The Wild Ones:the Seminole

Another consequence of White encroachment on Native land was the breakdown of some tribes and the emergence of others.  These new tribes were amalgams of people whose tribes may have disappeared as a cohesive unit, or split due to differences on how to deal with the Settlers and other issues.  The most famous example of this is the Seminole of Florida and later Oklahoma.

There are several etymologies for the word Seminole.  Most likely, it comes from the Spanish word "Cimarron", a Spanish term for "runaway or "wild ones".  When the Spanish conquered and colonized Florida, they found a rich variety of local tribes, including the Timuucua, Yamassee, Guale, Appalachee and others.  Over time, disease and killing wiped out these tribal units and sources differ on whether their descendants were part of the Seminole melting pot.  The main nucleus of the emerging Seminole nation were northern Muscogee Creeks who migrated from Alabama and Georgia into Florida in the 18th Century.  By the 1760's, the Seminole were becoming a tribe in their own right, with trading links to both British and Spanish agents.  The Creek War or Red Stick Revolt of 1814 brought more Creek refugees into the mix along with some Choctaw.  Thus, the main cultural influence on the emerging Seminole tribe was Muscogean, including the annual Green Corn Dance, the use of Black Drink and tobacco, and the use of Creek as one of two main languages spoken by the Seminole people.  Other Seminole people spoke Miccosukee, including the remaining members of that tribe, a Muscogean people who had once inhabited portions of Georgia.  The Seminole population in Florida was further enriched by Africans, either escaping slavery or already free, who have been discussed in a previous post.

When the United States acquired Florida in 1819, Settlers began pouring into the area, taking all the available agricultural land.  This posed a problem for the Seminole, who cultivated corn and needed farmland as much as everyone else.  The Treaty of Moultrie Creek of 1823 confined the Seminole to Central Florida, where the land was considered useless for farming and ranching.  The Seminole adapted to their circumstances, creating a new form of shelter, the chickee, which was a hut covered with thatch that could be quickly constructed and easily abandoned if the tribe as a whole, or groups were compelled to move.  The Seminole fought three wars with Britain and later the United States, 1816-1819, 1835-1842, and 1856-58, trying to keep what was left of their land in Florida. The result of the last two wars was a piecemeal deportation to Oklahoma of most of the Seminole.  However, a few remained behind in Florida, forming the nucleus of the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida, who take pride in being Unconquered by the United States.

Troubles increased for the Seminole deported to Oklahoma.  Rations were scarce and they were not given seed or farm implements to cultivate the land.  The Seminole were assigned areas near the Creek, which increased friction between the two tribes, particularly when Creek raiders began kidnapping Black Seminoles and mixed-race Natives to sell to slave catchers that prowled Indian Country, looking for escapees.  During the Civil War, Oklahoma Seminole tended to support the Confederacy.  Today, they are represented by the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma.  The third federally recognized tribe of Seminole, the Miccosukee, received recognition in 1962.