Carol Mahler, a featured presenter in the speaker’s tent, discusses Seminole legends and their origins as depicted by artist Guy LaBree, the topics of her recent book, available at the Gift Shop at the Calusa Heritage Trail. Photo by Charles O’Connor
Master Naturalist Pat Owens encourages a close-up look at native plants during a tour that took visitors to seldom- seen areas of the site. Photo by Melissa Green
Graduate student Jennifer Haney shows visitors how the Calusa Indians made cordage and nets from native plant fibers. Photo by Bill Marquardt
During his presentation in the speaker’s tent at Calusa Heritage Day, Robin Brown emphasized the resilience of people of the past to climate change and the challenges being presented by current global warming trends. Photo by Charles O’Connor
Karen Walker and Margi Nanney roasted oysters and clams for visitors to the “Calusa Tastings” area of the festival. Photo by Charles O’Connor
People of all ages tested their skill at throwing the atlatl, a hunting device used before invention of the bow-and-arrow. Sponsored by the Florida Public Archaeology Network, this activity took place under the shade of the gumbo limbo trees. Photo by Charles O’Connor
Graduate student Ryan VanDyke shows a young visitor what can be learned from animal bones found in archaeological sites. Photo by Gladys Schneider
Lee Newsom discussed the evidence for a variety of plant uses by the Calusa at Pineland and elsewhere in Florida. Over 100 people heard her outdoor presentation, shown here. She also presented a lecture in the RRC classroom. Photo by Bill Marquardt
Woody Hanson of Fort Myers exhibited objects and photographs from his family’s archives and discussed Seminole history and culture with visitors. To Woody’s left are graduate students Austin Bell and Amanda Rowe, who were exhibiting Seminole materials from the Florida Museum’s collections.. Photo by Bill Marquardt
This article was taken from the Friends of the Randell Research Center Newsletter Vol 10, No. 2. June 2011.
