By: Savannah Havird, Contributing Writer
On Nov. 13, 2019 at 11:00 A.M., Sharon Thomas, 3rd grade teacher at Wesley Chapel Elementary school, and her trustee sidekick, Noah Williams, 6th grader at Centennial Middle school, came to Saint Leo University to present and educate students on anything and everything relating too Muscokee Creek Indians.
Noah Williams and Sharon Thomas shared their love of their Indian Heritage with the Saint Leo Community.
On the outside lobby of the Caféteria, there were tables of numerous artifacts that hold special importance to Muscokee Creek Indians. For the 27 annual display at Saint Leo University, the theme was changed from that of previous years. This year’s theme was “Bigger isn’t Always Better,” Thomas explained that people should be able to appreciate the little things in life and not just the big things. “As a society, we get caught up in big things. If it serves its purpose, it should be enough,” Thomas stated.
Different artifacts used by the tribe are all handmade.
Thomas went on to explain the different artifacts that prove that “Bigger isn’t Always Better.” She picked up a dream catcher and explained that the little dream catcher does the exact same thing as it would if it was bigger. The second example was a beaded calendar, made with beads and different rocks. Approximately the length of a person’s arm, and possessing different loops and beads, the relic was used to keep track of the days. The Indians would leave a mark/indentation on it for certain days, as way to keep track of the more important days.
There were many examples of the different kind of clothing worn for different events, by the tribe.
Thomas was sharing lots of artifacts with students that were ready to learn new things, Williams being one for them! He was wearing a shirt that the Indians of the Muscokee Creek tribe would wear on a day to day basis. On the top of the shirt were 3 stripes, two blue and one in the middle being white, which represented the air, seas and sky. This shows persons that they will always have camps by a source of water, the waistline is a belt that has a mixture of colors like, brown, red, and green. These colors represent the land itself, while the shirt illustrates the fact that their will always be camps near a source of water.
Thomas and Williams’ family have come from a large background of Indians, which is why they love to spread their knowledge to different places. The many artifacts that were displayed means a lot to their family and represented that “Bigger isn’t Always Better!”
Calendar used by the tribe members.
Artifacts were displayed along with the themes that each represented.
