WEEk oF JANUARY 29, 2025
VoLUME 63, NUMBER 11
get Refuge, DDWS to present next lecture in series Families notice of As a descendant of the Spanish Seminoles who once populated Sanibel Island and an eighth-generation Sanibel native, David Rahahęętih Webb will speak about his book, “The Spanish Seminole: The Untold History of the Spanish Indians as Told by a Descendant,” on Jan. 30 at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel. The free lectures will be held at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Visitor & Education Center auditorium. In the 1700s, as Florida’s Indigenous tribes were displaced, the forebears of the Miccosukee and Seminole descended along the southwestern Gulf coast. They soon began working with Hispanic-Latino and Indigenous fishermen from various Spanish colonies, who worked seasonal operations along the barrier islands, including Sanibel. Eventually, the seasonal operations became prolific year-round fisheries and communities, incorporating the fishing practices handed down from the 6,000-year-old Calusa culture. Their productive estuarine fisheries were called ranchos. Author and artist Webb adds to our understanding of the ranchos from the perspective of a descendant. His family included the first documented births on Sanibel and in southern Florida. Webb’s Sanibel pedigree dates to pioneer families and his involvement with the refuge goes back four generations to his great-grandfather, Jake Stokes, the refuge’s first employee. Webb lived part-time with his grandmother, Edythe Stokes, who worked at the refuge for 33 years before retiring and is honored by the naming of the administrative building. Webb’s mother worked at the refuge and for the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS), and Webb then worked at the refuge from 1996-97 with Americorps, helping with wildlife monitoring and giving talks on various topics. “The Spanish Seminole,” which is available for purchase in the Refuge Nature Store, presents a detailed account of the Spanish Indians of Sanibel and beyond — their history, culture, and legacy — using newly uncovered documents, primary sources and oral histories. A book signing will follow the lecture. The DDWS co-hosts the annual “Ding” Darling Winter Lecture Series with the refuge and through financial support from Friends of the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society.
proposed school time changes By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
REFUGE/DDWS
David Rahahę·tih Webb will discuss the Indigenous culture of Sanibel Island and Southwest Florida. The remaining lecture schedule is as follows: ∫ Feb. 6: “Python Huntress” Amy Siewe, “Burmese Pythons in the Everglades”* ∫ Feb. 20: Author Charles Sobczak, “The Great Florida Invasion — From Pepper to Pythons”* ∫ Feb. 27: Author/photographer Budd Titlow, “Bird Brains: Inside the Minds of our Feathered Friends”* ∫ March 13: Actor Joe Wiegand, “President Teddy Roosevelt Reprised” *Book signing will follow lecture Seating is limited on a first-come basis. Early arrivals can check in after 9 a.m. and after noon and obtain an entrance wristband so they can explore the Visitor & Education Center, Wildlife Drive and trails beforehand. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before the lecture or risk being reassigned. For more information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/lectureseries. The refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.
With the ultimate goal of getting students to school safe and on time, parents received their first formal notification last week from the School District of Lee County of a change in school times for next year. Some elementary schools will likely be starting earlier, middle schools will be starting at 9:45 a.m. and high schools will be starting at 7 a.m. as the district proposes to implement its Safe Start Initiative for the 2025-26 school year. The initiative, pending approval by the school board, focuses on improving bus routes, addressing driver shortages and improving timely arrivals for students, district officials said. As proposed, the revised start and end times are: See TIME CHANGES, page 20
IslanderInsIde
Trump orders name change to the ‘Gulf of America’ By NATHAN MAYBERG
nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com
On his first day in office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The order was among dozens issued by the 47th president and one which will hit close to home for Lee County’s Gulf-front communities and islands. The name change will not take effect immediately; the executive order sets out a process for appointing a board which could lead to the change being made as
quickly as 30 days. Gov. Ron DeSantis, though, wasted no time. That evening, he issued an executive order of his own related to a winter weather warning for the Panhandle and northern Florida, referring to the “Gulf of America” and so garnering national coverage in advance of the cold front. Messages left with DeSantis’ communications office were not immediately returned. He was not the only Florida official to embrace the called-for change. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott took to X on Jan.
21 to proclaim, “New map just dropped, and the GULF OF AMERICA has never looked better off of Florida’s shores,” with a map showing “GULF OF AMERICA” in bold letters with Scott’s name underneath. In response to questions about the timeline for changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico and review board process, as well as the potential costs to schools to change textbooks and maps, and for federal agencies to adopt changes for official documents, Scott’s staff referred queries See GULF, page 20
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