Three wars could not kill them in the 1800s. Nor could the destruction of their eco-system and way of life in the 1900s.

We are talking about the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

They found refuge in the Florida swamps. And the 4,200 tribal members alive today are called “The Unconquered” — a nod to their incredible escape and survival story.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we introduce you to two scientists working to preserve that story.

Archeologist Sara Schmidt is back in the lab on Big Cypress Reservation, cleaning turtle bones.

“So we catalogue it, dry it and put it into the vault for safekeeping,” Schmidt said.

She’s working on a possible Seminole camp site — from long ago.

The discarded turtle bones are clues.

Next they go to Jen Shaver, the Archeological Collections Assistant.

“Archaeology is a scientific way of storytelling,” said Shaver. “So when we have all of that information here, it helps us tell the story of the people who lived in these areas.”

Shaver likes the preciseness of paperwork — each artifact gets its own write-up.

The turtle bones join rabbit bones and broken pottery from the same site. The pieces that will piece the past together.

“So we know whether or not there’s a camp there, if it’s a culturally significant area,” Shaver explained.

The new Tribal Historic Preservation Building opened in the fall of 2019, giving the tribe new tools to preserve and document their cultural heritage.

Shaver says doing this work for the tribe is an honor, trying to piece together the past and preserve it.