Working with the Tampa Bay History Center's collections, USF Libraries and the DHHC is collaborating to document Seminole and Miccosukee dolls for the late 19th century and 20th Centuries that are curated at the Tampa Bay History Center.

The dolls, which started as toys, later turned to tourism trade goods, and were carved out of wood or made from palmetto fiber and dressed in traditional clothing. It was taboo to carve dolls that resembled a real person, and so these dolls are meant to not be realistic in that way. A realistic doll was believed as being able to bring harm to the person who made it and to the person that it resembled. The hairstyles and clothing represented offer important connections to the culture, and the shapes, styles, and materials offer meanings and important dating information about the pieces.