Notice to those thinking of Thru-hiking in 2008!!!

[Hammock Hanger]

This message was sent to me via the FTA office:

Sorry about this ... we are trying to resolve ... any questions, give Deb a call.

From the Florida Trail Association:
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has not renewed our contract with them for hikers to cross the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Effective January 1, hikers MAY NOT CROSS the reservation. We hope to have this mutually resolved as soon as possible. Check back for details prior to your hike or call 1-877-HIKE-FLA for an update.

=====================
Sandra Friend
Communications Director
Florida Trail Association
www.floridatrail.org
1-877-HIKE-FLA x15

[Cuffs]

HH,

Are you privy to any of the details as to why the contract was not renewed?

[Freeleo]

they let 90000 concert goers party there for four days NYE2000 but they wont let hikers cross.....seems strange

[Hammock Hanger]

They pull crap every year and make us jump hoops but usually end up signing in the end. Hope that goes again this year. We really need to hike through that stretch. Otherwise it is a long nasty road walk.

The FTA works very hard to keep thing cordial and working with those seperate enities that the trail travels through.

[Dirtygaiters]

You think that's bad, come to Arizona. Reservation people practically run the state outside of Phoenix. Driving along roads near the Grand Canyon, friends of mine have been stopped and basically robbed on sight...not really, but the Indians demanded some $20 fee for crossing into their reservation which was not marked by signage. The penalty if the fee was not paid was to be hauled into an Indian jail.

[JP]

What everyone forgets is that the Rez is a Sovern Nation. They pass their own laws and you need permission to go on them or cross. Some tribes post signs at their borders.

[Smile]

Yes, it is their land to do with it what they want, although I can understand this issue is frustrating

Hopefully it's resolved soon, and the hiking will continue through there.

[Dirtygaiters]

What everyone forgets is that the Rez is a Sovern Nation. They pass their own laws and you need permission to go on them or cross. Some tribes post signs at their borders.

JP,
Yes and no. They certainly have the right to make their own laws, govern themselves and deny hikers from going through their lands, but Indian Reservations are not sovereign nations.

Reference:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index...can_Indian_law

[Smile]

Sovreign Nations are tribes, the land has been given to them by the U.S for their use as a SR. They have the right to choose who uses, and who does not use their land.

Until, of course, the blood quantum imposed upon members by the BIA will cause them, inevitably, to be be non-existent in the US Governments eyes.

I hope that they renew their 'contract' so hikers can be happy

[ryaanmc]

I believe if you are stopped on the res, you have the right to for the county sheriff to be present-I'd do it.

[Hammock Hanger]

What everyone forgets is that the Rez is a Sovern Nation. They pass their own laws and you need permission to go on them or cross. Some tribes post signs at their borders.

Signs are posted that state you must have permission to hike through. I'm sure that the powers to be will be able to work it all out.

[Nearly Normal]

Maybe it's a good thing.
I don't have to hike or spend my money there.

[Shane! Come Back!]

Maybe it's a good thing.
I don't have to hike or spend my money there.

I picked up a copy of their newspaper on the Seminole res in November. Full page devoted to writings by members incarcerated in state prison, wailing on The Man for penalizing them. Other writings slamming the Bad White Man for giving them such paltry welfare checks all these years, until their casinos turned big money. Some of their "Help Wanted" ads state only those of their race need apply. Racism pukes, no matter which race is engaging in it.

I don't care to patronize them, either.

[CoyoteWhips]

Racism pukes, no matter which race is engaging in it.

I don't care to patronize them, either.

I tend to notice it more when I see it in "them" than when its in "us". The highways of today were horse paths of the last century. What seems like unprovoked hostility can have its roots in what is, for us, buried history.

How many generations should it take to just "get over" near genocide? Even when there's a substantial mix of exploiting unwarranted advantages, sometimes those advantages don't come close to balancing out undeserved oppression.

We live in an aggressive, competitive, often hostile culture. Whatever resources people can draw on to get groceries on the table is often playing the cards they're dealt.

[sonic]

Just a little more background on the Seminoles. They are they only tribe in the country that never gave in to the US military. No peace treaty was ever signed. The Army gave up trying to run them off their land and hundreds of US military died trying. It wasn't until the late 1950's that the US government even recognized them as an Indian Nation. They didn't move onto the "reservation land" that was set aside for them for decades. So they may be historically more stubborn and given to distrust of anything that appears to be demands of outsiders.

[Shane! Come Back!]

How many generations should it take to just "get over" near genocide?

Ask the Irish who were nearly wiped out on their own island by the British. They spent hundreds of years killing each other. They finally learned that prosperity for Northern Ireland hinged on getting along. Maybe the Seminoles will take a hint.

[eArThworm]

HH, Are you privy to any of the details as to why the contract was not renewed?

Sandra Friend posted this on the "Florida Hikes!" forum a couple days ago: "Just to clarify: the reservation closure happened because FTA has a permit that has to be renewed every two years at the end of the year. The Tribal Council didn't have time to get to discussion of the permit at their December meeting, so they've put it off as an agenda item til January. But that means no one can walk across the reservation between Jan 1 and Feb 1 at the earliest. However, if you set foot on the reservation by Dec 31, they are cool with that as long as you already got your permit to cross." Let's hope they "have time" to discuss it in January. Seems like it should go on the agenda SEVERAL months BEFORE the end of the year!

[sasquatch2014]

We don't ever seem to have issues on the Schagticoke Res in CT and the trail (AT) passes through there. Is there a diffrence in the Corridor or something?

[CoyoteWhips]

We don't ever seem to have issues on the Schagticoke Res in CT and the trail (AT) passes through there. Is there a diffrence in the Corridor or something?

Reading the Schaghticoke history, just seems like the Seminole Tribe had better lawyers.

[sasquatch2014]

Reading the Schaghticoke history, just seems like the Seminole Tribe had better lawyers.

Ah that explains it. Warriors in Suits. Why shouldn't they be like everyone else near Kent.