Oklahoma Seminoles Film Their Story at Jupiter’s Riverbend Park Ahead of America’s 250th

JUPITER, Fla. – Ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, members of the Seminole Nation from Oklahoma traveled to Riverbend Park in Jupiter to film a documentary reconnecting younger generations with their ancestral history and the Trail of Tears.

During a one-day visit in March, the filmmakers and cast—including college freshman Joel and tribal member Chebon Kernel—walked the moss-draped battlefield along the Loxahatchee River. The site marks where their ancestors were captured and forced west under the 1830 Indian Removal Act signed by President Andrew Jackson.

“It’s just this flood wave of emotions as we think about these stories,” Kernel said. “But it’s also carrying not just mourning, but also a hope for the future.”

Producer Jeremy Fultz said the film aims to show Oklahoma Seminoles “what life was like here” before dispossession. “They don’t have the idea of how beautiful it was, what we were forced from,” he added. “I want to give them a glimpse so they can recapture a part of who they are.”

The emotional weight became tangible when preservationist Steve Carr brought out shackles believed to have been used on Seminoles and Black people during the Second Seminole War.

“It’s really surreal,” Kernel said, holding the iron braces.

Documentary filmmaker Mark Williams said the project goes beyond facts and dates. “We wanted to add some kind of emotional and human element to it.”

The documentary is scheduled for release in early August 2026—just one month after the U.S. marks July 4th’s semiquincentennial. Williams noted that Seminole history predates both the Mayflower and the founding of the United States. “We’re older than America,” he said. “And it’s also a shared story.”

Fultz emphasized the need for indigenous voices to lead the narrative: “I don’t want other people telling my history. I want our representation to be front and center.”

The film will be featured on the JupiterBrief streaming guide upon release.