This paper provides a broad overview of the Seminole Indians, tracing their origins as Muskogean-speaking peoples who migrated to Florida and came to be called "Seminoles." It covers their traditional culture, including clothing, diet, and farming practices, before examining the turbulent history of European contact, the three Seminole Wars, forced removal to Indian Territory, and the eventual establishment of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma. The paper also addresses the survival of Seminoles in Florida, the formation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1957, and the tribe's gradual development of self-governance through constitutional tribal government in the latter half of the twentieth century.
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The name Seminole is derived from the Spanish word cimarron, meaning "wild men." The Seminoles were originally given this name because they were Indians who had escaped from slavery in the British-controlled northern colonies. When they arrived in Florida, they were not yet known as Seminoles; in reality they were Creeks, Indians of Muskogean derivation. The Muskogean tribes made up the Mississippian cultures, which were temple-mound builders. "Among the Muskogean tribes were the Creeks, Hitchitis, and Yamasees of Georgia, the Apalachees of Florida, the Alabamas and Mobiles of Alabama, and the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Houmas of Mississippi" (Murray, n.d.).
It is believed that the Seminole tribe settled in Florida as far back as 10,000 BC. For hundreds of years, the Seminole Indians essentially ruled almost all of Florida. Even when the Europeans arrived, they were at first not focused on Florida, showing more interest in the southern part of the continent, which left the Seminoles in control of their homeland. Unfortunately, things began to change around 1732, when settlers started moving southward into Florida. Once they arrived, many Seminole Indians were kidnapped, tormented, or killed. Nevertheless, the Seminoles held their own and remained within their territory, with many migrating near what is today the Tampa area (Seminole Indians, 2012).
Muskogee was the language spoken by the Seminole Indians. They regularly hunted and fished the plentiful waters off the coast of Florida. Given the temperate climate where they lived, their homes were simple in construction, consisting of poles and thatched roofs. When the Spanish arrived in Florida, the Seminoles frequently adopted their style by wearing brightly colored clothing. As the 20th century approached, Florida became a prime area for development, and many Seminole Indians were forced out of the region. Those who remained were often compelled to work for wages, either as agricultural laborers or as tourist attractions. In 1957, legislation was passed officially recognizing the tribes in Florida as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In 1970, the Seminoles were awarded over twelve million dollars by the federal government in compensation for land taken from them by the United States military. The Seminole tribe continues to exist today and remains a proud part of Florida's rich heritage (Seminole Indians, 2012).
In the early years, the Seminoles wore very little clothing except during ceremonies. The men wore full skirts or long, wide-sleeved shirts that hung from their necks to their knees. They also wore soft, high-topped moccasins and headdresses made of squares of wool folded cornerwise into bands about three inches wide. The bands were wound around the head until they were as much as seven inches thick, providing protection from the hot sun. The women, by contrast, dressed in short blouses and skirts made by sewing together strips of brightly colored cloth. Woven sashes were worn around the waist, and the women generally went barefoot (Seminole, n.d.).
The Seminole Indians were mainly farmers. They grew corn, squash, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and melons. Each family had its own garden plot, and all members of the tribe helped plant, cultivate, and harvest the crops. They also gathered seeds, berries, and nuts. Blowguns were used to hunt small game and birds. The men hunted fowl, turtles, fish, shellfish, and deer. The Seminoles ate many fruits, including bananas, oranges, pineapples, and coconuts. All parts of the palmetto palm tree were used for food: the top was eaten on its own, molasses was made from the berries, the leaves were ground into flour, and salt was even gathered from the burned trunk of the tree to be used in cooking (Seminole, n.d.).
The Seminole are categorized among the Muskogean peoples, a group of remnant tribes who joined together in shaping this division in Florida during the boundary wars between the Spanish and the English colonists on the Florida-Carolina border in the 18th century. "In 1817, with the accusation that the Seminole were harboring runaway slaves, Andrew Jackson ordered nearly three thousand troops to attack and burn the town of Mikasuki, starting the First Seminole War. Shortly afterwards, Spain ceded Florida to the U.S., bringing the Seminole under U.S. authority. A treaty later offered the tribe a reserved tract east of Tampa Bay" (Seminole Nation, 2011).
In 1832, the Payne's Landing Treaty removed all Seminole claims on Florida land and proposed removal to Indian Territory. Approval of that treaty in 1834 granted the Seminole three years before removal was to occur. Under the U.S. government's interpretation, however, 1835 marked the end of that three-year period. The Seminole disagreed, and their bitter resistance led to the Second, or Great, Seminole War. "Among the worst chapters in the history of Indian removal, the war lasted almost seven years and cost thousands of lives. It finally ended in 1842 with the agreement that several hundred members of the tribe could remain in Florida. They stayed in the Florida swamps but never surrendered. Their descendants are the Seminole that live in Florida today" (Seminole Nation, 2011).
Arguments with white settlers grew increasingly common by the turn of the century. Settlers wanted Indian land and the return of their former enslaved people. In 1817, these disputes escalated into the first of three wars against the United States. Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson raided then-Spanish Florida and conquered the Seminoles. After passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the U.S. government attempted to relocate the Seminoles to Oklahoma, sparking the Second Seminole War. After early Seminole victories in that conflict, Seminole leader Osceola was imprisoned by the United States on October 20, 1837, when U.S. troops declared they wanted a ceasefire to discuss peace. By May 8, 1858, when the United States confirmed the end of hostilities in the Third Seminole War, more than three thousand Seminoles had been moved west of the Mississippi River, leaving only about two to three hundred in Florida (Seminole History, 2012). Those removed to Oklahoma were subsequently organized into the "Seminole Nation," one of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes. In general circumstances and development, they were on roughly the same level as their neighbors and kinsmen of the Creek Nation. Like the other tribes, they were party to the agreement opening their lands to settlement, and their tribal government came to an end in March 1906 (Seminole Indian Tribe History, 2011).
"Chiefs lead factions to Indian Territory"
"Seminole Nation established at Wewoka capital"
"Constitutional tribal government and modern identity"
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