Seminole

For other uses, seeSeminole (disambiguation).

"Seminoles" redirects here. For the collegiate sports program, seeFlorida State Seminoles.

Seminole

yat'siminoli
A Seminole mother and her children from the Brighton Reservation in Florida. (1949)
Total population
est. 18,600 Seminole Nation of Oklahoma 15,572 enrolled Seminole Tribe of Florida 4,000 enrolled Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida 400 enrolled
Regions with significant populations
United States (OklahomaandFlorida)
Languages
Main:English Cultural:Mikasuki,Muscogee,Afro-Seminole Creole Historical:Spanish
Religion
Protestant,Catholic,Green Corn Ceremony
Related ethnic groups
Ethnic origin:Choctaw,Muscogee,Yamasee,Yuchi,Gullah Subgroup:Black Seminole,Miccosukee,Mascogos

TheSeminoleare aNative Americanpeople who developed inFloridain the 18th century. Today, they live inOklahomaand Florida, and comprise threefederally recognized tribes:theSeminole Nation of Oklahoma,theSeminole Tribe of Florida,and theMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida,as well as independent groups. The Seminole people emerged in a process ofethnogenesisfrom various Native American groups who settled inSpanish Floridabeginning in the early 1700s, most significantly northernMuscogee Creeksfrom what are nowGeorgiaandAlabama.

Old crafts and traditions were revived in both Florida and Oklahoma in the mid-20th century as the Seminole began seeking revenue from tourists traveling along the newinterstate highway system.In the 1970s, Seminole tribes began to run smallbingogames on their reservations to raise revenue. They won court challenges to initiateIndian gamingon their sovereign land. Many U.S. tribes have likewise adopted this practice where state laws have gambling, in order to generate revenues for welfare, education, and development.

Since the late 20th century, theSeminole Tribe of Floridahas been particularly successful with gambling establishments, attracting many of the numerous tourists to the state. In 2007 it purchased theHard Rock Caféand has rebranded or opened severalcasinosand gaming resorts under that name. These include two large resorts on itsTampaandHollywoodreservations; together these projects cost more than a billion dollars to construct.

Etymology and culture

The word "Seminole" is almost certainly derived from the Creek wordsimanó-li.This has been variously translated as "frontiersman", "outcast", "runaway", "separatist", and similar words. The Creek word may be derived from the Spanish wordcimarrón,meaning "runaway" or "wild one", historically used for certain Native American groups in Florida.The people who constituted the nucleus of this Florida group either chose to leave their tribe or were banished. At one time, the terms "renegade" and "outcast" were used to describe this status, but the terms have fallen into disuse due to their negative connotations. The Seminole identify asyat'siminolior "free people" because for centuries their ancestors had successfully resisted efforts to subdue or convert them toRoman Catholicism.They signed several treaties with theU.S. government,including theTreaty of Moultrie Creekand theTreaty of Paynes Landing.

Seminole culture is largely derived from that of the Creek. One of the more significant holdovers from the Creek was theGreen Corn Danceceremony.Other notable traditions include use of theblack drinkand ritualtobacco.As the Seminoles adapted toFlorida environs,they developed local traditions, such as the construction of open-air, thatched-roof houses known aschickees.Historically the Seminoles spokeMikasukiandCreek,bothMuskogean languages.

History

Origins

Florida had been the home ofseveral indigenous culturesprior to thearrival of European explorersin the early 1500s. However, the introduction of Eurasian infectious diseases, along with conflict with Spanish colonists, led to adrastic declineof Florida's original native population. By the early 1700s, much ofLa Floridawas uninhabited apart from Spanish colonial towns atSt. AugustineandPensacola.A stream of mainlyMuscogee Creekbegan moving into the territory at that time to escape conflict with English colonists to the north and established their own towns, mainly in the Florida panhandle.

Native American refugees from northern wars, such as theYuchiandYamaseeafter theYamasee Warin South Carolina, migrated intoSpanish Floridain the early 18th century. More arrived in the second half of the 18th century, as the LowerCreeks,part of theMuscogeepeople, began to migrate from several of their towns into Florida to evade the dominance of the Upper Creeks and pressure from encroaching colonists from theProvince of Carolina.They spoke primarilyHitchiti,of whichMikasukiis a dialect. This is the primary traditional language spoken today by theMiccosukeein Florida.Joining them were several bands ofChoctaw,many of whom were native to western Florida. SomeChickasawhad also left Georgia due to conflicts with colonists and their Native American allies.Also fleeing to Florida were African Americans who hadescapedfrom slavery in theSouthern Colonies.

The new arrivals moved into virtually uninhabited lands that had once been peopled by several cultures indigenous to Florida, such as theApalachee,Timucua,Calusaand others. The native population had been devastated by infectious diseases brought by Spanish explorers in the 1500s and later colonization by additional European settlers. Later, raids byCarolinaand Native American slavers destroyed thestring of Spanish missions across northern Florida.Most of the survivors left for Cuba when the Spanish withdrew, after ceding Florida to the British in 1763, following Britain's victory in theFrench and Indian War.

WhileJohn Swantonstated in the mid-20th century that the Seminole encountered and absorbed the Calusa who had remained in southwest Florida after the Spanish withdrew, more recent scholarship since the turn of the 21st century holds that there is no documentary evidence of that assertion.

1700s to early 1800s

As they established themselves in northern and peninsular Florida throughout the 1700s, the various new arrivals intermingled with each other and with the few remaining indigenous people. In a process ofethnogenesis,they constructed a new culture which they called "Seminole", a derivative of theMvskoke'(aCreek language) wordsimano-li,an adaptation of the Spanishcimarrónwhich means "wild" (in their case, "wild men" ), or "runaway" [men].The Seminole were a heterogeneous tribe made up of mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia, who by the time of theCreek War(1813–1814) numbered about 4,000 in Florida. At that time, numerous refugees of theRed Sticksmigrated south, adding about 2,000 people to the population. They were Creek-speaking Muscogee, and were the ancestors of most of the later Creek-speaking Seminole.In addition, a few hundred escaped African-American slaves (known as theBlack Seminoles) had settled near the Seminole towns and, to a lesser extent, Native Americans from other tribes, and some white Americans. The unified Seminole spoke two languages: Creek and Mikasuki (mutually intelligible with its dialectHitchiti),two among theMuskogean languagesfamily. Creek became the dominant language for political and social discourse, so Mikasuki speakers learned it if participating in high-level negotiations. The Muskogean language group includesChoctawandChickasaw,associated with two other major Southeastern tribes.

In part due to the arrival of Native Americans from other cultures, the Seminole became increasingly independent of other Creek groups and established their own identity throughethnogenesis.They developed a thriving trade network by the time of theBritishand second Spanish periods (roughly 1767–1821).The tribe expanded considerably during this time, and was further supplemented from the late 18th century byescaped slavesfromSouthern plantationswho settled near and paid tribute to Seminole towns. The latter became known asBlack Seminoles,although they kept many facets of their ownGullahculture.

During the colonial years, the Seminole were on relatively good terms with both theSpanishand theBritish.In 1784, after theAmerican Revolutionary War,Britain came to a settlement with Spain and transferred East and West Florida to it.

TheSpanish Empire's decline enabled the Seminole to settle more deeply into Florida. They were led by a dynasty of chiefs of theAlachuachiefdom, founded in eastern Florida in the 18th century byCowkeeper.Beginning in 1825,Micanopywas the principal chief of the unified Seminole, until his death in 1849, after removal to Indian Territory.This chieflydynastylasted past Removal, when the US forced the majority of Seminole to move from Florida to theIndian Territory(modern Oklahoma) after theSecond Seminole War.Micanopy's sister's son,John Jumper,succeeded him in 1849 and, after his death in 1853, his brother Jim Jumper became principal chief. He was in power through the American Civil War, after which the U.S. government began to interfere with tribal government, supporting its own candidate for chief.

After raids by Anglo-American colonists on Seminole settlements in the mid-18th century, the Seminole retaliated by raiding theSouthern Colonies(primarilyGeorgia), purportedly at the behest of the Spanish. The Seminoles also maintained a tradition of acceptingescaped slavesfromSouthern plantations,infuriatingplantersin the American South by providing a route for their slaves to escape bondage.

After the United States achieved independence, theU.S. Armyand local militia groups made increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish Florida to recapture escaped slaves living among the Seminole. American generalAndrew Jackson's 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminoles became known as theFirst Seminole War.Though Spain decried the incursions into its territory, the United States effectively controlled the Florida panhandle after the war.

Seminole Wars

Main article:Seminole Wars

Coeehajo, Chief,1837,Smithsonian American Art Museum

In 1819, the United States and Spain signed theAdams-Onís Treaty,which took effect in 1821. According to its terms, the United States acquired Florida and, in exchange, renounced all claims toTexas.President James MonroeappointedAndrew Jacksonas military governor of Florida. As European American colonization increased after the treaty, colonists pressured the federal government to remove Natives from Florida. Slaveholders resented that tribes harbored runaway black slaves, and more colonists wanted access to desirable lands held by Native Americans. Georgian slaveholders wanted the "maroons"and fugitive slaves living among the Seminoles, known today asBlack Seminoles,returned to slavery.

Sign atBill Baggs Cape Florida State Parkcommemorating hundreds of enslavedAfrican Americanswho in the early 1820s escaped from this area to freedom in the Bahamas.

After acquisition by the U.S. of Florida in 1821, many American slaves and Black Seminoles frequently escaped fromCape Floridato the British colony ofthe Bahamas,settling mostly onAndros Island.Contemporary accounts noted a group of 120 migrating in 1821, and a much larger group of 300 enslaved African Americans escaping in 1823. The latter were picked up by Bahamians in 27 sloops and also by travelers in canoes.They developed a village known as Red Bays on Andros.

Under colonists' pressure, the U.S. government made the 1823 Treaty of Camp Moultrie with the Seminoles, seizing 24 million acres in northern Florida.They offered the Seminoles a much smaller reservation in theEverglades,of about 100,000-acre (400 km²).They and the Black Seminoles moved into central and southern Florida.

In 1832, the U.S. government signed theTreaty of Payne's Landingwith a few of the Seminole chiefs. They promised lands west of theMississippi Riverif the chiefs agreed to leave Florida voluntarily with their people. The Seminoles who remained prepared for war. White colonists continued to press for their removal.

In 1835, the U.S. Army arrived to enforce the treaty. The Seminole leaderOsceolaled the vastly outnumbered resistance during theSecond Seminole War.Drawing on a population of about 4,000 Seminoles and 800 allied Black Seminoles, he mustered at most 1,400 warriors (President Andrew Jackson estimated they had only 900). They countered combined U.S. Army and militia forces that ranged from 6,000 troops at the outset to 9,000 at the peak of deployment in 1837. To survive, the Seminole allies employedguerrilla tacticswith devastating effect against U.S. forces, as they knew how to move within the Everglades and use this area for their protection. Osceola was arrested (in a breach of honor) when he came under aflag of truceto negotiations with the US in 1837. He died in jail less than a year later. He was decapitated, his body buried without his head.

Other war chiefs, such asHalleck Tustenuggeeand John Jumper, and the Black SeminolesAbrahamandJohn Horse,continued the Seminole resistance against the army. After a full decade of fighting, the war ended in 1842. Scholars estimate the U.S. government spent about $40,000,000 on the war, at the time a huge sum. An estimated 3,000 Seminoles and 800 Black Seminoles were forcibly exiled to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi, where they were settled on the Creek reservation. After later skirmishes in theThird Seminole War(1855–1858), perhaps 200 survivors retreated deep into theEvergladesto land that was not desired by settlers. They were finally left alone and they never surrendered.

Several treaties seem to bear the mark of representatives of the Seminole tribe,including theTreaty of Moultrie Creekand theTreaty of Payne's Landing.The Florida Seminoles say they are the only tribe in America never to have signed a peace treaty with the U.S. government.

American Civil War

During theAmerican Civil War,theConfederate government of Floridaoffered aid to keep the Seminoles from fighting on the side of the Union. The Florida House of Representatives established a Committee on Indian Affairs in 1862 but, aside from appointing a representative to negotiate with the Seminole tribe, failed to follow its promises of aid. The lack of aid, along with the growing number of Federal troops and pro-unionists in the state, led the Seminoles to remain officially neutral throughout the war.In July 1864, Secretary of WarJames A. Seddonreceived word that a man named A. McBride had raised a company of sixty-five Seminole who had volunteered to fight for the Confederacy. McBride claimed to have an understanding of Florida because of the time he had spent there fighting during the Seminole wars. While McBride never put such a company in the field, this letter shows how the Confederacy attempted to use Seminole warriors against the Union.

Other leaders, such as Halleck Tustenuggee andSonuk Mikko(Billy Bowlegs), refused to sign, withdrew from Florida, and joined with the Union.

After the war, the United States government declared void all prior treaties with the Seminoles of Indian Country because of the "disloyalty" of some in allying with the Confederacy. They required new peace treaties, establishing such conditions as reducing the power of tribal councils, providing freedom or tribal membership for Black Seminoles (at the same time that enslaved African Americans were being emancipated in the South), and forced concessions of tribal land for railroads and other development.

Post-Seminole Wars and the 20th century

Captain Francis Asbury Hendry (center, standing) poses with a group of Seminole Indians

The1868 Florida Constitution,developed by theReconstructionlegislature, gave the Seminoles one seat in the house and one seat in the senate of the state legislature. The Seminoles never filled the positions. After white Democrats regained control over the legislature, they removed this provision from the post-Reconstruction constitution they ratified in 1885. In the early 20th century, the Florida Seminoles re-established limited relations with the U.S. government. The Seminoles maintained a thriving trade business with white merchants during this period, selling alligator hides, bird plumes, and other items sourced from the Everglades. Then, in 1906, GovernorNapoleon B. Browardbegan an effort to drain the Everglades in attempt to convert the wetlands into farmland. The plan to drain the Everglades, new federal and state laws ending the plume trade, and the start of World War I (which put a halt to international fashion trade), all contributed to a major decline in the demand for Seminole goods.

In 1930, they received 5,000 acres (20 km²) of reservation lands. Few Seminoles moved to these reservations until the 1940s. They reorganized their government and received federal recognition in 1957 as theSeminole Tribe of Florida.During this process, the more traditional people near theTamiami Traildefined themselves as independent. They received federal recognition as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians in Florida in 1962.

DuringWorld War II,roughly sixty-five Seminoles fled into the Everglades to avoid registering for the draft. The superintendent of the Seminole Indian agency inDaniawas able to convince all but two of the group to eventually register.

In the 1950s, the Oklahoma and Florida Seminole tribes filed land claim suits, claiming they had not received adequate compensation for their lands. Their suits were combined in the government's settlement of 1976. The Seminole tribes and Traditionals took until 1990 to negotiate an agreement as to division of the settlement, a judgment trust against which members can draw for education and other benefits. The Florida Seminoles founded a high-stakes bingo game on their reservation in the late 1970s, winning court challenges to initiateNative American gaming,which many tribes have adopted to generate revenues for welfare, education, and development.

After removal, the Seminoles in Oklahoma and Florida had little official contact until well into the 20th century. They developed along similar lines as the groups strove to maintain their culture while struggling economically. Most Seminoles in Indian Territory lived on tribal lands centered in what is nowSeminole Countyof the state of Oklahoma. The implementation of theDawes Rollsin the late 1890s parceled out tribal lands in preparation for the admission of Oklahoma as a state, reducing most Seminoles tosubsistence farmingon small individual homesteads. While some tribe members left the territory to seek better opportunities, most remained. Today, residents of the reservation are enrolled in the federally recognizedSeminole Nation of Oklahoma,while others belong to unorganized groups. The Florida Seminole re-established limited relations with the U.S. government in the early 1900s and were officially granted 5,000 acres (20 km²) of reservation land in south Florida in 1930. Members gradually moved to the land, and they reorganized their government and received federal recognition as theSeminole Tribe of Floridain 1957. The more traditional people living near theTamiami Trailreceived federal recognition as theMiccosukeeTribe in 1962.

Political and social organization

The Seminoles were organized arounditálwa,the basis of their social, political and ritual systems, and roughly equivalent to towns or bands in English. They had amatrilinealkinship system, in which children are considered born into their mother's family and clan, and property and hereditary roles pass through the maternal line. Males held the leading political and social positions. Eachitálwahad civil, military and religious leaders; they were self-governing throughout the nineteenth century, but would cooperate for mutual defense. Theitálwacontinued to be the basis of Seminole society in Oklahoma into the 21st century.

Languages

Historically, the various groups of Seminoles spoke two mutually unintelligibleMuskogean languages:Mikasuki(and its dialect, Hitchiti) andMuscogee.Mikasuki is now restricted to Florida, where it was the native language of 1,600 people as of 2000, primarily theMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.TheSeminole Nation of Oklahomais working to revive the use of Creek among its people, as it had been the dominant language of politics and social discourse.

Muscogee is spoken by some Oklahoma Seminoles and about 200 older Florida Seminoles (the youngest native speaker was born in 1960). Today English is the predominant language among both Oklahoma and Florida Seminoles, particularly the younger generations. Most Mikasuki speakers are bilingual.

Ethnobotany

The Seminole use the spines ofCirsium horridulum(also called bristly thistle) to make blowgun darts.

Music

Main article:Seminole music

Contemporary

Seminole woman, painted byGeorge Catlin,1834

During the Seminole Wars, the Seminole people began to divide among themselves due to the conflict and differences in ideology. The Seminole population had also been growing significantly, though it was diminished by the wars.With the division of the Seminole population between Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and Florida, they still maintained some common traditions, such as powwow trails and ceremonies. In general, the cultures grew apart in their markedly different circumstances, and had little contact for a century.

TheSeminole Nation of Oklahoma,and theSeminole Tribe of FloridaandMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida,described below, are federally recognized, independent nations that operate in their own spheres.

Religion

Seminole tribes generally follow Christianity, bothProtestantismandCatholicism.They also observe theirtraditional Native religion,which is expressed through thestomp danceand theGreen Corn Ceremonyheld at their ceremonial grounds.Indigenous peopleshave practiced Green Corn rituals for centuries. Contemporary southeastern Native American tribes, such as the Seminole andMuscogee Creek,still practice these ceremonies. As converted Christian Seminoles established their own churches, they incorporated their traditions and beliefs into a syncretic indigenous-Western practice.For example, Seminole hymns sung in the indigenous (Muscogee) language are inclusive of key Muscogee language terms (for example, the Muscogee term"mekko"or chief conflates with "Jesus" ). Also, hymns are frequently led by a song leader (a traditional indigenous song practice).

In the 1950s, federal projects in Florida encouraged the tribe's reorganization. They created organizations within tribal governance to promote modernization. As Christian pastors began preaching on reservations, Green Corn Ceremony attendance decreased. This created tension between religiously traditional Seminoles and those who began adopting Christianity.In the 1960s and 1970s, some tribal members on reservations, such as theBrighton Seminole Indian Reservationin Florida, viewed organized Christianity as a threat to their traditions.

By the 1980s, Seminole communities were even more concerned about loss of language and tradition. Many tribal members began to revive the observance of traditional Green Corn Dance ceremonies, and some shifted away from Christian observance. By 2000, religious tension between Green Corn Dance attendees and Christians (particularly Baptists) decreased. Some Seminole families participate in both religions; these practitioners have developed a syncretic Christianity that has absorbed some tribal traditions.

Land claims

In 1946, the Department of Interior established theIndian Claims Commission,to consider compensation for tribes that claimed their lands were seized by the federal government during times of conflict. Tribes seeking settlements had to file claims by August 1961, and both the Oklahoma and Florida Seminoles did so.After combining their claims, the Commission awarded the Seminole a total of $16 million in April 1976. It had established that, at the time of the 1823Treaty of Moultrie Creek,the Seminole exclusively occupied and used 24 million acres in Florida, which they ceded under the treaty.Assuming that most blacks in Florida were escaped slaves, the United States did not recognize the Black Seminoles as legally members of the tribe, nor as free in Florida under Spanish rule. Although the Black Seminoles also owned or controlled land that was seized in this cession, they were not acknowledged in the treaty.

In 1976, the groups struggled on allocation of funds among the Oklahoma and Florida tribes. Based on early 20th century population records, at which time most of the people were full-blood, the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma was to receive three-quarters of the judgment and the Florida peoples one-quarter. The Miccosukee and allied Traditionals filed suit against the settlement in 1976 to refuse the money; they did not want to give up their claim for return of lands in Florida.

The federal government put the settlement in trust until the court cases could be decided. The Oklahoma and Florida tribes entered negotiations, which was their first sustained contact in the more than a century since removal. In 1990, the settlement was awarded: three-quarters to the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma and one-quarter to the Seminoles of Florida, including the Miccosukee. By that time the total settlement was worth $40 million.The tribes have set up judgment trusts, which fund programs to benefit their people, such as education and health.

Main article:Seminole Nation of Oklahoma

As a result of the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) about 3,800 Seminoles and Black Seminoles were forcibly removed toIndian Territory(the modern state ofOklahoma).During the American Civil War, the members and leaders split over their loyalties, withJohn Chupcorefusing to sign a treaty with theConfederacy.From 1861 to 1866, he led as chief of the Seminole who supported theUnionand fought in the Indian Brigade.

The split among the Seminoles lasted until 1872. After the war, the United States government negotiated only with the loyal Seminole, requiring the tribe to make a new peace treaty to cover those who allied with the Confederacy, to emancipate theslaves,and to extend tribal citizenship to thosefreedmenwho chose to stay in Seminole territory.

TheSeminole Nation of Oklahomanow has about 16,000 enrolled members, who are divided into a total of fourteen bands; for the Seminole members, these are similar to tribalclans.The Seminole have a society based on amatrilinealkinship system of descent and inheritance: children are born into their mother's band and derive their status from her people. To the end of the nineteenth century, they spoke mostly Mikasuki and Creek.

Two of the fourteen are "Freedmen Bands," composed of members descended from Black Seminoles, who were legally freed by the U.S. and tribal nations after the Civil War. They have a tradition of extended patriarchal families in close communities. While the elite interacted with the Seminoles, most of the Freedmen were involved most closely with other Freedmen. They maintained their own culture, religion and social relationships. At the turn of the 20th century, they still spoke mostlyAfro-Seminole Creole,a language developed in Florida related to other African-based Creole languages.

The Nation is ruled by an elected council, with two members from each of the fourteen bands, including the Freedmen's bands. The capital is atWewoka, Oklahoma.

TheSeminole Nation of Oklahomahas had tribal citizenship disputes related to the Seminole Freedmen, both in terms of their sharing in a judgment trust awarded in settlement of a land claim suit, and their membership in the Nation.

Florida Seminoles

Seminole family of tribal elder, Cypress Tiger, at their camp nearKendall,Florida, 1916. Photo taken by botanist,John Kunkel Small

The remaining few hundred Seminoles survived in the Florida swamplands, avoiding removal. They lived in the Everglades, to isolate themselves from European Americans. Seminoles continued their distinctive life, such as "clan-based matrilocal residence in scattered thatched-roof chickee camps."Today, the Florida Seminoles proudly note the fact that their ancestors were never conquered.

In the 20th century before World War II, the Seminoles in Florida divided into two groups; those who were more traditional and those willing to adapt to the reservations. Those who accepted reservation lands and made adaptations achieved federal recognition in 1957 as theSeminole Tribe of Florida.

Many of those who had kept to traditional ways and spoke theMikasuki languageorganized as theMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida,gaining state recognition in 1957 and federal recognition in 1962. (See alsoMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida,below.) With federal recognition, they gained reservation lands and worked out a separate arrangement with the state for control of extensive wetlands. Other Seminole not affiliated with either of the federally recognized groups are known as Traditional or Independent Seminole,known formally as the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal People.

At the time the tribes were recognized, in 1957 and 1962, respectively, they entered into agreements with the US government confirming their sovereignty over tribal lands.

Seminole Tribe of Florida

Main article:Seminole Tribe of Florida

Seminole patchworkshawl made by Susie Cypress fromBig Cypress Indian Reservation,ca. 1980s

The Seminoles worked hard to adapt, but they were highly affected by the rapidly changing American environment. Natural disasters magnified changes from the governmental drainage project of the Everglades. Residential, agricultural, and business development changed the "natural, social, political, and economic environment" of the Seminoles.In the 1930s, the Seminoles slowly began to move onto federally designated reservation lands within the region. The U.S. government had purchased lands and put them in trust for Seminole use.Initially, few Seminoles had any interest in moving to the reservation land or in establishing more formal relations with the government. Some feared that if they moved onto reservations, they would be forced to move to Oklahoma. Others accepted the move in hopes of stability, jobs promised by the Indian New Deal, or as newconvertsto Christianity.

Seminoles'Thanksgivingmeal mid-1950s

Beginning in the 1940s, more Seminoles began to move to the reservations. A major catalyst for this was the conversion of many Seminole to Christianity, following missionary effort spearheaded by the CreekBaptistevangelist Stanley Smith. For the new converts, relocating to the reservations afforded them the opportunity to establish their own churches, where they adapted traditions to incorporate into their style of Christianity. Reservation Seminoles began forming tribal governments and forming ties with theBureau of Indian Affairs.In 1957 the nation reorganized and established formal relations with the U.S. government as theSeminole Tribe of Florida.The Seminole Tribe of Florida is headquartered inHollywood, Florida.They control several reservations:Big Cypress,Brighton Reservation,Fort Pierce Reservation,Hollywood Reservation,Immokalee Reservation, andTampa Reservation.

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida

Main article:Miccosukee

A traditional group who became known as the Trail Indians moved their camps closer to theTamiami Trailconnecting Tampa and Miami, where they could sell crafts to travelers. They felt disfranchised by the move of the Seminoles to reservations, who they felt were adopting too many European American ways. Their differences were exacerbated in 1950 when some reservation Seminoles filed a land claim suit against the federal government for seizure of lands in the 19th century, an action that the Trail Indians did not support.

Following federal recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1957, the Trail Indians decided to organize a separate government. They sought recognition as the Miccosukee Tribe, as they spoke theMikasuki language.It was not intelligible to Creek speakers, but some members of each group were bilingual in the two languages, especially as the Creek-speaking Seminole were more numerous.

TheMiccosukee Tribe of Indians of Floridareceived federal recognition in 1962. The federal government assigned them their own reservation lands, collectively known as theMiccosukee Indian Reservation.The Miccosukee Tribe set up a 333-acre (1.35 km²) reservation on the northern border of Everglades National Park, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Miami.

Commerce

In theUnited States 2000 census,12,431 people self-reported as Seminole American. An additional 15,000 people identified as Seminole in combination with some other tribal affiliation or race.

A Seminole spearing a garfish from a dugout, Florida, 1930

The Seminoles in Florida have been engaged in stock raising since the mid-1930s, when they received cattle from western Native Americans. TheBureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) hoped that the cattle raising would teach Seminoles to become citizens by adapting to agricultural settlements. The BIA also hoped that this program would lead to Seminole self-sufficiency. Cattle owners realized that by using their cattle as equity, they could engage in "new capital-intensive pursuits", such as housing.

Since then, the two Florida tribes have developed economies based chiefly on sales of duty-free tobacco, heritage and resort tourism, and gaming. On December 7, 2006, theSeminole Tribe of Floridapurchased theHard Rock Cafechain of restaurants. They had previously licensed it for several of their casinos.

From beginnings in the 1930s during theGreat Depression,the Seminole Tribe of Florida today owns "one of the largest cattle operations in Florida, and the 12th largest in the nation.

Seminoleclipper ship card

In the early 20th century, Florida had a population boom after the FlaglerrailroadtoMiamiwas completed. The state attracted a growing number of tourists from the North and Midwest, stimulating the development of many resort towns.In the following years, many Seminoles took jobs in the cultural tourism trade. By the 1920s, many Seminoles were involved in service jobs. In addition, they were able to market their cultureby selling traditional craft products (made mostly by women) and by exhibitions of traditional skills, such as wrestling alligators (by men). Some of the crafts included woodcarving, basket weaving, beadworking, patchworking, and palmetto-doll making. These crafts are still practiced today.

In the 21st century, as gaming has become lucrative for the tribes, fewer Seminoles rely on crafts for income.The Miccosukee Tribe earns revenue by owning and operating acasino,resort,agolf club,severalmuseumattractions, and "Indian Village". At "Indian Village", Miccosukee demonstrate traditional, pre-contact lifestyles to educate people about their culture.

"In 1979, the Seminoles opened the first casino on Indian land, ushering in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry operated by numerous tribes nationwide."This casino was the first tribally operated bingo hall in North America. Since its establishment, gaming on Native American sovereign land has been expanded under federal and state laws, and become a major source of revenue for tribal governments. Tribal gaming has provided secure employment, and the revenues have supported higher education, health insurance, services for the elderly, and personal income.In more recent years, income from the gaming industry has funded major economic projects, such as acquisition and development of sugarcane fields, citrus groves, cattle ranches, ecotourism, and commercial agriculture.

Numerous Florida place names honor the Seminole:

• Seminole County;
• Osceola County;
• Seminole,a city inPinellas County;
• Seminole, a small community inOkaloosa County.
• HistoricSeminole Heights,a residential district inTampa, Florida.

There is also a Seminole County in Oklahoma, and a Seminole County in the southwest corner of Georgia (separated from Florida by Lake Seminole).

Population history

Seminole population appeared to be increasing during the early 19th century. It was estimated at 5,000 people in 1820then 4,883 people in 1821 (as reported byNeamathla)then at 6,385 people in 1822 (as reported by Captain Hugh Young) and at up to 10,000 peoplein 1836 (at the beginning of the Second Seminole War). Perhaps the population was increasing due to continued immigration of Indians to Florida, as well as due to assimilation of the remnants of tribes native to the region. However, during the Second Seminole War the Indians suffered heavy casualties. On 25 November 1841 it was reported that 623 Seminoles had already been removed from Florida, with 3,190 at that time undergoing removal or about to be removed, and the number of those who stayed in Florida was estimated in that report at 575.Another source says that in total around 4,000 Seminole were removed toIndian Territoryin years 1832-1842.After their removal to Oklahoma, the Seminole population there numbered around 3,000 people in 1884 according to the enumeration published in 1886.

During the 20th and 21st centuries Seminole population has rebounded, in 2020 they numbered 42,105 people.

See also

• Seminole(clipper),an 1865clippership
• Florida State Seminoles,athletic teams ofFlorida State University

References

• Adams, Mikaëla M., "Savage Foes, Noble Warriors, and Frail Remnants: Florida Seminoles in the White Imagination, 1865–1934,"Florida Historical Quarterly,87 (Winter 2009), 404–35.
• Cattelino, Jessica R.High Stakes: Florida Seminole Gaming and Sovereignty.Durham: Duke University Press, 2008.ISBN978-0-8223-4227-4
• Clark, C. Blue. "Native Christianity Since 1800." Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor.Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14.Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004.ISBN0-16-072300-0.
• Hatch, Thom.Osceola and the Great Seminole War:St. Martin's Press. New York, 2012.ISBN978-0-312-35591-3
• Hawkins, Philip Colin.Creek Schism: Seminole Genesis Revisited.M.A. thesis, Department of History, University of South Florida, Tampa, 2009.LINK TO PDF
• Hawkins, Philip Colin. "The Textual Archaeology of Seminole Colonization."Florida Anthropologist64 (June 2011), 107–113.
• Mahon, John K.; Weisman, Brent R. (1996). "Florida's Seminole and Miccosukee Peoples". In Gannon, Michael (ed.).The New History of Florida.Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. pp. 183–206.ISBN0-8130-1415-8.
• Mahon, John K. (2017).History of the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842(ePub ed.). Gainesville, FL: LibraryPress@UF.ISBN978-1-947372-26-9.

Further reading

• Frank, Andrew K. "Taking the State Out: Seminoles and Creeks in Late Eighteenth-Century Florida."Florida Historical Quarterly84.1 (2005): 10–27.
• Hudson, Charles (1976).The Southeastern Indians,Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
• Kersey Jr., Harry A. (1989).The Florida Seminoles and the New Deal, 1933–1942,Boca Raton: Florida Atlantic University Press.
• Lancaster, Jane F.Removal Aftershock: The Seminoles' Struggles to Survive in the West, 1836–1866(1995).
• McReynolds, Edwin C. (1957).The Seminoles,Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Mulroy, Kevin.Freedom on the Border(1993).
• Neill, Wilfred T. (1956).Florida's Seminole Indians,St. Petersburg: Great Outdoors Publishing Company.
• Schultz, Jack M.The Seminole Baptist Churches of Oklahoma: Maintaining a Traditional Community(2000).
• Porter, Kenneth.The Black Seminoles: History of a Freedom-Seeking People(1996).
• Sattler, Richard A. "Cowboys and Indians: Creek and Seminole Stock Raising, 1700–1900."American Indian Culture and Research Journal22.3 (1998): 79–99.
• Sturtevant, William C. (1971). "Creek into Seminole." InNorth American Indians in Historical Perspective,edited by Eleanor B. Leacock and Nancy O. Lurie, 92–128. New York: Random House.
• Taborn, Karen. Momis Komet: ( "We Will Endure" ) The Indigenization of Christian Hymn Singing by Creek and Seminole Indians. M.A. thesis, Department of Ethnomusicology, Hunter College, the City University of New York, 2006.[1]
• Twyman, Bruce Edward.The Black Seminole Legacy and North American Politics, 1693–1845(Howard University Press, 1999).
• West, Patsy.The Enduring Seminoles: From Alligator Wrestling to Ecotourism(1998).
• Wickman, Patricia Riles (1999).The Tree That Bends: Discourse, Power, and the Survival of the Maskóki People.The University of Alabama Press.ISBN978-0-8173-0966-4.

Primary sources

• Sturtevant, William C. (1987).A Seminole Source Book,New York: Garland Publishing.

External links

• Seminole Nation Historical site
• Seminole Nation of Oklahoma official websiteArchived2018-06-20 at theWayback Machine
• Seminole Tribe of Florida official site
• The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida official siteArchived2007-03-18 at theWayback Machine
• Hitchiti-Mikasuki Creation Story
• Resources for Hitchiti and Mikasuki,William and Mary College
• Seminole history,Florida Department of State
• John Horse and the Black Seminoles, First Black Rebels to Beat American Slavery
• Clay MacCauley,The Seminole Indians of Florida,Smithsonian Institution,Bureau of Ethnology, 1884,Project Gutenberg