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Florida State University Seminole Symbol Files, 1949-2005, Date acquired: 07/00/2007, bulk 1992-1995

 

Summary

Extent:
4.00 folders
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Name of Item], [Date of Item], Florida State University Seminole Symbol Files, Heritage & University Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/MSS-2008-023

Background

Scope and content:

This collection is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings and correspondence, and documents the controversy from 1991 through 2005 over FSU's use of Native American names and symbols representing Renegade and Osceola, the Seminoles, and their use in athletic merchandise. There is correspondence between representatives of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Florida Creek Indian Council with FSU reaffirming support for the Seminole name and Marching Chiefs over the use of the Seminole name, war chant, and "tomahawk chop" as well as letters between university officials about the President Dale Lick's Presidential Study Group on the Use of Seminole Symbolism and Tradition during the early 1990s. In addition, there are prints of early FSU Seminole football players, cheerleaders, and an FSU Homecoming Princess.

Materials from this collection have been digitized and are available through the FSU Digital Library.

Historical materials in this collection may use "mascot" to refer to American Indian representations and may contain offensive imagery. This material is provided for research purposes as part of the historical record and not to condone any offensive language or imagery.

Our full Statement on Potentially Harmful Content is available here: https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/potentially-harmful-content-statement

Biographical / historical:

In 1947, Florida State University students selected "Seminoles" as a name for its football and other athletics teams. Renegade, an Appaloosa bay horse, first appeared on September 16, 1978, at the FSU-Oklahoma State football game in Doak Campbell Stadium. Renegade's rider came to be known as Osceola, after the historic Seminole figure.

The American Indian Movement and American Indian tribes such as the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma have protested athletic teams using American Indian likenesses. In 2003, Max Osceola, Acting Chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida said that "members of the Seminole Tribe do not consider it derogatory, demeaning, or insulting, and they don't look at it as a mascot, but rather a representation of the Seminole Tribe."

Sources and Further Reading

Jim Jones. (1973). F.S.U. One Time! A History Of Seminole Football. Sentry Press.

FSU Libraries. "Florida State Heritage & University Archives: FSU & The Seminole Tribe [research guide]." https://guides.lib.fsu.edu/HeritageUniversityArchives/SeminoleTribe

FSU Libraries. "Florida State University & the Relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma [research guide]." https://guides.lib.fsu.edu/fsuandseminoles

Seminole Tribe of Florida. "Historic Seminole." https://www.semtribe.com/stof/history/historic-seminole

Acquisition information:
Given by Joel Padgett, Seminole Boosters
Custodial history:

These materials were originally given to Joel Padgett by Beverly Spencer.

Processing information:

Processed by Burt Altman in October 2008.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

This collection is in an offsite storage location. Please contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu with requests for access or for more information.

Terms of access:

Copyright restrictions may apply to works in this collection. Re-use or copying beyond Fair Use may require permission from the rights-holder. Please contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu for more information.

Preferred citation:

[Name of Item], [Date of Item], Florida State University Seminole Symbol Files, Heritage & University Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/MSS-2008-023

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA