161: The Lost People of Lake Okeechobee, FL

[00:00:10] Speaker A: On this episode of Common Mystics, we dive into the history and disappearance of a people we'd never even heard of, hidden deep within the wetlands surrounding Lake Okeechobee. Jennifer? I'm Jennifer James. [00:00:27] Speaker B: I'm Jill Stanley. [00:00:28] Speaker A: We're psychics. [00:00:30] Speaker B: We're sisters. [00:00:31] Speaker A: We are common mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And today's story comes to you from Belle Glade, Florida. [00:00:41] Speaker B: That's right, Jennifer. We started out where. When we set our intention. [00:00:47] Speaker A: We started out at our hotel in West Palm Beach. [00:00:51] Speaker B: That's right. That's right. Very good. So we started out at our hotel. We set our intention. What was our intention? [00:00:58] Speaker A: Our intention was that day, as it always is, Jill. It never changes. It never does. It never changes. It is. It was to ask the spirits to help us find a verifiable story previously unknown to us that allows us to give voice to the voiceless. [00:01:18] Speaker B: That's right. And we ended up in Belle Glade, Florida, near the south eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. [00:01:26] Speaker A: Okeechobee. You got it, girlfriend. [00:01:29] Speaker B: Mm. So tell me a little bit about Lake Okeechobee. [00:01:34] Speaker A: Okeechobee. Say, I don't even know that I'm saying. I don't know that I'm saying it right. [00:01:40] Speaker B: It looks like Okeechobee. Like you're playing a trumpet. That's what it looks like. Okay. [00:01:47] Speaker A: Yes. [00:01:48] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. Oh, [00:01:53] Speaker A: get your mind out of the. Oh, that was a trumpet, Jill. That's a. [00:01:57] Speaker B: That's not a trumpet, Jennifer. [00:01:59] Speaker A: I don't know how to play a trumpet. Wait, what's a trumpet? Wait, what is this thing? That's a trombone. That's a trombone. [00:02:07] Speaker B: Okay. [00:02:07] Speaker A: A trumpet. Okay, forget it. [00:02:09] Speaker B: Let's. [00:02:11] Speaker A: Okay, moving on. Moving on. Lake Okeechobee is pretty much the entire, like, center southern part of Florida, you know, like the bottom of the. [00:02:30] Speaker B: The peninsula. [00:02:32] Speaker A: Peninsula, yeah. That south central part. It is a huge, huge lake. [00:02:38] Speaker B: It's the largest freshwater lake entirely within the state of Florida. [00:02:42] Speaker A: You got it. And before modern drainage and canals and levees and agricultural development transformed the landscape, Lake Okeechobee was part of a massive interconnected wetland system that's so. It's really, really different. Generations ago. [00:03:02] Speaker B: And it's beautiful. [00:03:04] Speaker A: It is beautiful. So we were driving up in that area around Okeechobee and we were getting some hits, some confusing hits, if I'm completely honest. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Why are you going to be completely honest? [00:03:19] Speaker A: Well, because we thought that day in south central Florida, driving around was a complete waste of time. In the moment. We were like, what The F is actually happening. Nothing we're getting makes sense. And it was really frustrating. And I thought, this is. This is the moment when we throw up the towel and say, well, that podcast was great. Was a great idea. [00:03:43] Speaker B: This is the problem. So we're driving around, we're getting our hits, and when we get our hits, we like to Google to make sure we're on. Like, you know, we'll Google real quick in real time and be like, oh, my God, I can't believe it. I can't wait to research that. Right. Everything we Googled was a bus. So we're like, we are the worst psychics in the entire universe. This is all a fraud run. [00:04:05] Speaker A: Right. [00:04:05] Speaker B: Take your money with you. [00:04:07] Speaker A: Right. But also, there was a whole lot of nothing. Like, we kept driving around in circles, and literally, there was, like, sugar cane and a dead alligator, which, terrified, will [00:04:18] Speaker B: come up later in different episodes. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Okay, Sorry. But it was. It really did seem like it was a shit show and a complete waste of time. [00:04:25] Speaker B: So. [00:04:25] Speaker A: I am so surprised that you found multiple stories from that lost day in the Everglades. [00:04:31] Speaker B: We. I have. I am shocked on how many stories that we found that day. And it was. The research to find these stories was a little more intense because it wasn't something that, like, you could put it [00:04:44] Speaker A: in on the Internet. [00:04:45] Speaker B: Exactly. This is, like, history. [00:04:47] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Okay. All right, so let's review those hits that actually brought us to this story. Jill, Go ahead. [00:04:54] Speaker B: Swampy land. [00:04:55] Speaker A: Okay. I was definitely picking up on Native Americans. [00:05:01] Speaker B: I was picking up on prehistoric feeling, like. Dinosaur. [00:05:07] Speaker A: Dinosaurs, you know? [00:05:08] Speaker B: Dinosaurs. [00:05:10] Speaker A: Dinosaurs, yes. Lord of mercy. Okay, continue. [00:05:14] Speaker B: Something extremely ancient, prehistoric feeling. [00:05:19] Speaker A: I was getting very old settlements. [00:05:22] Speaker B: I was getting a phantom. A phantom vibe, like as if something was just vanished. [00:05:30] Speaker A: And I was feeling tribal. On tribal violence. [00:05:35] Speaker B: You were. And we were both discussing the slavery system of the South. [00:05:42] Speaker A: Right, right. Which was super confusing because we. [00:05:47] Speaker B: There. Yeah. Anyway. [00:05:50] Speaker A: Because there were no big plan, because we were thinking plantations and slavery, and there were none in the area where we were. [00:05:56] Speaker B: And we were talking in a larger context about, like, the system of slavery, like itself, like, as a system of. Of net worth when you're enslaving people and blah, blah, blah, blah. [00:06:08] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. So that all got into the notes. Correct. So where do you want to go from here, Jill? Where shall we start? [00:06:16] Speaker B: Let's go today to the beautiful landscape of Florida, near Belglade, Belle Glade. [00:06:25] Speaker A: Jill, today, Belle Glade is a small agricultural city, and it's near the southeast shore of Lake Okeechobee. Like we, like we said, in Palm Beach County, Florida. [00:06:40] Speaker B: That's true. [00:06:41] Speaker A: And drive through the area and you're surrounded with flatland, canals, fields, and seemingly endless sky. There's literally like nothing there. Like, true. Thank goodness we didn't run out of gas, you know what I mean? Like, there's. It's pretty much all wilderness. [00:06:59] Speaker B: Belglade itself is a tight knit little community packed in there. But we were. We went through Belglade and then we went to the surrounding areas of Belglade. And the surrounding areas is where you're talking about, like, they ain't nothing. [00:07:12] Speaker A: It's an agricultural region, right? [00:07:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:14] Speaker A: So there's sugar cane and other crops. And the land, all that land was once, like I mentioned earlier, part of a huge network of wetlands. Right. That in modern days, humans have cleaned up. Right. Caucasian Euro Americans have cleaned up to make more. Less wet. Right. Because it's. You don't want your land wet. Most of the time, you don't want it wet. [00:07:44] Speaker B: I mean, not sapping wet, but I do appreciate, like, you need a little [00:07:48] Speaker A: bit of wet, you need some moisture. You want your land moist. You don't want your land wet. [00:07:55] Speaker B: Not sopping wet. [00:07:56] Speaker A: Not sopping wet. It's no good if it's mosquitoes and big bugs and alligators. And you can't build well on stopping wet ground. You know what I'm talking about? [00:08:07] Speaker B: I know, I know what you're talking about. The people know what you're talking about. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Right. But today it's. It's dry land. But it's important to remember that modern Bell Glade landscape is not the landscape that existed before. Right? [00:08:22] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:23] Speaker A: Again, the land around Lake Okeechobee was very wet, very marshy, and often flooded. So over the 20th century, there. There have been enormous drainage and flood control projects to reshape the region and make it more usable for what we want to use it for, which is planting crops, building things. [00:08:47] Speaker B: Right? Yep. They build a series of levees around the lake. Yada, yada. [00:08:53] Speaker A: Right. [00:08:54] Speaker B: Here are some now. [00:08:55] Speaker A: Oh, are those levees? [00:08:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:58] Speaker A: As in took my Chevy to the levy. [00:09:02] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Yes, Jennifer. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Okay. [00:09:04] Speaker B: It's exactly right. [00:09:06] Speaker A: Okay. Just making sure I was making a connection there. [00:09:09] Speaker B: I see, I see, I see what you did there. [00:09:11] Speaker A: So when we were driving through Belglade getting impressions of swampy land and native people and something incredibly old and ancient, we didn't really understand how dramatically the landscape we were in has changed over time. And so nothing was making sense. [00:09:29] Speaker B: Very true. [00:09:30] Speaker A: All right. Before the canals, is that what we're looking at, Jill, describe this beautiful picture, [00:09:36] Speaker B: this beauty filled picture. [00:09:38] Speaker A: Yes, the beautiful picture. [00:09:40] Speaker B: Oh, well, it is large, I would say swamp grass. I don't know. [00:09:46] Speaker A: Reedy? [00:09:47] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. There is a channel of water flowing in between. So it seems as if you can use the water as like a pathway. Like, it looks like the water would almost be like an ancient road. [00:10:01] Speaker A: And so the people, people had actually been living around Lake Okeechobee for thousands of years before the canals, before the levees. Oh, and there are some people scantily clad. It's Florida. Of course they are. [00:10:19] Speaker B: I mean, if I were in ancient times, I too would be wearing grass. So I ain't going to hate on it. [00:10:26] Speaker A: Can you imagine the mosquito bites that those people had? [00:10:29] Speaker B: God, they would have to cover themselves with mud, I'm sure. I don't know, to make sure, because you don't have no DEET back then. [00:10:38] Speaker A: No deet? [00:10:39] Speaker B: No deet. No deet. [00:10:41] Speaker A: In fact, archaeologists eventually gave the name of the ancient cultural traditions that these people lived in and had. They took the name directly from this place. And it's called the Bell Glade culture that lived there in ancient times. We keep saying ancient times. We'll talk about what that means. But by the time that Europeans began documenting what was going on in South Florida at that time, one of the native people living in that world, in that swampy, swampy, wet world, were known as the Miami. [00:11:18] Speaker B: Miami people. [00:11:20] Speaker A: Miami people. Yes. I'm gonna spell it for you. M A, Y. Oh, A, I. M, I. You did it. Thank you for having that. And what does that mean, Jill? [00:11:32] Speaker B: Big water. [00:11:33] Speaker A: It means big water. Yes. Now, I do want to differentiate because there is a Miami tribe spelled like Miami, Florida. Okay. But that Miami tribe, I just want to clear up any confusion, is a tribe out of Oklahoma that traces their homelands to the area around the Great Lakes in the Midwest. That group is an Algonquin speaking language group. And their name, Miami, comes from Maya amia, which means downstream people. And we are not talking about those people. That is a completely different culture, a completely different language group. [00:12:11] Speaker B: We're not talking about those people. But oddly enough, the Miami people is where the city Miami gets its name. [00:12:20] Speaker A: Yes, exactly right. I know, it's like the white people came in and they're like, yeah, we don't. We're just calling it all Miami. Do you know what I mean? Like, because it wasn't the same word, but the derivative sounds close enough to Miami. And like, the white people didn't really care Exactly. Yeah. So the group that we're talking about, like you said, Miami means big water, which, of course, is a reference to our favorite lake. Lake. Lake Okeechobee. Yeah. And I know, you know, somebody out there is going to be like, they are both saying it wrong. And I hope, you know, that's fine. Reach out to us. [00:12:55] Speaker B: That's fine. [00:12:56] Speaker A: We want feedback being corrected. Yes. We love interacting with you. Please let us know. And this group has been categorized as lost or extinct. Actually, I was reading about this. I think there are 10 known words from their language. Group of the Miami. Yeah, that's true. All right, Jill, what do you want to talk about next? [00:13:21] Speaker B: The Miami people. [00:13:23] Speaker A: Let's do it. The Miami people. So as we've been talking about the ancient people who had been living around Lake Okeechobee, it's easy to picture, like, small groups of fishermen wandering around the wetland, sometimes in a canoe, sometimes just squishing along in their wet moccasins, fishing and hunting. Whatever. They could find some. Try some dry ground. But actually, if you had that in your mind, you would kind of be wrong, because the people who lived here in this area were actually engineering the landscape around them. [00:14:03] Speaker B: Yes, they were. [00:14:05] Speaker A: And throughout the Okeechobee Basin, archaeologists have discovered an incredible network of circular and semicircular earthenworks, long linear ridges, mounds, and other massive constructions built by human hands. I think we're looking at, like, something that looks like a big circle almost, with spoke. Spokes of a wheel. [00:14:30] Speaker B: Can you see it? [00:14:33] Speaker A: Okay, yeah, I can see it. You want to describe it for us? [00:14:36] Speaker B: You just did. [00:14:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:14:37] Speaker B: But you're. [00:14:38] Speaker A: It looks like. [00:14:39] Speaker B: Yeah. You were acting like you couldn't see it, so that's why I wanted to make sure you could see it. [00:14:43] Speaker A: I can. I can see it. And what is that pointed structure there? [00:14:48] Speaker B: That is the nipple. [00:14:51] Speaker A: That's. That's exactly what I thought it was. [00:14:53] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. That's the top of the mound. I don't know. I didn't. I didn't get into the ancient research of mound building and why there's a nipple. I didn't ask. I'll be more prepared next time. [00:15:05] Speaker A: Join us on YouTube to see this visual of big mound city. [00:15:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:11] Speaker A: Complete with nipple. [00:15:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:14] Speaker A: What's interesting is that some of these earthenworks appear to be aligned with events in the sky. [00:15:23] Speaker B: Sky. Isn't that cool? That's so. [00:15:25] Speaker A: Oh, my God, I love this. See, this is an intelligent, civilized, sophisticated society. Do you know what I'm saying? So the events in the sky including solstices, equinoxes, you know, the big ones. All the big ones. [00:15:41] Speaker B: All the big ones. [00:15:42] Speaker A: All. All the big ones. What is this, Jill? What are we looking at? That looks like an ultrasound. Is that an ultrasound on the right? [00:15:51] Speaker B: This is an aerial view of the mount from the satellite. [00:15:55] Speaker A: I think it's a boy. [00:15:58] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:16:00] Speaker A: It's not an ultrasound. I see what you've done here. So you can kind of see it from space, is your point. Yes, yes. Okay, moving on. Great. Right. So of course. Of course that makes sense, because they would want to follow the seasons because the seasons brought changes in their environment, in the weather, in the climate. Right. But they were also skilled craftspeople, too, Jill. [00:16:30] Speaker B: They were. Yeah. [00:16:32] Speaker A: Archaeologists have found pottery. Ooh. And we've got some lovely broken pieces here for everyone on YouTube to enjoy. And this pottery today is known as the best Bell Glade plane pottery. Okay. And because good tool making, stone was difficult to find in South Florida, they became incredibly resourceful, and they used tools made out of animal bones, marine shells, and even shark teeth. [00:17:06] Speaker B: Ooh. [00:17:07] Speaker A: That would be really hard to do with a shark tooth, wouldn't it? [00:17:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:17:11] Speaker A: Like, that is a lovely pattern. That person has some skill. I don't think I could do that with a pen or. [00:17:18] Speaker B: Well, I certainly couldn't do it with a short chisel. [00:17:20] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So this wasn't a population that was, like, barely surviving in the wetlands of South Florida, you know what I mean? No, no. This was a sophisticated people, and they learned how to make the wetlands work for them. [00:17:37] Speaker B: That's true. [00:17:39] Speaker A: They reshaped parts of the environment to fit their lives, and they were doing it centuries before Europeans ever even set foot in South Florida, yet they were. You might want to ask, what was life like for the Miami? [00:17:56] Speaker B: Is that what, Jennifer? [00:17:59] Speaker A: Yes, Jill. [00:18:00] Speaker B: What would the average day in a Miami life look like? [00:18:05] Speaker A: You almost made me spit my tea out. I don't have the average day, Jill. But I'll tell you that their life revolved around the lake and the wetlands. And not surprisingly, they lived in accordance with the rhythms of the wetlands. Yeah. Rhythms of the wetlands. But they also altered the environment, like I said, through engineering. Okay, let me explain. We know that even today, the water levels rise and fall with the seasons. And when the water changed, that meant the location of their food was going to change. Right. So they had an interest in trying to control or at least supplement. Right. The environment. And so during periods of high water, they went to the elevated areas that they built. And within those elevated Areas that they constructed, such as they included earthen works that were, we believe, ceremonial mounds and village mounds all around Lake Okeechobee. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Like we saw. [00:19:16] Speaker A: Like we saw. Yes. [00:19:17] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:18] Speaker A: The mounds. They constructed those. This must have been so difficult. Dirt, sand, discarded shells, animal bones, like, pretty much. Pretty much garbage, right? [00:19:30] Speaker B: Trash. [00:19:31] Speaker A: Yeah. So they created these mounds basically out of trash, and then they built flat top mounds where they would build their homes. [00:19:41] Speaker B: So they engineered the land around them and their needs. [00:19:45] Speaker A: Exactly. And they built mounds that were larger and more complex for ceremonial sites, like the one that you showed the circle with the spokes coming out of it. And they think that those were used for ceremonies and larger gathering places. Now, between these mounds, this is what I think is so freaking interesting. They just didn't build mounds. They also built canals. [00:20:16] Speaker B: Yes. [00:20:17] Speaker A: So that acted like streets. So when it knew, it flooded. So when it flooded, they would use their canoes, kind of like they made their own. Venice, Italy. Do you know what I mean? They built canals between the mounds so that they could navigate their. Their village. [00:20:35] Speaker B: The land. When you look at the land today, you can. Oh, you can see it. It's like a scar in it. Like I was saying, it looks like the water was used as, like, a [00:20:43] Speaker A: sidewalk or a path or a trail, and that's exact. They did that on purpose. That's crazy. That's a lot of work. That is a lot of cooperation and a lot of work. [00:20:54] Speaker B: There's good leadership. You have to have good leadership in that. [00:20:57] Speaker A: Yeah. You and I wouldn't be able to. We wouldn't. [00:21:01] Speaker B: No. [00:21:01] Speaker A: Yeah. That. Wouldn't know. [00:21:03] Speaker B: I mean, I would be like, are we good here? Are we good? [00:21:06] Speaker A: This is fine. It's fine. It's fine. [00:21:10] Speaker B: Fine. It's fine. [00:21:12] Speaker A: So we're talking a lot about the Miami, but they weren't the only people living in the area. [00:21:16] Speaker B: They weren't. [00:21:17] Speaker A: There was also the Calusa. Okay. So even though the Miami lived around Lake Okeechobee, they didn't live isolated from other native groups of South Florida. No. And they were part of a much larger and surprisingly interconnected sociopolitical system. [00:21:43] Speaker B: There were interconnecting waterways. Yep. [00:21:47] Speaker A: So during the 16th century, the Calusa were the dominant native power in much of southwest Florida. So they were like king of the mountain, king of the mound. The Calusas were the. Were in charge around that time, and they controlled the territory around Florida's southwestern coast and maintain political and economic relationships with the communities throughout the region. Communities around the lake existed within the broader Calusa political Sphere, with some apparently paying tribute to the Calusa leaders. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Pretty cool. [00:22:31] Speaker A: So while the Miami had their own communities and identity, they were also, it's important to realize, part of a larger sociopolitical system of connected communities. So South Florida before European colonization, wasn't just a bunch of tiny little villages. It was a complete network. Network of different societies, all interconnected. And suddenly I find myself alone on stage with some fine. Are those Calusa warriors? I believe they are. That. That looks like some. Some very scary gear that they're wearing, like, the kind of paint and get up that I would expect they're going to war in. So this doesn't look good, does it? [00:23:18] Speaker B: No, it doesn't. [00:23:21] Speaker A: All right, so shall we talk about the Europeans arriving? Because it kind of screws up everything. [00:23:25] Speaker B: Yeah, usually does. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Usually does. So Spanish explorers. Explorers from Spain began entering Florida during the 16th century, bringing the indigenous peoples of South Florida in increasing contact with a world far, far beyond their own. And while that contact would eventually bring enormous political and economic changes, some of the earliest and most devastating threats were something no one could see coming at the time. Which was what? [00:23:59] Speaker B: Disease. [00:24:01] Speaker A: Disease. We know. We know. We know. Europeans brought the diseases. They had no immunity. It was very unfortunate. That disease starts really wiping out some of these communities. By the late 1600s and early 1700s, there was another threat moving towards the people of South Florida, and one that wasn't invisible at all. And I think super surprising. I knew about the disease. I did not know about this. [00:24:32] Speaker B: Tell me. [00:24:33] Speaker A: And what this is is armed slave raiders hunting human beings for profit. You got it. Oh, my goodness. Wow. [00:24:49] Speaker B: Cool, right? Cool. The graphic. Not cool. The slavery. [00:24:54] Speaker A: Yes, very cool graphic. Oh, my goodness. It says, enslaved Native Americans and the making of Colonial South Carolina. Oh, my gosh. That's an actual book. [00:25:08] Speaker B: That's an actual book describing what we're about to describe. [00:25:13] Speaker A: So Carolina. Carolina at the time was inhabited by the English. The English claimed Carolina. [00:25:22] Speaker B: I knew that. [00:25:22] Speaker A: And. And good. Good job, Jill. [00:25:27] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:25:28] Speaker A: Okay. In 1670, the English colony of Carolina was established, and Charlestown, modern day Charleston, quickly became an important center of trade. Now, the English traders, they weren't dumb. They knew that they wanted to build relationships with the native peoples who are living there. There are a lot of reasons why. Yeah. They wanted allies. It's good to have friends. Everyone wanted allies. [00:26:02] Speaker B: Mm. [00:26:04] Speaker A: And so one of the ways they did that was they traded. They traded European manufactured goods with some of the Native American groups. Things like cloth, metal tools, and also, Jill, Guns and ammunition. And in return, they Got. They got valuable deer skins and other goods. And all of these other goods were. Were a benefit to the colony of Carolina. But eventually, human beings started being part of this trade system, the indigenous captives. So Native American tribal people became part of Carolina's growing slave trade. [00:27:03] Speaker B: This is tragic. [00:27:04] Speaker A: And once human beings could be exchanged for valuable European goods. Right. So forget about the deer skin. If deer skin can buy you two guns, how many guns could you get for a person? Oh, I'm getting chills. This is unfathomable that anybody thought like this. [00:27:28] Speaker B: I can't believe. A, we never heard about this in school. B, we are so ignorant. C, you and I, we were. Yeah, no, of course, you and I. Who else? I'm sure other people knew this, and they're probably, like, dumb. No shit. But for us driving around there, picking up on these hits and having no clue, this was like. [00:27:51] Speaker A: Right. The other thing to keep in mind, though, is that warfare conflict between the different tribal groups, including taking captives from a different tribe that had existed long before the Europeans ever showed up. Long before the Spanish were in Florida, long before the English and their colony of Carolina. [00:28:15] Speaker B: However. [00:28:16] Speaker A: However the English colonial market created this new financial incentive for taking more of your enemies captive and selling them into slavery. [00:28:31] Speaker B: Geez. Oh, Pete. [00:28:33] Speaker A: Yep, yep, yep. And so here's how it worked. One tribe would raid another tribal community. They would capture people, take the captured people back to Carolina and exchange them for European goods and acquire more weapons and ammunition, which then precipitated. [00:28:56] Speaker B: Right. [00:28:57] Speaker A: This cycle. Right. Because then they had more guns. Guns led to raids. Raids produced captives. Captives could be traded for goods and weapons. Right. It was this endless cycle fed by colonialism and this new market for your enemies. [00:29:14] Speaker B: Why would native people, even though that sounds great and like, totally American thing to do, why would Native American people enslave other native people? [00:29:25] Speaker A: I think that you have to remember that, you know, they're all not one part of one group. Right. [00:29:34] Speaker B: We use the others. Native. [00:29:36] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Like you and I are saying, quote, Native Americans. Even though I don't think that's. I don't think that's politically correct anymore. Jill. I don't know what the Correct. [00:29:45] Speaker B: Emily, we have to. [00:29:47] Speaker A: I don't know if indigenous peoples or tribal peoples, but they were all different. They all had different cultures. So you and I clump them into one big group, which is racist, but that's what we do. Right? Probably. You know, one of the reasons. I know, but you see what I'm saying? But they weren't. They were different groups. With different cultures competing for resources, just like the Europeans. Exactly. Exactly. So some traded with one another and were friends, and some were enemies. Some fought wars against each other long before Europeans ever arrived. Okay, so what? Again, what European colonialism changed was. Was their system. Right. Again, an economic market. But there's another thing. [00:30:34] Speaker B: What? [00:30:35] Speaker A: And that's the European politics that they brought to the area that previously was not a factor. Right. [00:30:42] Speaker B: I am so sick of these Europeans coming in this country and up. I tell you what. [00:30:48] Speaker A: Because you have Spain in Florida, and you have the English in Carolina. Yep. Right. And they're like, button right up against each other kind of. [00:30:59] Speaker B: Right. [00:30:59] Speaker A: And they're enemies. They themselves are enemies. Right. [00:31:02] Speaker B: And they want to acquire more land. So it's like gang turf war. [00:31:07] Speaker A: Exactly. And both relied heavily on their relationships with their own Native American allies. So when the native allies of English Carolina attacked communities connected to Spanish Florida, then that attack would weaken Spain and Spain's hold on the area. It could produce captives who would then be sold into slavery, and those captives would enrich the Carolina traders. Right. It's a win, win, win. [00:31:37] Speaker B: I. Yeah. [00:31:38] Speaker A: So once you're the slaves, unless you were the enslaved people. Exactly. And once this system was established, it kind of just grew on its own for economic and political reasons. Does that make sense, Jill? Yes. Yeah. So slave raiding parties begin traveling farther and farther into the peninsula of Florida looking for new communities to attack. Because once you attack a community and decimate it, you need to find another one. [00:32:09] Speaker B: So. [00:32:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:10] Speaker B: Who were the natives or the indigenous people who are actually carrying out many of these raids into the Spanish area of Florida? [00:32:18] Speaker A: Okay, that's a great question. Thank you. Among the most important native allies of English Carolina were the Yamasi people, along with various Creek people. Okay. And the Yamasi story is a little complicated, see, because the Yamasi, they previously lived in that Florida area before many of them moved up to Carolina. Okay. So they probably had some beef there. You know what I mean? Because they were probably like, yeah, this was our home until. You know what I'm saying? [00:32:55] Speaker B: Yep, I know exactly what you're saying. [00:32:58] Speaker A: And that dynamic gave the Yamasi warriors something that could dramatically change the balance of power between native communities, which is the European firearms and ammunition. So suddenly, these Yamasi warriors became involved in raids farther into Spanish Florida, and they were joined at times by other native nations. Does that make sense? [00:33:23] Speaker B: Yes. [00:33:24] Speaker A: Like the Creek. Like the Muscogee. Right. So there are other groups who are allies of theirs that helped. [00:33:30] Speaker B: It was an arrangement that Benefited Carolina economically and strategically. And for some time, some of Carolina's native allies benefited from it as well. [00:33:39] Speaker A: They sure did. But then something interesting happens around 1704. Tell me everything, just in a nutshell. You see, you know how the Spanish love to set up missions? [00:33:52] Speaker B: Oh, my God. That's all they ever love to do. It's their favorite. [00:33:55] Speaker A: That's all they ever do. That's their favorite thing to do all over California. Well, they did it in Florida, too, Only they didn't go down deep into the everglades. They were up near the drier part of Florida. Up near the top. Right. Yeah. They established all of these missions. Well, in 1704, the mission system fell. [00:34:16] Speaker B: How'd it fall? [00:34:18] Speaker A: Well, they've been in conflict with. With England. [00:34:20] Speaker B: Who am I to talk? I fall all the time. I get it. Certainly do. [00:34:24] Speaker A: At the airport, at the nail salon. Yes, you fall. Anyway, the Spanish mission system fell. Well, now, what had happened was that mission system, those communities, Spanish communities in the north of Florida, it was kind of previously this area of geographic buffer between south Florida and what was going on there and Carolina and these raiding groups. Right, right. Once the missions fall and the missionaries start moving out and those communities are no longer there, now the whole long tail of the peninsula of Florida is open. [00:35:02] Speaker B: They don't have a buffer. [00:35:04] Speaker A: They don't have a buffer. [00:35:05] Speaker B: You need a buffer. [00:35:08] Speaker A: Oh, exactly. There's a historian named John Worth who says that the years between 1704 and 1711 were a catastrophic period for the indigenous peoples of south Florida because of the collapse of the mission system. [00:35:28] Speaker B: What happened? What was going on? [00:35:30] Speaker A: Well, all those angry Yamasi raiders with their creek and muskogee friends, they start charging down into the long peninsula of Florida, and they start doing what they do. [00:35:43] Speaker B: It can't be good for the Miami people. [00:35:46] Speaker A: It was not good for the Miami people. Correct. Correct. And so communities that had survived nearly two centuries of European presence, now all of a sudden, they're facing armed raiding parties searching for human captives. [00:36:03] Speaker B: Not okay. [00:36:04] Speaker A: No, not okay. In approximately seven years, the indigenous populations across south Florida were devastated. And what happened to the communities? Well, they disappeared or scattered. Raiders were forced to travel even farther south in search of new captives. And eventually, the violence reached the indigenous peoples living around lake Okeechobee and throughout our people. That's our people, the Miami. But the Miami, Jill, they were particularly vulnerable. [00:36:39] Speaker B: Why were they particularly vulnerable? Well, they were nice. They were too nice, weren't they? [00:36:45] Speaker A: Well, I'm sure they were nice. I'm sure they Were lovely people, but also because their communities were small. Like, they lived in, like, groups of 30 or 40, which, if you think about it, if you are living on a series of mounds, you can't really have a huge population. There's nowhere to go. Right. You're really limited. [00:37:05] Speaker B: They created the landscape in which they're living on, so you don't want to overload it. [00:37:11] Speaker A: That's a lot of work. Do you know what I mean? That's a lot of work in engineering. So the groups were small. So imagine what happens when an armed slave raiding party arrives and a few people are killed in the raid. They're carried away as slaves. The rest of them run. Do you know what I'm saying? [00:37:31] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:32] Speaker A: A single attack can wipe out an entire community. [00:37:36] Speaker B: Yeah. That's rough. [00:37:38] Speaker A: So, Jill, this is a staggering fact. Are you sitting down? This is. I can't even believe I'm going to say this. By 1711, by the year 1711, the Miami people had completely disappeared. Completely gone. Gone. [00:37:58] Speaker B: So this is where our story ends. They gone? [00:38:02] Speaker A: Well, if we stop the story here, it would be easy to assume that the Miami simply disappeared during the slave raids. Right. [00:38:11] Speaker B: Like, they took everyone, they killed everyone. Everyone's gone. [00:38:14] Speaker A: Or they died a disease, or, you know, they were refugees. But they weren't really gone. They weren't really gone because. Fast forward 30 years to 1743. 1743. Two Jesuit missionaries traveled from Havana, Cuba, into South Florida. And by this time, Europeans had increasingly begun describing parts of the region as though its original Native American population had disappeared. Okay, so they were thinking, you know what I mean? They're gonna be alone. [00:38:47] Speaker B: They'll just have some land. Yep. Yep. [00:38:50] Speaker A: But what the missionaries actually discovered in South Florida was there were native groups still living there, and they weren't just a handful of scattered survivors squishing around in the wilderness. The indigenous communities still controlled significant portions of the region and maintained political relationships and participated in trade and occupied their own territories and exercised authority over others. [00:39:21] Speaker B: Okay, so they were still there, people. [00:39:24] Speaker A: They. Well, who was there? Was kind of a new group. New groups? [00:39:30] Speaker B: Like the record on the black. [00:39:31] Speaker A: Yes, just like that, Jill. They danced, they sang. They were a sensation. Yes, just like that. No, Jill, not like the new kids on the block. [00:39:42] Speaker B: Don't be hostile. [00:39:44] Speaker A: The Miami name was still there. However, the native peoples identified in the records were groups like the South, Santa Luzos, the Mayakas, and the Miamis. A name that. A name that came from the Miami. You know, I'm. I'm looking at these words and they look really similar to me, and I'm not sure how to say them, but basically there's a derivative. A derivative name from the Miamis. So what it looks like happened, Jill, is enough of them survived and adapted and regroup and created a new culture out of what was the old culture. Does that make sense? [00:40:25] Speaker B: That does make sense. So they found each other again, and they were like, we're going to keep this thing going. [00:40:30] Speaker A: Well, they found each other or they found other groups. [00:40:33] Speaker B: I love that. [00:40:34] Speaker A: And then the culture kind of merged and changed over time. [00:40:38] Speaker B: I love that. [00:40:40] Speaker A: So the evidence from the 1743 mission helps explain why, helps explain what happened when those Spanish missionaries arrived. They weren't walking into an empty wilderness where an indigenous civilization had once existed. They were walking into a landscape where native people still controlled the territory. And they were quite surprised by that. But most importantly, I think it's important to note again that the Miami people had survived not as a group, not as a group of their original culture, but they had still survived and changed. [00:41:18] Speaker B: So give me what happened post 1743. What do we know? [00:41:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, good question. So we don't know. I'm sorry, we. We don't have any data on what happened after 70. I'm sorry, there are no more missionary groups coming in to figure it out. All we know is that at some point they disappeared and. And became, quote, unquote, extinct. If you look online and Wikipedia, like that is a word that is used to describe the fate of these people. But actually, it's terribly sad, but actually, that is probably not the best word to use at all. [00:42:02] Speaker B: Explain yourself. [00:42:04] Speaker A: Because if you say that something is extinct, you think it's all died out, right? Like a whole group died out. [00:42:13] Speaker B: That's what makes it so sad. [00:42:15] Speaker A: But there's not evidence that that actually happened. We know that the Miami had endured generations of upheaval. That we know. We know that many of them had been killed or died because of diseases. We know that many had been captured and enslaved. We know that families had been displaced. We know that refugees fled their homeland, some going to Cuba. [00:42:38] Speaker B: But. [00:42:38] Speaker A: But there is some evidence that others regrouped. Regrouped with neighboring Native American communities. And so extinct. Not. Not the best word. Then in. I want to tell you, something did happen that we have data on. And that was what. [00:42:57] Speaker B: What happened? [00:42:58] Speaker A: That was. That was in 1763. There was another major political change in Florida because sp. Spain was like, okay, we're. We are done with Florida. The bugs are too big. [00:43:12] Speaker B: There are alligators. [00:43:14] Speaker A: You Don't. [00:43:14] Speaker B: There are some. There are some down here. [00:43:17] Speaker A: And I'm humidity girl. [00:43:19] Speaker B: My hair can't stand it. And you know how long and flowy the Spanish hair was? Oh. [00:43:27] Speaker A: Spain ceded Florida to Britain. England finally gets Florida. And many of the native people who had maintained relationships with the Spanish, they left Florida, too, because their friends were the Spanish. Makes sense. And so because of that. Because of that, it all changed. And native peoples from farther north, particularly the creek speaking peoples, were moving into Florida. And over time, these migrations became known as the Seminoles. [00:44:00] Speaker B: I know them. [00:44:01] Speaker A: Yes, yes. They're in more modern history. Right. [00:44:07] Speaker B: The Indo girls wrote a song about them. [00:44:09] Speaker A: What is it called? [00:44:11] Speaker B: It. They mentioned them in a song. It was. [00:44:14] Speaker A: All right, all right, I'm sorry. I thought you were going to go a little farther with that. All right, forget it. Forget I asked. [00:44:19] Speaker B: Okay. [00:44:20] Speaker A: So eventually, Jill, the Miami name completely disappears from the written record. But the people themselves, some probably survived. Their children probably survived, their grandchildren probably survived. And they simply became part of other communities whose names are the ones that history has remembered. [00:44:41] Speaker B: That makes me feel hopeful. [00:44:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:45] Speaker B: Yes. So after everything we uncovered, what actually destroyed the Miami culture? [00:44:54] Speaker A: Well, the answer is complicated, because it wasn't just one event. [00:44:58] Speaker B: Hashtag complicated. [00:45:00] Speaker A: Right. There wasn't just one battle, and there wasn't. What, Just one enemy. What seems to have happened to them? Miami appears to have been a cascade of events, like we said, that unfolded across generations. First, the Europeans that. Bringing their diseases. [00:45:18] Speaker B: Nasty. [00:45:19] Speaker A: Mm. [00:45:20] Speaker B: Them. Nasty. Them some nasty. Coming all the way over here with their diseases, just killing everyone off just by them being here. They didn't even do nothing. They just had to come. [00:45:32] Speaker A: Anything else on that? [00:45:33] Speaker B: No, they just. Nasty. [00:45:34] Speaker A: Okay. Then came the growing colonial struggles between European powers of Spain and England. [00:45:40] Speaker B: And Messy. Get your shit together. Don't come over here fighting. Messy. [00:45:48] Speaker A: And the fact that they got their Native American allies in on the struggle, too. Right. [00:45:56] Speaker B: They're just manipulative. [00:45:58] Speaker A: Right. Which included, of course, the indigenous slave trade. So it was a number of different things, all leading to, you know, the. The loss. But it's a human story. Right. It's not an extinct tribe. To say, getting back to that word, that it was extinction actually takes away the humanity of the situation. It does, because they had. They had choices. You know, they did things. They. They went to other groups, they kept [00:46:32] Speaker B: going, and they evolved into different cultures. And some of their influence is still saw today, although we call it something different. [00:46:43] Speaker A: Right. Because the Miami river and Miami, Florida, both come from the Miami tribe. Yeah. So they didn't simply vanish, and they're not extinct. So don't. Don't believe that when you go online, because it does say that. That they're an extinct people. Is that why you think. Yeah. Is that why you think we're talking about this? [00:47:03] Speaker B: I do. I do think that's why there are voiceless. Because they're like, no, no. We're like. We didn't just leave. We didn't just die off with the dinosaurs. We actually evolved into what, you know, today. So we hear. [00:47:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:20] Speaker B: And I think that's why the. The story matters today. [00:47:24] Speaker A: Agreed. Agreed. I love that. [00:47:27] Speaker B: Yeah, we agree. I like that. [00:47:29] Speaker A: Should we go over our hits? [00:47:31] Speaker B: Oh, my God, my favorite part. Swampy land. [00:47:35] Speaker A: Okay. Do you want me to tell you why that's. That's important? Because I think it's kind of obvious, but I see you smiling and nodding, so I guess I will do it. [00:47:43] Speaker B: Yes. [00:47:44] Speaker A: The ancient Okeechobee Basin was an enormous wetland, and water pretty much covered it most of the year. So. And we did not know that. [00:47:55] Speaker B: We did not know that. [00:47:56] Speaker A: We did not know that because we were driving on a dry road, but [00:48:00] Speaker B: that at that time during the day, we didn't even get to the. To the lake yet. We had absolutely no idea about that lake yet. [00:48:13] Speaker A: When I was picking up on the Native American vibe, it seems a little obvious. [00:48:19] Speaker B: Tell me, what are your thoughts? [00:48:21] Speaker A: Well, Bel Glade, the town sits within the ancient indigenous cultural landscape of the Miami. Miami. [00:48:31] Speaker B: And they excavated the area and they found some really cool stuff like we saw earlier. [00:48:37] Speaker A: That is so cool. That is so cool. All right, tell me about dinosaurs, Jill. [00:48:42] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Okay, so obviously there weren't dinosaurs, but in my. [00:48:47] Speaker A: There were dinosaurs. [00:48:50] Speaker B: Not with the Miami people. [00:48:52] Speaker A: No, not in Florida. [00:48:54] Speaker B: Not in Florida. [00:48:55] Speaker A: Not in Florida. [00:48:55] Speaker B: Okay. There. Okay, so just hear me out. [00:48:58] Speaker A: So they didn't live with the dinosaurs. This is not a Flintstones situation. [00:49:02] Speaker B: Please do not email me. I do not care. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that in my little Jill head, when something wants to come up as prehistoric, ancient, old, a dinosaur will appear. And. And that tells me not that it is a literal dinosaur, but it's a metaphor. It is a time period in which I should be looking for clues. [00:49:25] Speaker A: Also, I'll go. I'll take it a step further. The fact that they're an extinct people online. Right. That is a connection to dinosaurs, which are extinct. Right. So you think of something extinct. Yes. Also, we know about the Miami largely because of archaeologists the same reason that we know about dinosaurs through archaeology. So that's a second one and a third. Is they didn't live with the dinosaurs, but they were pretty damn old. [00:49:55] Speaker B: But they look good. But they look good. [00:49:59] Speaker A: This culture stretches back to the first century A.D. so when Jesus was walking [00:50:07] Speaker B: around, then we're in his Birkenstocks and his robes. [00:50:12] Speaker A: I don't think he wore Birkin preaching. [00:50:13] Speaker B: I. I think he was. [00:50:14] Speaker A: He definitely was preaching. So old settlements. The fact that I was picking up on old settlements seems. It. It seems obvious in hindsight. But what's interesting is that there were [00:50:28] Speaker B: many settlements in that whole Bell Glade area. [00:50:32] Speaker A: Many settlements all around that. That lake. Yep. Jill, what about phantoms? When you were thinking about phantoms or something vanishing. [00:50:43] Speaker B: The people was. Were thought to have vanished. [00:50:46] Speaker A: Yeah. Yep. [00:50:48] Speaker B: That's. [00:50:48] Speaker A: That's just that I cannot believe that I picked up on tribe. On tribe Violence. [00:50:53] Speaker B: Seriously? [00:50:54] Speaker A: That is seriously insane. Seriously insane. [00:50:57] Speaker B: That's a good hit. [00:50:58] Speaker A: Insane. [00:51:00] Speaker B: That is a really good hit. You're really impressing me lately. You're turning up your psychic game. [00:51:04] Speaker A: Well, thank you. [00:51:06] Speaker B: You're welcome. Okay. And you and I discussing slavery. We don't think slavery was in that area. [00:51:12] Speaker A: No. We're like. [00:51:14] Speaker B: We are idiots system. It's like we're talking about the. The way it developed over time. It's just crazy. The conversation that we were having driving through this area. [00:51:25] Speaker A: Right. That had no. Which had no large plantations. Which. What is what. You know, in my mind when I say slavery, that's what I think of. [00:51:36] Speaker B: Yes. [00:51:36] Speaker A: Not. Not Native American captives. Oh, my gosh. This is so crazy. Honestly, I thought this was a wasted day driving around the Everglades. And I am one of many stories [00:51:50] Speaker B: from that day that I can't wait to share with our people. [00:51:53] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:51:53] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:51:54] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Okay. Do you want me to read the review? [00:51:57] Speaker B: Can you please read the review? We got a new review. [00:52:00] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much. We have the best listeners. Thank you so much. This really makes our day. Okay, this One is from Esperanza620. It's a little long, but it's so good. [00:52:15] Speaker B: Love it. [00:52:16] Speaker A: Make them longer every week, season and now year. I am always waiting for the next Common Mystics podcast. I love their Midwestern, honest and hilarious approach to connecting to the other side. I've learned so much about everyday people, heroes, histories and mystics. Their colliding energies as sisters, psychics, while making space for their individualities and gifts is not only my weekly cup of Psychic laughs But my reminder to stay connected regardless of the time, place or mood. You never know what's chiming in your head. Or tingling. Hold on, I have to find it. Or tingling or tingling in your toes. History is happening in the common energy all the time. [00:53:05] Speaker B: Yes. [00:53:06] Speaker A: She's saying it better than we could. That's amazing. Yes. Yes. [00:53:09] Speaker B: Thank you so much. [00:53:10] Speaker A: You don't over yet. Oh, thank you, Jennifer Angel. I hope you return to the streets of Chai Chicago and see what comes up. I am often commuting to the city while listening or, or at least you know, there's a hot home cooked meal waiting for you if you ever visit. Thank you for sharing your amazing content. [00:53:28] Speaker B: Oh my God, stop it right now. Love. [00:53:31] Speaker A: I love you so much. Thank you so much. [00:53:35] Speaker B: We on detours are going to talk how we just were in Chicago and we just, just had a. We went on a ghost walk in Chicago and you and I last weekend participated as patrons. And so that's something I want to talk about. [00:53:51] Speaker A: Okay. [00:53:52] Speaker B: All right. [00:53:52] Speaker A: That was, that was a lot of fun. Walking around downtown Chicago at night in the dark on a beautiful night with the city lit up. That was a real treat. [00:54:02] Speaker B: Okay, I just want a couple things. [00:54:04] Speaker A: Oh, yes. [00:54:05] Speaker B: Okay, so first of all, nothing makes my tail wag when I check daily to see if we have a new review and we have one. So, so please leave. [00:54:15] Speaker A: Nothing makes it wag more. [00:54:17] Speaker B: Nothing makes it wag more. Nothing. Not food. Not. Not. It's just my tail wags and then I have the zoomies and I get so excited and I can't wait to share it with you. So please, please drop us a five star review and a written review on Apple so that we can read it here. It makes us so happy. Also, I know we're ignorant. Like trust. I know that Jennifer and I are ignorant. Have you heard of the Miami people? Have you known this history? Can you drop us a line and let us know if this like brought some kind of clarity or brought you information that you otherwise wouldn't have had? Because I know it did me because [00:54:59] Speaker A: I did not know this. Nothing. I knew nothing about this. Okay, wonderful. [00:55:05] Speaker B: Well, please, I also want to remind you that Christmas is coming up and nothing could be better than supporting your misties and signing up for Patreon at any tier. But I'll tell you, at tier four we have the most fun. We have the most fun at tier 4, but you can join other tiers and just get detours. But why, why not connect with us every month? Why not? [00:55:29] Speaker A: We have a great group. [00:55:30] Speaker B: We have a great group. [00:55:31] Speaker A: Great group. A great group of people. [00:55:34] Speaker B: You can also pay for someone else's Patreon membership for a year or so. So if you want to be like a hero for Christmas and think outside the box, thank us. Thank your Misty friends and help us continue the mission to give voice to the voiceless. [00:55:48] Speaker A: Oh, I love that. And I am always looking for monthly topics that we can do cooperatively and just learn together. So it's a great place to come and learn and be a part of a wonderful community. [00:56:02] Speaker B: Yes. And thank you guys for reaching out for readings. Love that. Keep them coming. And don't forget my sister Jennifer. My lovely Jennifer does mentorships one on one. Yes, she does. So please, thank you so much for all your support. We love you. Enjoy autumn. Enjoy the upcoming seasons. We love you so much. We'll see you in two weeks, unless you're on detours with us. [00:56:24] Speaker A: Love you. [00:56:25] Speaker B: Bye Bye. This has been a a common Mystics Media Production Editing done by Yokai Audio, Kalamazoo, Michigan.