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| Volume XXIII Number 16 | November 26, 2003 |
By T.W. Trueblood
TALLAHASSEE, FL — Rising nearly two stories in front of one of college football’s most notable icons stands a new reminder of the spirit of Florida’s Indigenous people. A new statute in Tallahassee pays tribute to the unconquered Seminole Tribe of Florida.
On Oct. 10, the Florida State University (FSU) honored the Seminole Tribe of Florida during the unveiling of a new statute at Doak Campbell stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Several former and current tribal member alumni attended on behalf of the Tribe.
The new statute, titled “Unconquered," symbolically portrays the unconquered spirit of the Seminole people in the nineteenth century and the timeless legacy of that spirit continues to burn bright into the future according to sculptor Fritz Wright.
“ This is a story of a people who refuse to accept defeat,” said FSU President T.K. Wetherell. “This is the story of a people who resolved not only to survive, but triumph.” President Wetherell also thanked the Seminole Tribe of Florida for allowing FSU the honor of carrying the Seminole name.
Standing nearly two stories high, the 5,000-pound metal statute depicts FSU Mascot “Chief Osceola” atop his horse “Renegade.” Chief Osceola holds a feathered spear with a gas-powered flame at the end. By the end of the year, FSU will install 64 granite pieces around the base of the statute. On the north face and south face of the granite will be inscribed the word “UNCONQUERED."
With the statute, FSU is creating a new tradition. “On the Friday before each home game,” said Charlie Barnes, Executive Director of Seminole Boosters, Inc., “the flame will be lit by a specially chosen individual. On the Sunday evening following the home game, the torch will be extinguished.”
Tribal members Emily Osceola-Branch, Kyle Doney, Carla Gopher and Pedro Zepeda received special recognition during the ceremony. Branch, Gopher and Zepeda are FSU alumni. Doney is a current FSU student.
Gopher, who was the first Tribal member to graduate from FSU, assisted the sculptor and other dignitaries in the first lighting of the flaming spear. The lighting officially opened the annual FSU – University of Miami football match up weekend festivities.
Although Chairman Mitchell Cypress and Hollywood Councilman Max Osceola Jr. were scheduled to attend, recent tragedies within the Tribe prevented them from attending. At the beginning of the dedication, Barnes asked attendees for a special moment of remembrance for those tribal members lost in recent tragedies.
“ It was a nice presentation,” said Richard Osceola, a tribal member from Hollywood who traveled to Tallahassee to watch the FSU-Miami football game. “They said a lot of nice things about the Tribe.”
UNCONQUERED is located in the Williams Family Plaza at Langford Green at Doak Campbell Stadium on the campus of the Florida State University. The statute was wholly paid for by donations from alumni and benefactors.
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