SW077 To Understand the Seminole People, Take a Jaunt Along the Seminole Trail throughout Florida

<p></p> <p> </p> <p>This podcast has featured many episodes on the Fort King Road. This week we explore the Seminole Trail.</p> <p>The trail is a patchwork of sites and scenes throughout Florida that are related to the Seminole Indians. In Traveling Florida’s Seminole Trail: A Complete Guide to Seminole Indian Historic and Cultural Sites, Doug Alderson hits the road to discover and assess the Seminole footprint in Florida.</p> <p>Doug takes readers to the Old Negro Fort site in the Panhandle, the Alachua Savannah near Gainesville, the Dade Battlefield in Bushnell, the Smallwood store in the Ten Thousand Islands, Indian Key in the Florida Keys, the destroyed sugar plantations near St. Augustine and everywhere between the Seminoles kept a presence.</p> <p>An author of 15 published books, Doug Alderson writes about the historic and dynamic nature of his home state of Florida. His books include this one, for which he recently published an updated, 2nd edition. Of note to listeners, he penned A New Guide to Old Florida Attractions, which the Florida Writers Association placed in the top five of published books for 2017. He has won four first place Royal Palm Literary awards for travel books and several other state and national writing and photography awards. Additionally, his articles and photographs have been featured in numerous magazines including Native Peoples, Wildlife Conservation, American Forests, Sea Kayaker, Sierra, and Mother Earth News. </p> <p></p> <p>Above, Seminole Living History Interpreters clear their weapons in a salute at the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Okeechobee. Below, a Seminole interpreter charges during the annual Dade Battle re-enactment. </p> <p></p> <p>Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of t