{"id":52415,"date":"2025-11-19T08:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T08:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/52415\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T08:08:09","slug":"miami-to-memorialize-the-tequesta-the-first-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/52415\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami to memorialize the Tequesta, the first residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

\tWritten by Genevieve Bowen<\/a> on November 19, 2025<\/p>\n

\"www.miamitodaynews.com\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertisement\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Miami<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s original settlers, the Tequesta, are set to have their place in the city\u2019s history further cemented with a plaque honoring the \u201cTequesta Family\u201d sculpture atop the Pillar of History monument on the Brickell Avenue Bridge.<\/p>\n

The City Commission is expecting to declare its support today (11\/20) for the installation of a new bronze plaque at the bridge. The plaque would explain the sculpture\u2019s meaning and provide context for residents and visitors who cross the bridge daily, reminding them that the modern city stands on land first inhabited by the Tequesta nearly 2,500 years ago.<\/p>\n

The Pillar of History, installed in 1995 during the reconstruction of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, is one of Florida\u2019s largest bronze monuments. At its base, 16 bronze bas-reliefs honor Miami\u2019s early pioneers and local wildlife, while the 36-foot column of 158 figures graphically narrates the history of the Tequesta Indians, who lived along the Miami River long before the city existed.<\/p>\n

The \u201cTequesta Family\u201d sculpture sits atop the bas-relief column and rises 17 feet above the bridge, portraying a Tequesta warrior aiming an arrow toward the sky, his wife looking upward as she cradles their son, who shields his eyes \u2013 a poignant symbol of the tribe\u2019s search for the future and the inevitability of their disappearance.<\/p>\n

The proposed plaque would describe this symbolism, highlight the sculptor, Cuban artist Manuel Carbonell, and mark the first effort by the Florida Department of Transportation to integrate public art into a bridge design.<\/p>\n

The Tequesta tribe settled near the mouth of the Miami River as early as 500 BCE, making it their home for nearly two millennia before Spanish colonization led to their disappearance in the 18th century.<\/p>\n

Evidence of their presence, including the nearby Miami Circle, a limestone formation with 24 cut holes probably used as a ceremonial platform or council house, remains the only known prehistoric structure carved into bedrock in the eastern United States. It is now buried and shielded from view to protect it from the elements.
The bridge and its monuments offer a striking visual reminder of Miami\u2019s deep history, connecting the city\u2019s first inhabitants with its later pioneers, such as the Brickell family, for whom the area is named.<\/p>\n

The resolution, sponsored by District Two Commissioner Damian Pardo, is intended to help residents and visitors understand and appreciate the city\u2019s earliest history. With the commission\u2019s support today, the city clerk will transmit a certified copy of the resolution to the Florida Department of Transportation to proceed with installation of the plaque.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Written by Genevieve Bowen on November 19, 2025 Advertisement Miami\u2019s original settlers, the Tequesta, are set to have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":{"0":"post-52415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}