Archaeologists, historians, and literary scholars chronicle Ponce de León’s 1513 skirmishes with the Calusa in southwest Florida and the consequences to indigenous populations and Spanish in political, economic, religious, and biological terms. This symposium brought together lead scholars on south Florida’s ethnohistory and those studying collective history and representation in a dialogue about the celebration of La Florida and the impact of commemorations on authentic history.
This symposium was organized by Theresa Schober and was held at the Koreshan Art Hall at the Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida. It was sponsored by Lee Trust for Historic Preservation, The Friends of Koreshan State Historic Site, The Florida Humanities Council, The National Endowment for The Humanities and filmed by Blue Marble Films; it brought four eminent scholars on Florida Native Americans to speak on the Calusa in this Making History Memorable program series. They are:
Dr. Jerald T. Milanich, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida
Dr. John E. Worth, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of West Florida
Dr. Andrew K. Frank, Allen-Morris Associate Professor of History, Florida State University
Gretchen M. Bataille, Vice President for Leadership and Lifelong Learning