Seminole

The Seminole are a unique Native American tribe. Their creation and resilience to American incursion have made them famous among the many North American tribes. Their name derives from the Spanish word for "summit," cimarrón, representing people that run away to the mountains to escape their rule. This foreshadows the tribe's creation, culture, and history. Keep reading to find out more about Seminole society and history.

Seminole Tribe Location

The traditional territory of the Seminole Native Americans is in parts of present-day southern Georgia and northern to central Florida to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, having migrated there in the 1700s. The Seminole established villages near rivers, using the floodplains for agriculture and the rivers.

Fig. 1 Seminole Tribe Location

Seminole Tribe History

As mentioned above, the Seminole name means "runaway." The Seminole have this name because their ancestors detached themselves from other Native Americans living in Georgia and Alabama, the Creek tribes, during the 1700s.

To summarize, after a series of wars starting in the 1600s, the Creek tribe was defeated in 1817-1818. Most of the Creek society were removed to Indian territory in Oklahoma by force; many Creek refugees fled to Spanish-controlled Florida.

Fig. 2 Julcee-Mathla, a Seminole chief

Once in Florida, the Creek refugees organized themselves based on ancestral traditions while also absorbing remnants of local tribes from Florida–local tribes that the Spanish nearly annihilated. This blending of traditions and culture is what would become the Seminole. The Seminole people welcomed Africans who had escaped bondage into their tribe.

The First Seminole War (1817-1818)

In 1817, United States troops and other allied Native American tribes began to raid Seminole villages in northern Florida. Soon-to-be President Andrew Jackson, a general, led the army into the Seminole and Spanish territories. His raids against the Seminole ceased in 1818, but the instigation started a war with Spain that ended in 1821 with the cession of Florida to the United States. These raids and the Seminole resistance are called the First Seminole War.

When Jackson became president in 1829, he spearheaded a policy of removal of indigenous people from the southeastern area of the United States. The reduction to demarcated territory west of the Mississippi River focused on five tribes: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Together they are sometimes referred to as "the five civilized tribes."

Fig. 3 Seminole War Illustration

In 1830, the U.S. Army removed 3,000 Seminole and other tribes to reservations by force. Originally applied to the Cherokee, this journey is known as the Trail of Tears.

The Second Seminole War (1835-1842)

Some Seminoles refused to leave Florida in 1830. Those who stayed waged hit-and-run warfare against the United States military and encroaching white American settlers. This resistance over seven years is called the Second Seminole War.

The Seminole leader Osceola played an essential role in organizing the opposition. He led his men into the wilderness and fought off any forced removal. He and his warriors won a convincing victory over the U.S. Army at the battle of the Withlacoochee River. Even after Osceola's capture, the Second Seminole War did not end, as other Seminoles continued to fight. The war ended after the U.S. government lost 1,500 soldiers and spent nearly $30 million on war expenses, making it the most expensive war against Native Americans in U.S. history.

Fig. 5 Florida War Illustration

The Third Seminole War (1855-1858)

The Third Seminole War began after a group of Seminoles led by Billy Bowlegs attacked settlers and fur trappers. The U.S. Army intervened, but again could not successfully quell Seminole resistance. Some tribal members agreed to move to the reservations in present-day Oklahoma. However, there has never been a formal or legal treaty between the U.S. Government and the Seminoles, with many Seminole remaining in Florida.

Seminole Tribe Culture

The Seminole share much in common with other Native American tribes from the southeastern region of North America, especially the Creek. They were farmers, hunters, and gatherers who lived in permanent settlements along rivers and swampland. As farmers, their primary production consisted of corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, and sweet potatoes.

Seminole Shelters

Seminole shelters are called "chickees." Constructed from palmetto trees, they had a pole foundation, thatched roofs, raised platforms, and open walls. These features made it very adaptable to the subtropical climate of Florida.

Fig. 6 Seminole Chickee

Seminole Transportation

In the Seminole Tribe, culture children as young as four years old assisted with chores, such as gathering firewood, helping prepare food, and learning skills to support the family. Older boys would go hunting and fishing with their fathers, and older girls would apprentice with their mothers on domestic duties such as cooking and making clothing.

Seminole Clothing

One of the most striking and unique aspects of Seminole Tribe culture is their clothing. The Seminoles moved south into Spanish-controlled Florida, and later as American settlers arrived, the Seminoles attempted to adopt parts of white culture. This is visible in their unique style of vibrate patchwork clothing, pieced together in shirts and dresses with bright and stunning colors.

The Seminole Tribe Today

There are descendants of the Seminole who never left Florida in the state today. They presently have five reservation lands in southern Florida. The primary income for these tribes is tourism, especially on the Hollywood Reservation near Miami. Farming and ranching are other tribal income for the Seminole remaining in Florida. The Seminole tradition of constructing "chickees" is still practiced today, even with strict oversight from the government.