Tribe looks to relocate to Thomas County
Jul. 21—THOMASVILLE- Thomas County Administrator Michael Stephenson received a unique email last week. The email, sent from the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana, informed Stephenson that the tribe is looking to relocate to Thomas County, in hopes of being closer to their ancestral land.
According to the email, The Apalachee lived in the Thomas County area for thousands of years and would like to move their tribal headquarters and archives back to the area.
The tribe is currently featured in the museum at Mission San Luis in Tallahassee, Florida and have been honored guests there on several occasions.
"We have great respect for Ken Detzner (former Secretary of State) and Rick Scott (current Senator) who have always been kind and generous to our people," the letter said. "In 2004, we were issued a proclamation of existence and recognition by the Board of County Commissioners in Leon County, Florida."
This makes the Apalachee the only indigenous tribe from Florida in existence today.
For 300 years, the Talimali Band of Apalachee Indians have been refugees.
"We fled Florida to French Mobile in 1704, after our people were killed and thousands enslaved by the English," the tribe explained to Stephenson in the letter. "In 1763, at the end of the Seven Year War, the French government moved less than 100 Apalachee, at our request, to central Louisiana on the Red River."
However, Former Chief Gilmer Bennett always expressed his desire for the tribe to return to the ancestral land near Tallahassee.
"There are few opportunities for our young citizens in the state of Louisiana," the letter said. "The tribe would like to fulfill Chief Gilmer Bennett's desire and relocate the tribe. We will move all our archives and artifacts to Georgia."
The citizens of the tribe told Stephenson that their hope is to establish a small presence, allowing for their assistance in helping other tribal members move.
"We believe that our presence in Thomas County will be positive," the letter said. "With your support, our tribe will continue to pursue federal reinstatement which can have a positive impact on Thomas County."
The letter explained the tribe has not been federally reinstated due to political reasons in Louisiana.
"In 2016, former Secretary of State Ken Detzner sent experts to Louisiana to view our archives and determine why we were not federally reinstated," the letter said. "We appreciate the tens of thousands of dollars spent and the time of two weeks, but the outcome was that we had not been reinstated due to political reasons in Louisiana."
The letter went on to say that the tribe has faced obstruction from other tribes, along with state officials due to gaming. However, the tribe appreciates that there is no gaming in Georgia and sees it as one of the many positives to relocating to Thomas County.
The letter said the tribe would be visiting Thomas County on a land scouting trip July 24-25, where they hoped to meet Stephenson and discuss their plans in further detail.
In a call to the tribe, Councilman TJ Bennett said the members will be arriving on Sunday evening, with scouting taking place the following Monday and Tuesday.
He and other council members are specifically looking for land located near the Ochlocknee River that is for sale by owner.
In order for the land to be considered ancestral, it must be close to where the tribe originated from. According to Bennett, the Ochlockneee River has historical significance, which is why they will be focusing on scouting land near there first.
Bennett is hopeful Thomas County will be receptive to them and looks forward to a great partnership to come.
