Snapshots of exciting Board projects
Hard work, determination, commitment and due diligence – hallmarks of this administration – really work. Here are some brief updates of exciting Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. projects that are moving...
View ArticleRuby Osceola: No Tampa without the pig
Back in 1979 when I first became Chairman, one of my dreams was to expand our reservations around the state of Florida. The areas where I wanted to go were industrial-type cities, and Tampa, with all...
View ArticleSeminole Development and Construction LLC
Everyone’s always asking about our Seminole/Stiles LLC construction partnership. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. got into the construction business and approached Stiles to enter a joint venture (JV)...
View ArticleHey Pilot! Pffut-DING!
Pilot Billie. I have always been tickled by the name “Pilot.” Wasn’t that the name of the guy in the Bible who sentenced Jesus to death? I often think maybe it had something to do with an airplane...
View ArticleCalling all youth leaders
The oil fields of Sunniland are where I first learned about hard work. I’d routinely work 60-90 hours a week of manual labor, and every so often when I could hardly move a muscle, I’d go in and beg for...
View ArticleSoldiers called him ‘Devil’
That ol’ Devil, the soldiers called him. It was almost a romantic term. You know: “That ol’ Devil escaped us again!” More and more as time went on, the word Devil was also put on the haunts of the...
View ArticleGrandkids inherit grandmother’s talent
What I’ve been seeing lately is it seems like every generation picks up the habits of the first generation. I finally got to hear the Osceola brothers – Cameron, 18, Tyson, 16, and Sheldon, 13 – play...
View ArticleLife in a chickee on ‘Tahl-chobee yo-gee’
My family lives in a thatched-roof hut called a chickee. It does not hold back the noises coming from the outside. It does not prevent spiders, cockroaches, mosquitoes, rats or snakes from visiting....
View ArticleBack in the saddle again
First of all, I would like to go ahead and thank everybody who gave me support for my return back to politics. Also I would like to congratulate all the seniors who graduated this year from school and...
View ArticleSleep with your head to the East
At an early age, my mother would get me out of bed in the morning to wash my face and rinse my mouth. She made me turn my body toward the rising sun. She would say, “Breathmaker has given you another...
View Article‘Can’t ride the horse into the conference room’
Q-and-A with Mitchell Cypress 1. Mitchell, has the job of being President changed since the last time you were in that office? In what ways are things different? In what ways is the job the same? The...
View ArticleFrom the mailbox, a poem to share
Once in a while I receive mail from different people around the world; this letter you see was sent to me a few days ago from Saundra J. Banker, in Salisbury, Pennsylvania, and I’d like to share....
View ArticleBig Wind: Fub le che cho bee
Fub le che cho bee season is here. Seminoles say that the Big Wind is a female passing by. You must refrain from whistling or blowing into objects that make a sharp sound such as bottles or flutes. If...
View ArticleQuestions for the President: Cigarettes
Question: How much time have you spent, both as Chairman and now as President, on the cigarette issue? Mitchell Cypress: How many years have I served in the capacity as President or Chairman? Sixteen?...
View ArticleSeminole ‘Cowboys’
Editor’s note: On Sept. 3, 2015, National Public Radio (NPR) published an article titled “The Indian Cowboys of Florida,” referring to the Florida Seminole Indians. It was a Q-and-A between NPR writer...
View ArticleZen and the art of Big Cypress fishing
Back in the early 1950s, Big Cypress Seminole Reservation was still undisturbed wilderness. Many water birds were abundant: curlews, iron heads, blue herons, diver ducks, mallards, different types of...
View ArticleHoliday greetings
As 2015 draws to a close, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to our loyal staff for helping make our progress possible this year with the support of Tribal members. Our staff members worked...
View Article‘Christ’ will always be in Christmas
It’s hard to believe that it’s December! It feels more like summertime. If it weren’t for the decorations on the town’s street lights, you wouldn’t know it was Christmas. This year it has been...
View ArticleA moment of excitement
When I saw the billboard with $1.5 billion on it, I went and bought several Powerball tickets. People were lined up doing the same thing I was at our local country Brighton Trading Post. I selected all...
View ArticleGovernment contracts: Good business
The federal government spends nearly $350 billion a year on goods and services, making it the world’s largest consumer. Almost a year ago, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. (STOFI) Board of Directors...
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