The Unconquered statue is considered to be one of Florida State University’s most famous statues. Representing the Seminole community since 2003, Unconquered has established a powerful reputation among FSU fans. Originally, nconquered was designed to capture the spirit of local communities and serve as a symbol of power to the university. By locating the statue in front of Doak Campbell stadium, it serves its purpose of power, greatness, unstoppable, and perhaps even legendary. Currently, the Unconquered statue sits on a pedestal with an engraving of the word “unconquered,” being displayed at eye level, making it the focal point. On top of this pedestal sits the infamous FSU mascot, Chief Osceola and Renegade. It’s known that Florida State University kicks off every home game with their tradition mascot, running across the football field holding a flaming spear. Stephen Reily took that into consideration when designing the statue. As you look closely, one will notice that the horse (Renegade) gives the illusion of movement as he stands tall on his hind legs. Chief Osceola sits on Renegade in a riding pose, where he’s controlling the horse’s move with his left hand and holding the spear high in the air with his right hand. The statue's facial expression on both Chief Osceola and Renegade are both designed to create real life emotions. For example, as Chief Osceola is pulling the reins with his left hand, Renegade seems startled as he tilts his head towards the left, looking back. At the same time, Chief Osceola is looking towards the same direction, exhibiting a powerful -- but determined -- facial expression. This statue has a vast array of small details that help tie in the emotional feel, like how both Renegade and Chief Osceola have their mouth opened. This symbolizes fear, relief, courage and strength. The details on the feathers and the hair were purposely incorporated to give a realistic feel to this statue. As you step away from the statue and look at it from a distance, one feels “unconquered”, the brick wall of the stadium serving as a background which adds to the illusion.

    

      The statue itself is empowering and moving. However, recently this statue has caused quite a controversy due to a Native American, Chief Osceola, serving as a school mascot. The statue also is putting a specific Seminole Indian on a pedestal with the word “unconquered” engraved underneath, therefore referring to a specific person as a mascot. Furthermore, as most have learned from American history, the Seminole Indians were ruthlessly concurred by foreigners. There was never a peace treaty signed by both parties. If they happened to be “unconquered” as the statue misrepresents, the Seminole Indians would be the major population in the Tallahassee community. Stephen Reily could have found a symbol that would relate with a modern-day Seminole fan base. The message should inspire Florida State fans to want to be the best that they can be. Being able to relate such a powerful statue to current fans would inspire the community to achieve greatness.