New, Improved Okalee Village Open for Business

By Iretta Tiger

HOLLYWOOD — “This is a dream come true for us,” said tribal citizen Vincent Micco from the Seminole Police Department and emcee for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the grand opening of the Okalee Village on Nov. 23. The village is located in Seminole Paradise at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

“Our aim is to bring back some of our culture to our visitors” said Seminole President Moses B. Osceola.

Osceola also shared a story from his youth when he first began to work for the village.

Hollywood Council Representative Max Osceola, Jr. worked with Osceola at the village; they would perform Pow Wow dances. Also present at the grand opening ceremony was Key Biscayne Mayor Richard Ederr, and Hollywood Mayor Mara Guilianti.

Buster Baxley, village director, welcomed everyone and described the layout of the village. Baxley described the layout of the village as “the tribe as they were in the late 1800s”.

There will be many animals to see; the highlight will be the Florida black bear and there will also be a petting zoo.

Tribal officials, along with Carol Cypress, cut the ribbon and everyone made their way to the village and to the 750 seat open-air amphitheater. Many stopped to see the animals, but what everyone was anticipating was the deepwater alligator wrestling show.

In deepwater alligator wrestling, the wrestler goes into the water and uses an unusual and very dangerous technique to find the alligator. The person dives underwater and secures the gator’s mouth shut. Then the person carries the gator to the shore where gator tricks are then performed.

It’s funny that gator wrestling for tourists was once a source of income for tribal citizens. With the financial success of the Seminole Tribe, you couldn’t pay a tribal citizen to wrestle an alligator. All wrestlers at the village are non-natives.

Alligator wrestling never ceases to amaze Seminole children. All the students from the Ahfachkee School were entranced during their special private tour of the village before everyone else got to go in.

“It’s great. I really liked it” said Bianca Acosta, Ahfachkee student. “My favorite is the alligator.”

Along with the gator wrestling show was a birds of prey and snake show.

The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum is to be a part of the village and is scheduled to open in February 2005, just in time for the Seminole Tribal Fair. The museum is a branch of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum in Big Cypress, while the village version of the museum will have a classroom for educational and cultural presentations.

The original Okalee Village first opened in the 1960s and was located where the southeast Hard Rock parking lot is now.

The Seminole Okalee Indian Village is open Tuesday–Sunday from 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and children 12 and older, $10 for seniors age 62 and older, and $8 for children ages 6 to 11. Children 5 years old and younger are free.

For more information, call the Seminole Okalee Indian Village at (954) 364-4221.