Sessions: Native American Heritage Month

On Wednesday and Thursday, November 15 and 16, 2023, the National Park Service at the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument invites the public to free educational events commemorating Native American Heritage Month.

The educational sessions will be held at Flagler College's Virginia Room at the Ringhaver Student Center, 50 Sevilla Street. After the last session on Thursday at 3:45 p.m., at the Castillo de San Marcos, participants will hold a ceremony called "Honoring Historic Footprints."

Educational Sessions

Called Fort Marion during the 1800s, the fort now known as the Castillo de San Marcos served as a military prison and incarcerated Native American leaders and warriors thousands of miles from their homes. Those imprisoned included the Seminole in 1837, warriors of the five Plains tribes from 1875 through 1878, and the Apache from 1886 through 1887. 

University of Central Florida researchers worked under the leadership of Amy Larner Giroux, associate director of UCF's Center for Humanities and Digital Research, to learn more about the men who were pulled from their families, forced to train as soldiers, and died here. UCF worked in collaboration with the National Park Service, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, the Kiowa Tribe, the Comanche Nation, and the Cado Nation, and have identified ten warriors whose bodies may have been buried at the Castillo in two graves, each marked as "Six Unknown Indians."

Members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Kiowa Tribe, the Comanche Nations, and the Caddo Nation will attend and present at the sessions. Individuals and scholars from the Florida National Guard, Flagler College, and the University of Central Florida will also participate.

Admission: Free

When: Wednesday, November 15, and Thursday, November 16. See sessions and times below.

Where: Virginia Room at Ringhaver Student Center, 50 Sevilla Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084