Photo courtesy of Joey Wright Photography

When selecting the locations for the 2015 Hard Rock Girls calendar, it was only fitting to shoot it in a location that depicts the natural Seminole way of life. Each week we will share a story about the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the owners of Hard Rock International, for a newly launched feature #SeminoleTribeSaturday.

The unique confluence of culture and circumstance which would become today’s Seminole Tribe of Florida can be traced back at least 12,000 years. By the time the Spaniards arrived in Florida in 1513, this large territory held almost 200,000 Seminole ancestors in hundreds of tribes. The Spaniards called some of these indigenous Florida people cimarrones, or free people, because they would not allow themselves to be dominated by the Europeans. This is how the Seminole Tribe of Florida came to be known as the “Unconquered People.”

The unconquered Seminole Tribe of Florida at Billie Swamp Safari on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, located in the Florida Everglades, proved itself to be the perfect backdrop. The mantra of the Hard Rock brand is “LOVE ALL SERVE ALL” and there is no better way to showcase that than the love for our Seminole people, nature and our environment. Billie Swamp Safari is nestled on 2,200 untamed acres of abundant flora and fauna and native and exotic wild life.

The four day photo shoot captured the 20, newly appointed 2015 Hard Rock Girls in various areas such as: open fields, an old gator pit, an old Seminole Village, an old Seminole canoe, a Chickee hut, a wooden bridge and an old airboat.

The 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Girls Calendar will go on sale in the Hard Rock retail stores December 1, 2014 and benefit local charities. Stay tuned for more information.

Information courtesy of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa