Miccosukee Indian Village and Cultural Center

I attended the 2015 Indian Arts Festival. The grounds are impeccable and there are both outdoor exhibition space and an indoor pavilion. The Miccosukee hosted other Nations’ tribal dancers over the festival week. Every hour a new performance was offered, and it was stunning.
A Grammy nominated singer provided his voice and drumming for the Apache Hummingbird dancers. Attendees were invited to form a circle and receive blessings. The dancers ministered especially to the afflicted (i.e., elderly, and those in wheelchairs) and gave hands-​on blessings to a visiting Navajo family with a newborn.
The alligator «show» was a young man who explained gators’ natural behaviors, and demonstrated how handling them was possible through this knowledge. Very Un-​Marine World and Un-​Disney, so I loved it.
Fry bread bakers worked over an open fire. Grass weavers sold and created baskets. Patchwork clothes with iconic Seminole symbols repeated in bands were sold from retail racks.
Flyers were available for anyone wishing to hire a bonafide chickee builder, Sandy Osceola, 305÷221−8435. Many years ago, and as a needed economic incentive at that time, Florida enacted a law that banned anyone but Seminole craftsmen from building chickees in the State.
There is a boardwalk that overlooks the River of Grass. And a museum featuring vignettes of Everglades wildlife. Note: A much more ethnocentric, cultural museum is Ah-​Tha-​Tiki, about 40 miles to the northwest on the Reservation.

I went with my husband and two girls. It must have been during slow season (just 2 days before the 4^th of July) on a Thursday in the middle of the afternoon. It was pretty dead. The ONLY highlight of the price we paid of $ 36.00 was the «alligator wrestling» show. Which was not what it advertised. The man walked around poked at the gators and did a couple of tricks. The tour was dead. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. We paid $ 36.00 just to watch a couple of alligators mingle with the man. Oh, we got to hold a baby alligator, but for $ 36.00? NOT! Oh! You are lucky to see any pigs as they advertised on their map guide. I asked the man where are the pigs and he said you may see them in the bushes. Wow!

This place definitely needs to get famous! I’ll start with the negative aspect — it’s a bit too much of a tourist feel than the actual real deal. Positive aspects — the staff is great, very informative, kind, extremely funny! (Humor is so important and so lacking in Miami area), there’s HUGE alligators presented there and a very interesting alligator show, you can also hold baby alligators in your arms! There’s a nice compact museum with photos and information about the tribe, there’s stands with handcrafted tools made and used by the Miccosukee, also a stand for beadwork (mustn’t forget that), all in all highly recommended and a fun and important place to see for both children an adults.

I must caveat this review because I am reviewing my airboat ride only, which I did not take via the Miccosukee Indian Resort. I’m not even exactly sure I am reviewing the correct Miccosukee location because I went off the beaten path a little bit, past the actual Indian Village and Cultural Center further west. My sole purpose was to take an airboat ride through the Everglades to take it off my bucket list. I followed a sign that said «Miccosukee airboat rides» (which was well past the Miccosukee Bingo and Gamine Casino I drove past on SW 8^th Street).
I stumbled upon this very quaint little place with a very small restaurant and very small gift shop that said «Miccosukee airboat rides» (also, cash only). There were only a few cars in the small parking lot. It did not have a tourist-​y feel… It felt very authentic and personal. No more than 6 – 8 people could get on their airboat (versus the 20+ person boats you could see when passing some of the other locations). We were able to fit 9 people on the boat because my kids are small (two families total… one family in front, one family in back). It was a very exciting, fast ride through the Everglades. It made a stop at an Island that was once inhabited by a real Miccosukee family (at least that’s what we were told). There was no one on the island but those of us that came in on that airboat. Again, I really liked this personal and authentic feel like I was really alone in the middle of the Everglades. We saw 4 gators, including one that snapped and hissed at us as we passed over a walkway (we learned she was protecting her babies). Our tourguide was very nice and knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. My children got to hold baby gators and learn about them and the different kinds of turtles that can be found out there.
Again, not sure if my review should count toward the Indian Village and Cultural Center rating because of the other poor reviews… and I was definitely not anywhere where gator wrestling could be experienced… but thought this review might help if you’re looking for a less tourist-​y, more authentic feel in the Miccosukee Tribe area.

I’m used to quality tribal cultural centers in Oregon and Washington. This was not. Everything was overpriced, even for handmade items. You can find many of the same items made by the same tribal hands at the gift shop at Cypress Big Bend /​Fakahatchee Boardwalk for much better prices and much friendlier folks.
We were very interested in attending the Miccosukee Indian Arts Festival I’d read so much about but left without going all the way in for several reasons:
(1) the price of over $ 15 just to walk in? NOT! (2) the schedule of events was mostly Aztec dancers (in Florida?! NOT!) (3) the very kitsch, uncraftsmanlike atmosphere. (4) the lack of any obvious intrepretive exhibits and the obvious pandering to tourists who know nothing about indigenous cultures and continuing the tradition of misinforming people that not all tribes/​bands/​clans are the same or even close! I mean, really… turquoise jewelry from the SW tribes, artwork from NW tribes, totem poles???
Need I say more?

The Miccosukee have obviously been working and doing a lot with this place in recent years, but as in years past and in spite of all that has been done, I found it rather boring, ho hum and uninteresting. The worst part about me saying that is that I was last there on their big annual festival day, so I can hardly begin to imagine what it might be like at ordinary times.
First off, it’s a good drive from other civilization, be located at Mile Marker 70 of Highway 41 Tamiami Trail, so that should be considered if you are just planning on making a day out of going to the village. You may want to include other things like Shark Valley, Ranger Station & etc. as well.
First off they have a small cultural museum which takes about 30 minutes in which to complete a decent tour. There are a few historical items, not many, some stuffed animals like a deer, a Florida Panther and so forth but little if any explanation.
There is, of course, the almost obligatory alligator wrestling or demonstration show, which some may get a kick out of but seems to do nothing for me. The few ponds with some alligators, turtles and the like swimming around or sunning themselves were to me far more interesting. However, you can see the same thing, totally in the wild at Shark Valley just down the road, so why bother looking at these creatures being penned up?
There is also an abundance of silver jewelry though I didn’t see anything native or original, some clothing with «Made in Peru» or «Made in Vietnam» labels attached, but very few of what would seem to be authentic articles.
All in all, at least to me, boring.

This was my first experience in the everglades — so for a first time i thought it was pretty good. I took an airboat ride where we saw alligators and visited the swamp village of the owner of the airboat company. Our guide seemed to know a good amount about the tribe. It’s important to note, that none of the people that work there are actually part of the tribe.
The alligator wrestling was not as interesting as you see on TV, but the guy did put his head in the alligators mouth and do a few tricks. I agree with the post about the gift shop — just a bunch of mass produced junk at high prices.
My friends and I all had a good time — so if its your first time, I’d recommend it.

TOURIST TRAP!
And we weren’t even tourists. Waste of money and gas to drive out there. To say there was NOTHING there would be an understatement. $ 8 entrance fee and all you see are several gators and turtle floating around an old lagoon. There were NO crafts tables set up and no gator wrestling. DESOLATE. The museum can be seen in 30 seconds and has the same items found in the gift shop. Oh, the gift shop… charging $ 800 for an Indian made skirt! They are nuts!

after a loong night out in south beach, we took a power nap and woke up to go see some alligator wrestling! we passed by a bunch and then decided to stop at the miccosukee indian village. we thought we had missed the last show, but we were just in luck! the place was pretty deserted, which made me wonder how they make their money?
the museum and exhibits were old and sad looking. the alligator show wasn’t too bad. the guy did some pretty neat stuff like stick his head in the alligator’s head — yikes! we got to hold baby gators… awww. overall I’d recommend this place since I feel like the tribe needs some more visitors to keep the place running.