C Maxx Stevens (Oklahoma Seminole) – I Am Seminole Acrylic, paper and Mixed Media 2025 (pictured above)
The Seminole Nation Museum is proud to announce the opening of Seminole Continuum: The Art of Oklahoma and Florida Seminoles, an extraordinary exhibition celebrating the creative voices, cultural endurance, and shared heritage of Seminole artists from Oklahoma and Florida. The exhibition is a sweeping showcase of more than 30 new works by Seminole artists from both states—offers a rare opportunity to see the wide creative range of a people whose history stretches from the Florida Everglades to the prairies of Oklahoma.
The exhibition opens December 1 and will run through February 28, 2026, but excitement is building for the Opening Reception and Gallery Talk on Sunday, December 7, where several artists will speak directly to visitors about their work, influences, and the stories behind their pieces.
Curator Tony A. Tiger, a respected artist and educator with Seminole, Muscogee, and Sac & Fox heritage, believes the exhibition arrives at exactly the right moment. “The art of the Seminole people holds fast to the identity of those who came before,” Tiger says. “Culture, history, place, and the unbroken continuum of Seminole experience fuel the work in this exhibition.”
Tony A. Tiger (Oklahoma Seminole/Muscogee/Sac & Fox) – Community Arbor: Time and Place Young pecan trees, ink, printed mulberry paper, copper wire, artificial sinew, LED light, wax 2025 (left)
Marcus Frejo (Oklahoma Seminole) – beaded portrait of Emathla (King Philip) made of leather, cotton, and size 13 and 15 cut seed beads 2024 (right)
Two Paths, One People
The idea of a “continuum” is more than artistic—it reflects a shared cultural story separated by geography and shaped by history. One part of that story follows the ancestors of today’s Oklahoma Seminoles. Forced from their homelands during the 19th century, they carried their language, traditions, and artistic practices with them into Indian Territory. The other part belongs to the Florida Seminoles, who evaded U.S. forces by taking refuge deep within the Everglades. Their survival required extraordinary resilience, and their cultural practices—bright patchwork textiles, beadwork, and woodcarving—continued largely uninterrupted for generations.
By presenting Oklahoma and Florida works side by side, Seminole Continuum highlights both the branching and the reconnecting of these stories. The result is an exhibition that feels historical and contemporary all at once.
Brian Zapeda (Florida Seminole) – Alligator Sash Cloth, yarn and size 10 and 11 seed beads 2023 (above)
A Vibrant Range of Voices
The featured artists represent a wide spectrum of Seminole creativity. From Oklahoma come bead workers, textile artists, painters, printmakers, and sculptors—including Cody Harjo, Kenneth Johnson, Randi Narcomey Watson, Dana Tiger, Jaylee Lowe, and C Maxx Stevens. Florida artists include celebrated textile and wood artists such as Karrie Osceola, Brian Zepeda, Jessica Osceola, and Pedro Zepeda.
Some pieces honor traditional techniques, such as patchwork garments, woven pieces, or beadwork grounded in time-honored designs passed through families. Others embrace modern approaches—conceptual installations, contemporary sculpture, photography, and bold figurative painting.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this show,” Tiger explains, “is that many of the works were created specifically for this exhibition. They bring forward the living heartbeat of Seminole art as it exists today.”
A Museum Looking to the Next Fifty Years
The exhibition also intersects with a milestone for the Seminole Nation Museum itself: its 50th anniversary. Since opening in 1974, the museum has evolved into a cultural anchor for the region, welcoming thousands of visitors each year. With free admission and a focus on cultural education, the museum has grown far beyond a local institution; it now draws guests from across the country and internationally.
The anniversary year, museum representatives say, is not just a celebration of the past but a rededication to the future. Seminole Continuum reflects that aim. “This exhibition,” Tiger says, “is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the next fifty years of the Seminole Nation Museum and its contribution to the Seminole cosmos.”