On July 27, 2025 an accidental fire broke out on the Miccosukee Reservation which burned down a family home, couple of other structures and a tribal building that held a community center for cultural crafts and relics.

I was returning home from a dinner when I noticed a small fire at the family home. I notified the Miccosukee police and ran towards the home to warn the family. As I was banging on the door to the home, a propane tank exploded which caused the house to be engulfed in flames. After retreating to a safe distance I stood and watched as the flames jumped to the tribal building. The building that I spent so much time and work in was destroyed by the flames. One half of the building was used for a tribal business and storage for historical items. The other side held a Community Center which I helped establish with the help of my late grandpa, who was the assistant chairman at the time. He helped me secure the location to create a space for the community to come and learn our traditional crafts; sewing, beading, doll making and basket weaving. My parents and I had bought twelve industrial Singer sewing machines as a starter for the community center. Everything else inside the space was donated by the Miccosukee/Seminole community. The Miccosukee Creativity Center (MCC for short) was established to help my community reconnect with our culture by providing a place to learn and share our crafts. MCC was open for 7 years before the fire destroyed the building. Right now I’m working with our councilmen for a temporary location for MCC. I’m kindly asking for donations to help rebuild MCC. Shonabesh (Thank you) for reading this and helping our community.