PLEASE ADD Comment that you are an enrolled member of Seminole or Miccosukee or independent if it applies to you. 

We, Indigenous peoples of Florida, demand that the University of Miami rectify the wrong of upholding and supporting the Iron Arrow Honor Society, a group claiming to protect, improve, and uphold the general welfare of the University. Indigenous peoples both on campus and throughout Florida are deeply wounded, alienated, offended, and angered by the practices of the Iron Arrow Society. The presence and actions of Iron Arrow affect not only life on campus but extend throughout Florida in everything the society does.

First, we demand a public apology from the University of Miami for organizing and condoning the group for the entirety of the University’s existence up until now. From its inception in 1927, the group demonstrated exclusionary and anti-Indigenous practices that have yet to be reconciled, most notably with the denial of nonwhite and female people excluded from the University altogether. Iron Arrow’s claim to be founded on cultural exchange is then nullified when in its earliest form Indigenous peoples and other peoples of color were not even eligible to be a part of the group.  

Second, Iron Arrow must end all its ties with imagery and practices of cultural patrimony, with the sole exception of wearing and distributing Indigenous-made patchwork jackets, or the group must be dissolved. This exception is due to us having no issue with people wearing our patchwork clothes, as it is a secular part of Seminole-Miccosukee culture. However, we reject the practices and imagery associated with deeply significant cultural and religious values, such as the claims that Iron Arrow is a Tribe or a tribal clan that is recognized as a part of the sovereign Miccosukee Tribe. By claiming members of Iron Arrow Society also hold rights to tribal sovereignty on the sole merit that they were accepted into an honors society, they undeniably diminish and make light of the centuries of cultural and physical genocide that Indigenous Tribes continue to fight through so they can still exist as sovereign nations today. All drumming and other ritual practices meant to represent sacred ceremonies must cease. The use of any words derived from tribal practices to describe group members or rituals must also cease.

Lastly, the University of Miami must make concrete commitments to rectifying the damage caused by upholding the Iron Arrow, both through the misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples and in the alienation of Indigenous students, faculty, and community members.  A firm commitment we demand is the proliferation of University curricula on Indigenous Studies focusing on everything from Indigenous histories to contemporary Indigenous issues and critical theory.  At least one of these Indigenous Studies courses should be a requirement for all incoming freshmen to counteract the damage of the University platforming Iron Arrow, above Indigenous students, faculty, and local Indigenous communities, as their representation of Indigenous peoples, history, and culture in Florida for almost 100 years.

If Iron Arrow exists to be a vessel for cultural exchange as it claims, it has failed at its purpose and should be dissolved. The society does not understand nor observe the Seminole-Miccosukee culture, sovereignty, or religion as shown through their wildly inaccurate rituals and ceremonies as well as their unfounded claims to be a recognized Clan within a sovereign nation. In failing to understand and respect Indigenous peoples and culture, Iron Arrow has failed at the sole purpose of cultural exchange: meaningful connection. Iron Arrow does more to exclude Indigenous peoples from feeling welcome at the University of Miami than it does to make them feel seen, included, and respected. 

Picture is a screenshot from their website taken 2020. It reads "Do Iron Arrow's rituals and practices actually follow Miccosukee/Seminole Traditions? Yes! From its inception, the Tribe's rituals and practices have been rooted in those of the people for whom the organization's creation was inspired. Nothing was then, or now, maintained without the approval and consent of our Native American Sponsors, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Please read the MOU for more information about the current relationship and stance of the Miccosukee people with respect to Iron Arrow."