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In the days before statehood, the law of the Seminole Nation was enforced by a rugged, determined and much-feared group of men known as Lighthorsemen. Numbering approximately ten able men, the force usually consisted of a Captain, a Lieutenant and eight Privates. Each served for a term of four years. The duties of the Lighthorse ranged from escorting shipments of Tribal monies to exacting the swift and terrible punishments of the Nation - execution at the foot of a narrow oak tree or a multitude of lashes under the arm of the famous “Seminole Whipping Tree.” It was a dangerous job, as four Lighthorsemen were known to have been killed before statehood.

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CHIEF ALICE PORTRAIT DEDICATED

06/09/2018
A long-overdue honor for the historic Seminole chief. Read More

Seminole Freedman

03/17/2017
Though not widely known, the story of the Black Seminoles is deeply rooted in the fabric of American history. Fleeing plantations in the American South, slaves first began making their way to Spanish Florida in the late 1600s, when Spain offered freedom to fugitives who agreed to defend the Spanish crown. Just north of St. Augustine, black refugees from British America founded the settlement of Mose, the first legally sanctioned free black town in North America. Read More

Legend of the Snake Clan

04/28/2016
Painted by Seminole/Creek Master Artist Enoch Kelly Haney early in his career, “Legend of the Snake Clan” tells the story of two men hunting for food in the Everglades. Groundbreaking at the time for its visual depiction of sacred Seminole legends, the artwork is now one of the most important and popular paintings in the Seminole Nation Museum’s permanent collection. Read More

Long Swamp Arrives!

Long Swamp, Life in the Etowah River Valley

In residence at The Seminole Nation Museum from now until the end of the year. Come Visit!

The Seminole Nation Museum is honored to be hosting this interpretive project which brings archeological collections from the University of West Georgia Archeological Laboratory and makes them accessible to the Native communities which once resided at the Long Swamp site in the Southeast. 
 
This exhibit focuses on the Mississippian communities that were ancestral to the Seminole, Muscogee(Creek) and Five Tribes cultures. Over 80 artifacts from the site and reproduced cultural items are showcased. Collections from the Seminole Nation Museum and contemporary Southeastern artists relating to the exhibit are also on display. An interactive digital component allows visitors to view videos, explore 3D digital artifacts, and contribute their own voice and stories to the exhibit. 
To view a 3 minute video describing the exhibit, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PXl8qWx8VA 
To learn more about the exhibition, please visit here.
To join us for our upcoming opening reception, please visit here. 

 

Alumni Art Show

Annual Exhibition Features Work of WHS Class of '47 Graduate

The Seminole Nation Museum is pleased to announce its annual Wewoka High School Alumni Art Show. The 2018 exhibition will feature the work of local artist Wanda Lee (Cook) Hensley, a graduate of the class of 1947.

The show features twenty-five of Wanda’s paintings, including twenty-three oils and two watercolors. The paintings were selected by the artist from her extensive body of work.

The colorful selection of pieces includes portraits, landscapes, and some of the artist's favorite still-lifes.

More information about the artist and the alumni show, which will run through the end of June, may be found here.

If you would like to attend the upcoming reception which is to be held during Wewoka's alumni reunion weekend, that information may be found here.

We hope to see you at the museum for this exhibition of Wewoka community's great talent!

Admission is free! 


tour options

Tour options for Long Swamp exhibition

SELF-GUIDED:  This National Touring Exhibit includes a self-guided tour option using your smart phone's ability to scan codes on the exhibits.  To take advantage of this option, just download a free QR Scanner app from your phone's app store.  

GUIDED TOURS:  The Seminole Nation Museum offers guided tours to groups by appointment only.  School groups wishing to tour should reserve your spot as early as possible as the Long Swamp exhibit leaves the museum at the end of 2018.  

FOR CHILDREN:  Families touring the Long Swamp Exhibit will be able to share the fun with their school age children with a printed, multiple choice and short answer "Scavenger Hunt" beginning in mid-June.  Simply request a copy of the Long Swamp Hunt from Museum Staff at no charge.  It is designed to help children learn about the cultural elements of the exhibit while having fun at the same time.

Please call or e-mail with questions and/or to reserve a tour date and time:

405.257.5580 or [email protected]

Red earth

Museum teaches crafts at annual native festival

The Seminole Nation Museum extends our gratitude to our friends at Red Earth for inviting us to once again participate in the annual June event. 

Museum staff was honored to teach Native-themed crafts to the public on Sunday, June 10. From 1 to 5 p.m, over 100 adults and children experienced hands-on learning through the museum's "make-and-take" booth. Crafts included the making of willow dreamcatchers, miniature ball sticks, and for the youngest learners - coloring sheets depicting the unique patchwork designs so identified with the Seminole.

Thanks and recognition to staff members Betsy Bender and Pat Evans for organizing the crafts and to volunteers Angela Luce, Talor Bender, and Lenora and Bennie Tiger for sharing their time and talents.

 


Welcome to the Seminole Nation Museum

The Seminole Nation Museum documents and interprets the history and culture of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the people and events that make its capital, Wewoka, one of the most historically significant and culturally diverse communities in Oklahoma. Through the use of select artifacts, historic photographs and interpretive exhibits, the events and stories that shaped the home of the Seminoles for more than a century are chronicled in a captivating, educational and enlightening experience.