[film reel rattles]
[suspenseful music]
[Narrator] Must you contact them,
which that you just may maybe well indubitably feel the coldness in them.
They passe to call me Rain Keeper.
I’d flip over the alligator and the buttons
on his inspire save some indentions in the grime
calling the rains and calling the hurricanes.
It takes out the primitive and brings in the novel.
It even takes out concrete buildings
and it refreshes the land.
That’s the motive they call me the rain keeper.
[suspenseful music]
[motor boat whirring]
[Narrator] The explanations why the Seminole Tribe
of Florida are identified because the unconquered is
on sage of we’ve never signed a peace treaty.
That arrangement that we never signed to any extent further or less treaty
with the U.S. With the Seminole wars, we had been pushed arrangement
into the Everglades, so we had to make expend of the alligator
as a project of food.
They would repeatedly resolve the alligator alive
so inspire then when they had been draining the Everglades
and participants had been coming down,
and so that they would stare Seminoles reach out
and score the alligator,
in a while that’s when they would stare
that they had been throwing money at them
so that they would hang the money and
that would feed their household within a day
in choice to two weeks.
The one ingredient that in actuality introduced in plenty
of net site visitors was as soon as alligator wrestling
and Native American Seminole camps.
[Alligator wrestler sighs]
[whispering]
[alligator wrestler sighs]
After I peek at that, that distress brings me inspire
to after I was as soon as a exiguous child,
watching my uncle develop alligator wrestling inspire in the 80s.
When it does that hissing sound, it be love hearing a song.
[clapping]
[Speaker] A man by the name of Henry Coppinger,
smartly he was as soon as a white man, he noticed what was as soon as occurring
and he assuredly created these mock villages,
they had been keep up during south Florida down there
on the Tamiami Hasten. He would hire Seminoles
and Miccosukees to reach in and stay there and work there
and manufacture arts and crafts, manufacture bead work,
and battle alligators.
And that was as soon as when it grew to change into from reliable a catching
for survival to reveals.
The ingredient I hear basically the most is my appreciate coronary heart beating,
and I’m consciously making an strive to mute myself down
and to specialize in him, but it appears to be like love the total lot else
more or less fades away and all which that you just may maybe well more or less stare is
reliable you and the alligator,
, you are reliable gripping with him.
There may maybe be a synergistic vitality ingredient occurring.
It is not reliable a bunch of men making an strive to rep a thrill,
it be in actuality an art form.
[coughing]
Being ready to be so with regards to an animal who’s so fundamental
and has lasted goodbye, you’ve got to illustrate it respect,
so I trust that alongside with the total things you’ve got to aid
in mind about hand placement, reading the body language,
there may maybe be all that occurring and the total lot else
reliable more or less fades away.
[Announcer] This alligator over again, nine feet lengthy,
230 pounds. Oh no! Oh no! Reflect at that!
[audience yelling]
I develop no longer know where or why I did it,
but I more or less tilted my head a exiguous bit,
and after I did, my ear touched the cease of the roof
of his mouth and he reliable snapped shut,
he slammed my head down and he was as soon as about to roll.
He doubtlessly would’ve ripped chunks of my face off
and even even snapped my neck.
It was as soon as a uncommon 2d cause I was as soon as listening
to my skull crack whereas I’m in there.
It is love taking a soda can and squeezing it
as late as which that you just may maybe well.
The full arrangement till you squished it the total arrangement.
After I received out of the clinic, I went straight
to the village and I wrestled the right same gator
that bit me on the pinnacle and I went via a demonstrate
and I save my head in there and it was as soon as one thing I had to develop.
Heaps of times gator wrestlers will rep bit
after which that’ll be it for them, or they’re hesitant,
and I wanted to gape if I was as soon as aloof hesitant, and I wasn’t.
I was as soon as aloof gripping and I was as soon as aloof on point,
so I idea I was as soon as okay.
That’s where I was as soon as pronouncing it be more of an adrenaline ingredient
whereas you happen to love that more or less ingredient,
then gator wrestling is for you.
It’ll repeatedly aid your adrenaline pumped up.
Whether you strive to be methodic or late or be frosty
or whatever any one says,
it be going to spike your adrenaline up.
I trust sometime after I wager the closing Indian Wars,
and no longer reliable Seminole Wars,
it seemed find it irresistible grew to change into romantic to breeze stare Indians
doing their ingredient love pow wows and stuff
where participants wished to breeze stare Native American citizens dance,
and Florida it was as soon as love novel in the early 1900s.
So it reliable grew to change into a tourist ingredient
and I trust it grew to change into a fab ingredient to gape these
Native American citizens develop what they develop, I imply I could maybe moreover be amazed
if I noticed a 10 year primitive child wrestling an eight foot gator.
Per chance pretend which that you just may maybe well moreover stay as onerous as they had been residing
then for the reason that residing prerequisites had been horny onerous.
I trust participants wished to gape or think what that would indubitably feel
love and that’s reasons why they wished to reach and gape it.
[suspenseful music]
[dramatic music]
What FAWC stands for is Freestyle Alligator Wrestling
Competitions. It started inspire in 2009.
They wished to begin a competition with all
the diversified alligator wrestlers during the nation.
Now it be gotten to where it is a long way now which is an annual ingredient.
[Announcer] Whoa! Wow that’s what we call strolling the dog.
[Speaker] Yearly there may maybe be some novel child that wants
to be an alligator wrestler.
Most of them are non tribal in actuality.
There may maybe be no longer a full lot of Seminole younger participants increasing
making an strive to be a gator wrestler.
[Announcer] Oh he’s in there, head trick guys.
We had to figure out and we had to work these alligators
in notify to rep them a exiguous bit drained
so we would bear a 2d with the procedure to rep onto their inspire.
Boring roll. Wow!
[Narrator] I repeatedly direct every year that I bear to retire,
but I find it irresistible. I will doubtlessly prove doing it till I’m 80,
90 years primitive.
It is harder the older you rep, it be harder.
It is harder to your body. I’m no longer in the more or less form
I passe to be in after I was as soon as doing it plenty.
After I received bit on the pinnacle,
I horrified a range of my household. It horrified me.
I’m now no longer wrestling alligators.
I haven’t wrestled perchance for roughly two years.
With us doing alligator wrestling at our appreciate self-discipline,
we’re now no longer doing it for some white man that owns
a village and made up our minds to rent some Indians
and pay them pennies to work there.
Now we bear our appreciate villages owned by our appreciate participants.
We develop our appreciate ingredient now and that’s the reason right fundamental
brooding about that the manager gave us shit pieces of land
and we thrived on it.
We came off as assuredly residing off the roadsides,
and residing off our alligator wrestling reveals,
to proudly owning a billion dollar industry 50 years later.
[tense music]
Sooner than we had Indian gaming, alligator wrestling is
what save food on the table.
It is what save clothes on our backs inspire in the day.
I trust we have to not overlook that.
[tense music]
