The Tocobaga Memorial at Tiki Gardens

In response to the erection of a “million dollar” memorial to the Tocobaga tribe of Tampa Bay in Indian Shores on June 18, 2022, Dr. Block developed a “critical analysis” of the memorial’s historical accuracy and he assesses the central plaza bronze sculpture’s validity with regards to the physical representation of the historic Tocobaga people based on multiple Spanish “eye witness” expedition diaries and the forensic evidence provided by their skeletal burials in several burial mounds in Pinellas County.
Dr. Block concludes that this impressive new memorial effectively honors the Tocobaga of Tampa Bay and most critically goes “beyond historical accuracy” since it also wonderfully expresses their native “humanity” and it represents the vital cultural tenets of the Tocobaga native “life-way” with great integrity.