The Talimali Band of Apalachee
by Dayna Bowker Lee
Epilogue
From their initial encounters with Spanish explorers, the Apalachee were forced to adapt to changing circumstances in order to survive. Throughout their collective history, they resisted genocide by resistence and relocation. They traveled far and sought refuge in remote areas; they abandoned tribal territories and kept their ethnicity to themselves. Still, the Apalachee never lost sight of who they were. They quietly maintained families and communities, adapted rather than disappear, and maintained community leadership from generation to generation. Today the great-grandson of Jacquite Vallery, who led the tribe into the Kisatchie Hills, serves as traditional leader for the Talimali Band of Apalachee Indians. The tribal office that serves approximately 300 members is located in Libuse, Louisiana.
In the 21st century, Apalachee people are free to self-identify with no fear of reprisal. Chief Gilmer Bennett and his family are honored guests at activities held at the reconstructed Mission St. Luis in Tallahassee, Florida. Returning often to their ancestral village informs interpretive efforts at the mission park and brings the Apalachee diaspora full circle. The tribal administration continues to work toward federal recognition, an arduous and sometimes frustrating process in which the Apalachee are forced to prove their identity to a government that repeatedly disenfranchised them. Nevertheless, Apalachee people remember their collective past while planning for the future, secure in the knowledge of who they are and from whence they came.
Tribal Chief Gilmer Bennett speaking at Mission St. Luis Historic Site, Tallahassee, Florida, 2005. Photograph courtesy of the Bennett family.
Tribal Chief Gilmer Bennett and his son Art holding the Apalachee Nation flag given to them by Bonnie McEwen, Mission St. Luis Historic Site, Tallahassee, Florida, 2005. Photograph courtesy of the Bennett family.
Chief Gilmer Bennett and his family today. Photograph courtesy of the Bennett family.
The Apalachee before 1763 | The Apalachee Village, Rapides Parish | The Kisatchie Hills | Epilogue | Appendices