Seminole Tribe of Florida artist Erica Deitz attended the unveiling of her mural, “Osceola’s Vision,” at Florida State University’s Student Union. The event was organized by the university’s Native American and Indigenous Studies Center.
Deitz, seeing the 24-by-16-foot acrylic painting at full scale for the first time, said, “It surpassed my expectations because I’ve been seeing other people’s photographs of it, but it just doesn’t do it justice. It’s pretty awesome to see it on such a large scale.”
The mural represents Osceola’s vision for his people to live freely and prosper under the guidance of their forefathers and medicine men. Osceola is recognized as an influential leader of the Seminole Tribe in Florida.
Deitz was joined by family members and Gordon Wareham, director of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum located on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. Her work often focuses on contemporary life within the Seminole Tribe.
“It’s a way to show that we as Indigenous people across the nation, across the United States, that we are here,” Deitz said. “There are over 500 tribes, and we are not just in textbooks or history books. We are a thriving people. We have so much to offer.”
Andrew Frank, director of FSU’s Native American and Indigenous Studies Center (NAIS), explained that displaying this mural is part of ongoing efforts to build stronger ties between FSU and The Seminole Tribe of Florida. “Students are going to be able to connect a modern Seminole Tribe member with this very modern piece,” Frank said. “It looks like it’s about the past, but it’s really about the present.”
Deitz created her proposal for FSU after applying to a competition held by its Division of Student Affairs in 2021 that sought a Seminole artist for this project. She designed a painting suitable for enlargement; Antonio Chagin photographed it in high definition TIFF format before Signs Now of Tallahassee expanded and installed it.
Reflecting on her hopes for students who view her mural, Deitz said: “We survived a lot, and we are the only tribe that never signed a peace treaty. That is why we’re called the unconquered Seminoles. We’re proud of who we are so students should, as they’re coming here to school, feel that with them and come check out the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum at the Big Cypress Reservation and learn more about us. We’re just not a mascot; we are the Seminole Tribe.”
