Council, Board Swear-In Beneath Council Oak

By Shelley Marmor

HOLLYWOOD — The newly-elected Tribal Council — Chairman Mitchell Cypress, Big Cypress Representative David Cypress, Brighton Representative Roger Smith and Hollywood Representative Max Osceola Jr. — and the incoming Board of Directors — President Richard Bowers, Big Cypress Representative Cicero Osceola, Brighton Representative Johnnie Jones and Hollywood Representative Gloria Wilson — met under the Council Oak tree for a swearing-in ceremony on June 4.

Event emcee, Moses “Big Shot” Jumper Jr., opened the ceremony by discussing the significance of having the event beneath the Council Oak, calling it a “very historical place.”

“So many of the early decisions were made under this tree,” he said.

He then offered an invocation and read his poem, The Council Oak, before introducing the Color Guard, which presented the colors. Several children from the Seminole Preschool, under the direction of Language Department Director Jo M. North, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. They recited the pledge in English, Mikasuki and Creek.

About 15 Tribal elders, led by Betty Osceola, then sang two hymns in praise of the leaders who will head the Tribe. Emcee Jumper then introduced the Seminole royalty present: Miss Florida Seminole Brittany Yescas, Jr., Miss Seminole Tianna Garcia and Little Miss Seminole Krysta Burton.

Guest speaker Matthew Tiger, Creek Nation of Oklahoma speaker of the house, then took the mic.

Tiger opened with a hymn in his native language and then commended the work of the previous Tribal Councils and Boards, saying the Tribe is very prosperous because of the vision these leaders had.

“In any organization … there has to be a vision,” Tiger said. “I’m sure that these people you’ve elected as leaders have a vision.”

Chairman Mitchell Cypress then took the mic. He commented on the beautiful weather, which came just two days after Tropical Storm Barry brought several inches of rain to most parts of South Florida, including the Hollywood Reservation. Cypress said he was worried Mother Nature would postpone the swearing-in ceremony. Luckily, he was wrong.

“The Seminole Tribe is a strong Tribe,” he said. “We bring the sunshine.”

The chairman, who called the ceremony to order, acknowledged the work of out-going representatives Paul Bowers, Moses Osceola and Andrew Bowers. He told the Tribal youth in the audience that they should aspire to be lawyers like Bowers and Tribal General Counsel Jim Shore and then return to work for the Tribe in that capacity.

The three then offered farewell speeches before Tribal citizen and Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent for the Tribe Joel Frank Sr. performed the swearing-in. This year, unlike past years, the representatives were sworn in one-by-one, instead of as a large group. Moses Jumper said this would make the ceremony “a little more personal.”

Each representative then took the mic, raised their right hand, and recited the Oath of Office.

Tribal elder Dan Bowers then offered an invocation on the lunch, catered by the Renegade Barbecue Company, which followed the ceremony. All in the audience were invited to the lunch that took place adjacent to the Council Oak at the Hollywood Classic Casino.