Seminole | History, Culture & Facts (2024)

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Seminole

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Key People:
Osceola
Related Topics:
Southeast Indian

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Seminole, North American Indian tribe of Creek origin who speak a Muskogean language. In the last half of the 18th century, migrants from the Creek towns of southern Georgia moved into northern Florida, the former territory of the Apalachee and Timucua. By about 1775 those migrants had begun to be known under the name Seminole, probably derived from the Creek word simanó-li, meaning “separatist,” or “runaway.” The name may also have derived from the Spanish cimarrón, “wild.”

The Seminoles located their new villages in the Everglades, a patchwork of dense thickets and wetlands that provided protective isolation from outsiders. There they were almost immediately joined by individuals—Africans, African Americans, and American Indians—who had escaped from slavery as well as by others attempting to avoid the bloody power struggles between European colonizers and other Southeast Indians. (See also Black Seminole.) The Seminoles generally welcomed those newcomers. Their economy emphasized hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods such as nuts and berries; they also grew corn (maize), beans, squash, melons, and other produce on high ground within the wetlands. Homes included substantial log cabins and, later, thatched-roof shelters with open sides known as “chickees,” which promoted maximum ventilation. People typically wore long tunics; by the late 19th century, Seminole clothing was often decorated with brightly coloured strips of cloth.

In an effort to stem further colonial encroachment and to avoid forced removal to the west, the Seminoles fought a succession of wars in 1817–18, 1835–42, and 1855–58 (see Seminole Wars). As a result of the First Seminole War, Spain ceded its Florida holdings to the United States. In 1832 a treaty proposal that would have obligated the Seminoles to move west of the Mississippi River was rejected by a large portion of the tribe. The Second Seminole War was one of the costliest of the U.S.-Indian wars, with military expenditures exceeding $20 million. In 1838 Osceola and other tribal leaders agreed to meet the U.S. military under a flag of truce, but the U.S. forces broke the truce by imprisoning the men, and Osceola died in custody some three months later. Fighting continued sporadically for another four years, but the tribe eventually surrendered. The people were required to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and were resettled in the western part of the Creek reservation there. A few Seminoles remained in Florida.

In Oklahoma the Seminoles became one of the Five Civilized Tribes, which also included the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Choctaw, all of whom had been forcibly removed from the southeastern United States by the federal government in the 1830s. For three-quarters of a century each tribe had a land allotment and a quasi-autonomous government modeled on that of the United States. In preparation for Oklahoma statehood (1907), some of that land was allotted to individual tribal members; the rest was opened up to nonnative homesteaders, held in trust by the federal government, or allotted to freed slaves. Federal policies effectively dissolved the Oklahoma tribal governments in 1906; changes in those federal policies resulted in the revitalization of the tribal governments in the mid-20th century.

For some 40 years after the Seminole Wars, those Seminoles who stayed in Florida endured hardships related to their resistance to removal. By the close of the 19th century, however, relations with neighbouring Euro-Americans had improved. During the first half of the 20th century, tribal members regained some 80,000 acres of land from the U.S. government, and in 1957, a century after the end of the Seminole Wars, the Seminole tribe of Florida regained federal recognition. Over the next 50 years the tribe developed economic programs ranging from citrus production to tourist attractions and infrastructure, including an ecotourism park, a tribal museum, a casino, and a private airstrip.

Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 27,000 individuals of Seminole descent.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Letricia Dixon.

Seminole | History, Culture & Facts (2024)

FAQs

What are 5 facts about the Seminole Tribe? ›

Seminole Indian Culture Facts

These American Indian people are well known for their beautiful woodcarvings, beadwork, and baskets. The Seminoles obtained food by farming, hunting, and fishing. Their crops included corn, squash, and beans. They hunted deer, rabbits, wild turkeys, and other game.

What is the traditional Seminole culture? ›

Homes included substantial log cabins and, later, thatched-roof shelters with open sides known as “chickees,” which promoted maximum ventilation. People typically wore long tunics; by the late 19th century, Seminole clothing was often decorated with brightly coloured strips of cloth.

Are there any Seminoles left in Florida? ›

Today, more than 2,000 live on six reservations in the state - located in Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Ft. Pierce, and Tampa. The Seminoles work hard to be economically independent. To do this, they've jumped into a number of different industries.

What are some facts about the Seminole Tribe food? ›

What did they eat? Early Seminole people depended on hunting and fishing like other Florida Indian people. They grew gardens of corn, beans, squash, Indian potato, and a type of pea. They also gathered wild plants like coontie, the root of which was used to make flour.

What does black Seminole mean? ›

The Black Seminoles are a small offshoot of the Gullah who escaped from the rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. They built their own settlements on the Florida frontier, fought a series of wars to preserve their freedom, and were scattered across North America.

What were the Seminoles' beliefs? ›

Seminole tribes generally follow Christianity, both Protestantism and Catholicism. They also observe their traditional Native religion, which is expressed through the stomp dance and the Green Corn Ceremony held at their ceremonial grounds. Indigenous peoples have practiced Green Corn rituals for centuries.

What language did Seminoles speak? ›

There are two languages spoken by the Seminole tribe of the southeastern United States, both of the Muskogean language family: Muscogee Seminole language, spoken in Oklahoma and Florida. Mikasuki language, spoken in Florida.

What did Seminoles do for fun? ›

Answer and Explanation: Two ball games were particularly popular with the Seminole people: a stickball game played with two sticks and one played with one stick. Stickball was often played with a deerskin ball that would be caught and thrown from a net woven between the two sticks.

How rich are the Seminole Indians? ›

The Seminole tribe nets about $853.84 Million from its seven casinos around the state, some built on tribal lands near the Florida swamps where Seminole warriors led by legendary chiefs such as Osceola and Billy Bowlegs resisted the US army's attempts to remove them to western reservations during the 19th century.

Why is Florida state allowed to be the Seminoles? ›

Florida State University and the Seminole Tribe of Florida have been mutual partners for decades. Since becoming a coeducational university in 1947, we have had the honor and privilege of calling ourselves “Seminoles” in tribute to the federally recognized Tribe's resilience.

What is the symbol for the Seminole tribe? ›

The Seminole Tribe of Florida currently uses this flag, which features the four traditional colors of the Seminole and Miccosukee people. The central seal—with its fire and open, palm-thatched hut, called a chickee—represents the tribal council.

What is the Seminole tribe famous for? ›

A couple of decades after it became a federally recognized tribe, the Seminoles became national leaders in the nation's struggle for economic self-determination. In the 1970s, they fought for the right to sell cigarettes tax free, operate high-stakes Bingo halls, and ultimately open modern casinos.

What clothing did the Seminole wear? ›

Seminole dress with turbans and feathers, hunting shirt or jacket and leggings are often part of their costume that look similar to the Scottish wear. Chief Osceola, who led the Seminoles against the U.S. Army in Florida, apparently had Scotch blood as his mother's grandfather, James McQueen, was a Scotsman.

What animals were important to the Seminole Tribe? ›

Clan. Seminole society is built around eight clans—Panther, Bird, Wind, Bear, Deer, Big Town (Toad), Snake, and Otter.

How old is the Seminole Tribe? ›

The Seminole people emerged in a process of ethnogenesis from various Native American groups who settled in Spanish Florida beginning in the early 1700s, most significantly northern Muscogee Creeks from what are now Georgia and Alabama.

How rich is the Seminole tribe? ›

The Seminole tribe nets about $853.84 Million from its seven casinos around the state, some built on tribal lands near the Florida swamps where Seminole warriors led by legendary chiefs such as Osceola and Billy Bowlegs resisted the US army's attempts to remove them to western reservations during the 19th century.

What did the Seminole tribe do for fun? ›

Answer and Explanation: Two ball games were particularly popular with the Seminole people: a stickball game played with two sticks and one played with one stick. Stickball was often played with a deerskin ball that would be caught and thrown from a net woven between the two sticks.

Who was the most famous Seminole Indian? ›

Osceola (Billy Powell)

His skill as a speaker, prowess in battle, and staunch opposition to removal, led him to becoming a prominent warrior, and he often acted as a spokesmen for Abiaka. Though he was never a Tribal leader, his skill and charisma quickly made him the most famous Seminole outside the Tribe.

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