---

Random Thoughts and Notes About Meeting Descendants of Emateloye Estenletkvte

Last week, Peter Gallagher invited me to a private event at the Brighton Reservation. The Brighton Reservation is home to the Seminole people.

Peter is not Seminole, and neither am I, but we have a common interest: Setting the history right and telling their stories. I jokingly say that Peter is one of the only two other living white people (not employed by the Seminole) who cares about Emateloye Estenletvke, also called Polly Parker. (The other is Shana Smith, who wrote about her in her fictionalized history of Cedar Key, Islands of Cedars.)

At this event I had the honor of meeting a few of the people who can trace their lineage to this courageous woman. I didn’t formally interview them and didn’t ask permission to share their stories, so I won’t tell their stories here.

But I will say this: I had a wonderful time talking to people. The afternoon offered me a different perspective on Emateloye Estenletkvte. I don’t often feel awkward about my writing, but I definitely had some trepidation in sharing my book with them.

Emateloye Estenletkvte: A Legacy

The Seminole Tribal Historic Preservation Office reviewed the chapter about Emateloye Estenletkvte and approved it. However, it’s another thing entirely to see how people who have heard their family’s stories receive the chapter.

I’m pleased with Florida Spectacular, in large part because of the chapter about Emateloye. But what was eye-opening for me at this event near Lake Okeechobee was how I regard this iconic Seminole woman and how the people there regard her. To me, she is a legend, and I suppose she is to them as well, but she’s also something more to them:

Family.

When I wrote about Emateloye Estenletkvte, I wrote about her actions with an eye toward history and the far-reaching impact of her actions today. Albert DeVane’s interviews with Lucy Tiger, the Tribal Historic Preservation Office, and Peter Gallagher’s work all informed the chapter.

In short, soldiers captured Emateloye, forced her to a concentration camp on Egmont Key, and tried to relocate her to Oklahoma. She resisted, escaped, and found her way home to her people. Her actions allow the Seminole to exist today. In 2013, then-chief James E. Billie wrote that “Emateloye’s destiny was to start the Seminole Tribe as it is today.”

He was right. The history bears that out. But what’s more, so do the people who have an ancestral tie to Emateloye.

The spectacular nature of Florida surrounds us. This past week I found it in the middle of the historic Everglades near Lake Okeechobee.