Page 16
Project Honors States Indian Cultural Heritage
Movin' On
This is the first of four planned figural groups depicting native peoples of Florida
By Florida artists, Bradley Cooley and Bradley Cooley, Jr
Unveiling
These life-size bronze figures, entitled Movin On, represent a Miccosukee family of the 1930's. and were unveiled at The Florida Museum of History on March 15, 2005 As for the selection of the Cooleys for the work, Cypress said there was never any question of commissioning any other artists. He said the Cooleys enjoyed the tribes trust, based on earlier sculptures of Native Americans, their understanding and respect of tribal ways, and their attention to detail.
# 1 
#2 
# 3
# 4
# 5
(Double click to enlarge each picture)
#1 Secretary of State Glenda E. Hood, Billy Cypress, Chairman Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, Florida Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead, Artists Bradley Cooley and Bradley Cooley Jr. and many dignitaries from the Miccosukee & Seminole Tribes of Florida celebrate the dedication of Movin’ On, the first sculptural group to be installed in the Indian Heritage Tableau at the corner of the R. A. Gray Building, showing a Miccosukee family of the 1930’s walking briskly along a path: a man , a woman carrying a small boy and a young girl. The father is shown carrying some belongings in a sack and wearing a typical patchwork shirt, in which one of the designs symbolizes The Four Directions. The mother is in a long skirt wearing multiple beads around her neck that were handed down for generations. She wears a hairstyle exclusive to Florida Native American women that shades her face like a bonnet. The symbols on her clothing represent a man on a horse and crawfish. The little boy wears a big shirt with symbols representing to agree and disagree and his turban shows the symbol of Lightening. The young girl carries a doll with a body of palmetto and small pieces of fabric and hair of yarn or thread. The symbols on her dress are Broken Arrow and Bird. The artists created each figure by first layering clay over a foundation armature of metal. More and more clay was applied and skillfully modeled, for a year to become a life-like recreation of the artists’ vision of the various members of a traveling Miccosukee family. When the clay figures were complete to the last detail of hair, skin and clothing, they were prepared for casting by master mold-maker Carla Knight of Denver. The molds of the figures were shipped to the foundry, Bronze Services , in Loveland, Colorado, where wax was poured into the rubber molds to get a positive image that a ceramic mold is made over. The ceramic molds are fired to remove the wax and molten bronze is poured in at approx. 2000 degrees F. After cleaning, welding the pieces together, and grinding the welds, the patina(or color) is applied. The finished sculpture is approx. 3/16 inches thick. __________________________________________________
# 6 
# 7 
# 8
(Double click each picture to enlarge)
#6 The unveiling ceremony was attended by about 200 people in Florida's Capitol City.#7 Secretary of State Glenda Hood describes her one on one time at Bronze By Cooley studio in Lamont.# 8 They're 300 percent accurate" Cypress said of the figures in Movin' On. The Cooleys do the research.
The ceremony took place at the R. A. Gray Building at 500 South Bronough Street, downtown Tallahassee. It is the first of four installations planned for this site, all symbolizing the importance of the history and culture of the Indian peoples of Florida. “Florida Heritage Month provides us with the opportunity to honor our past,” said Secretary Hood. “And so it is only fitting that we officially open our celebration with an important symbol of our past.” Governor Jeb Bush signed a proclamation naming this day, March 15, as Florida Indian Heritage Day.
Next year a sculptural group will be unveiled as the second part of the series. The sculptures will be placed on the northeast side of the R. A. Gray Building along Pensacola Street.
