Naturist History of Blind Creek Beach
Historic researchers have found evidence of Indian habitation on Hutchinson Island (home to Blind Creek Beach) extending back thousands of years. Hidden in the wilds of mangroves and buttonwood, one can still find "middens" or shell mounds. These are the accumulated discards from centuries of Indian settlements. Long after these tribes were exterminated by Europeans (who introduced deadly smallpox and enslaved entire villages), their mound monuments still attest to their long, exultant history on the Florida peninsula.
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Until the modern era and the age of conquest, many non-Western cultures around the world thrived for thousands of years with their own social norms intact. Their traditions of public nudity did not lead to any deterioration of their societies. In fact, they thrived. The subsequent unraveling of many less technologically advanced cultures occurred after encountering Westerners. They forcibly introduced incompatible foreign customs, taught body shame as part of doctrinaire religions, and required cover-up of skin under claims of false modesty. Only after these unfamiliar impositions were prescribed, did serious societal problems (including alcoholism and increased crime) undermine these unspoiled cultures.
As people living in our Pan-Western culture today examine automatically-held social customs, the arbitrary rules regarding modesty (and the suppression of personal freedom) come into question. As naturists we believe that we are matter-of-factly retrieving our historic roots as human beings. Returning to our natural state (even if done for several hours at pristine Blind Creek Beach) is simply part of who we are. The ghosts of Florida's long exterminated Indians might appreciate that we have finally rediscovered their culture's grace on these very same shores.