Readers of Calusa News may be surprised to learn that the remarkable Calusa, who controlled the entire southern half of the Florida peninsula at the time of European contact, are practically unknown to today's Floridians. Recent studies conducted at the FLMNH in Gainesville indicated that not a single visitor was aware of the Calusa, and most knew almost nothing about Florida's coastal environment.
If Florida's children are to become responsible voters and decision makers, they need to know more about the environment in which they live. Similarly, the many new residents of Florida must be taught to appreciate Florida's environments if they are to make wise decisions for environmental conservation and sustainable development.
We must make this information available in interesting ways, so that people can easily understand it. Chuck Blanchard's book, New Words, Old Songs, and our video program, The Domain of the Calusa, are steps in this direction. We want to concentrate our efforts at two different levels: regionally in southwest Florida through the Randell Research Center at Pineland and statewide through the FLMNH's exhibit program.
Pineland is an ideal location for environmental and historical education. It is accessible to automobiles and school buses, as was demonstrated during the Year of the Indian project, when thousands visited the excavations and hundreds of volunteers participated in the work. The site and its surroundings contain priceless scientific data that can be interpreted in environmental education programs. In this way, the public can learn about present-day aquatic and terrestrial habitats in the context of discovering a dynamic past identified with remarkable native south Florida Indians: the Calusa.
The other level at which we want to teach people about south Florida heritage and environments is through exhibits, both permanent and traveling. I and my staff have already assisted several southwest Florida museums with exhibits on the Calusa, including Museum of the Islands, Useppa Island Historical Museum, Fort Myers Historical Museum, Calusa Nature Center, Children's Science Center, and the Collier County Museum. Now we are in the process of planning our own traveling exhibit on Gulf coastal fishing, as well as a permanent exhibit on the Calusa Indians and their environment.
A conservative estimate of the number of people expected to visit the FLMNH's new Education/Exhibition center, scheduled to open in 1997, is 350,000 per year. This is why we are so determined to place a state-of-the-art permanent exhibit on south Florida Indians and their environment in the new complex. It will be visited not just by residents and schoolchildren of Florida, but by tourists from throughout the U.S. and many foreign countries. They all need to know more about south Florida's heritage and its environment.
We are counting on your continuing support to see these important projects completed. Your financial contributions and volunteer time make all the difference. Please take time to renew your commitment to this important work right now. And let me have your thoughts and suggestions by mail, e-mail, or phone. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Bill Marquardt, Project Director
P. O. Box 117800
Gainesville, Florida
32611
BILMARQ@FLMNH.UFL.EDU
352-392-7188