alumni profiles

Sierra, Florida Press Clubs honor Peter Gallagher for protecting ancient canoes in Newnan’s Lake

by Shana Smith, special to the communigator

Peter Gallagher (center) with fellow Folksingers

Ancient canoes peeking from the drought-dried lakebed of Gainesville’s Newnan’s Lake inspired journalist Peter B. Gallagher, JM 1972, and fellow writer Charles Flowers, to write a series of articles for the Seminole Indian Tribune last year. The work resulted in two prestigious awards for environmental reporting.

And in the process, they lost their jobs.

Gallagher, who managed the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s crusading Tribal newspaper and Tribune freelancer Flowers, were both fired by the Tribal Council during a political upheaval of the Seminole government (which also led to the ouster of longtime Seminole Chief James Billie).

Their articles on Pithlachocco—the ancient Seminole name for Newnan’s Lake—led to the protection of the largest aboriginal canoe site in the world (150 canoes aged from 3,000-5,000 years old) and stopped the controversial practice of commercial deadhead logging on all Florida lakes.

For their year-long investigation into the issue—28 stories and two special newspaper sections—Gallagher and Flowers were honored in October with the Frances P. Devore Award for Public Service, the highest award from the Florida Press Club. In February, they received the Sierra Club’s National Distinguished Service Award.

“One of the world’s most significant archaeological sites was threatened by a state-sanctioned logging operation. It was a natural investigative story, but no one was reporting it. We first found out when a friend, folksinger Dale Crider, contacted me by e-mail while I was in Paris last summer,” said Gallagher.

“When I returned, Charles and I went out to the site. It was surreal to touch something that was built by man 2,000 years before Christ walked the earth. The Seminole elders confirmed that Pithlachocco means ‘place of boats.’ This was probably a boat factory of sorts in ancient times. Then we saw aboriginal canoes broken to bits by the loggers’ bulldozer…”

Tiana Burton, director of the Northwest Florida Sierra Club, said, “Rather than choose the easy way of focusing on the sensational aspects of the historical find and damage done, these two journalists covered the entire issue from both environmental and cultural perspectives.”

Gallagher said his termination was not your typical firing. “They gutted the newspaper, removed the editorial page, closed down the Tribal website, scaled back their broadcasting and just about eliminated all communications to Tribal members. We were just one step in a large process.”

Gallagher has received numerous awards for his writing from the Native American Journalists Association as well as the 1990 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

A Florida folk musician, he is spending more time songwriting and is trying to organize 15 years of files. “I’m not sure where the next adventure will be,” he said.