Interview with Mary B. Billie, Seminole Doll Maker

In the interviews in this unit, Seminole doll maker Mary B. Billie and her daughter, Claudia C. John, discuss the history and practices of Seminole doll making. The interviews were conducted at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation by folklorists Doris Dyan and Peggy Bulger in June 1980. Mary Billie speaks in Miccosukee. Her daughter Claudia C. John translates. In various texts, Mary's last name is spelled either "Billie" or "Billy". Since the Seminole language was not written, this is a phonetic approximation.

Within the Seminole tribe, Billie belongs to the Miccosukee group and Big Town clan. Billie has lived in Big Cypress since her daughter Claudia was born, and before that she lived in Hollywood. While in Hollywood she lived in a chickee, a traditional Seminole open-air shelter. In Big Cypress, Billie lives in a house but has her work space in a chickee because it is cooler.

The tradition of doll making in Billie's family can be traced back before 1900. Billie learned to make dolls from her mother who learned it from her grandmother. Billie's grandmother at first made dolls just for the children to play with; later, they were sold to tourists.

The first step in making a doll is to search for the palmetto. It can take between half a day and two days to find the right kind. Billie will cut between fifteen and fifty palmetto plants in a day. One palmetto plant will provide fiber for four or five dolls.

Billie cuts the fibers while she is out in the woods. Then she wraps them in cloth and brings them back to her work space. If the fibers are dry enough she makes the dolls. But if they are wet, she has to let them dry out for a day before she can make the dolls.

Billie might make fifty dolls at one time. She makes the heads first. The head is always stuffed with palmetto fibers. The body is traditionally stuffed with palmetto fibers, but Billie often uses cotton. Then she'll cut a circle of cardboard and sew it to the bottom of the doll so the doll can stand straight.

Then she'll sew the eyes and the mouth. When that is finished, she makes the clothes and sews them onto the doll. Sometimes the hair is made with cardboard and black material. Other dolls have yarn hair with ponytails and braids. Billie adds beads for the necklace and the earrings. She uses traditional Miccosukee designs for the clothing of the larger dolls.

This unit includes reproductions of both the original audio and the original transcript of the interview conducted by folklorists Doris Dyan and Peggy Bulger, as well as photographs from the Seminole Slide/Tape Project. These materials were produced by the Florida Folklife Program and are now part of the Florida Folklife Collection at the State Archives of Florida.

At the time of the interview, Bulger was chief administrator for the Florida Folklife Program. Today, she serves as the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Dyen is currently the Director of Cultural Conservation for the River of Steel National Heritage Area in Pennsylvania.