Writing the First Indigenous History of Northeast Florida, 13,000 years ago to the Present

FAIN: RZ-292794-23

University of North Florida (Jacksonville, FL 32224-7699)
Denise I. Bossy (Project Director: November 2022 to present)

Preparation of a co-authored book on the Indigenous history of northeast Florida. (36 months) 

We are applying for Manuscript Preparation with a completion date of December 2026. We propose to develop the first comprehensive Indigenous history of Northeast Florida. Our book challenges pervasive colonial triumphalist narratives that erase Indigenous peoples to focus solely on colonial “firsts”: the “first” Protestant colony (La Caroline, 1564-65) and the “first” and “oldest city” (St. Agustín, 1565) in the present-day United States. Centering the Timucua-speaking Mocamas, Yamasees, and Guales, we intend a cohesive Indigenous history that does not begin or end with colonization. We will demonstrate how Indigenous people shaped and survived colonialism, undermining prevailing myths of Indigenous “extinction.” Our study will transform not only regional but also national understandings of Indigenous history, European colonization, and Indigenous survivance—advancing the effort to craft inclusive narratives that reshape the understanding of scholarly and public audiences alike.