Seminole
The Seminoles are a Native American tribe located primarily in Florida and Oklahoma, known for their resistance to assimilation and their efforts to maintain their cultural practices and land amidst increasing pressures from white settlers. The name "Seminole" derives from the Muskogee word "seminola," which suggests a wild or untamed identity. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, various groups, including Creeks and remnants of earlier tribes, contributed to the formation of the Seminole identity, with many seeking refuge from colonial expansion.
Relations with the United States government were fraught with conflict, particularly following the American Revolution, leading to several Seminole Wars as the tribe resisted forced relocation. Despite their efforts, many Seminoles were ultimately moved to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, while others evaded removal by seeking refuge in the Everglades. In the modern era, the Seminoles have reestablished a tribal government and have found economic success through enterprises such as casino operations, which have significantly contributed to funding community programs in education and health care. The Seminoles' history reflects a broader narrative of resilience, adaptation, and cultural preservation.
Seminole
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Southeast
Language group: Muskogean
Primary location: Florida, Oklahoma
Population size: 14,080 (2010 US Census)
The Seminoles were the last of the major southeastern tribes to assimilate, as they maintained their customs and lands under constant pressure from white settlers. During the eighteenth century, Oconees, Sawoklis, and other groups from the Lower Creek (Muskogee) towns in modern Georgia and Alabama moved into northern Florida. The name Seminole comes from the Muskogee word seminola, which in turn was borrowed from the Spanish term cimarron meaning “wild.” This word suggests one who lives in an untamed area. The Creeksare a diverse group, and many of those whose descendants became Seminoles, and who sought to escape control by the dominant Muskogees. These peoples spoke Hitchiti and other non-Muskogee languages. Other Seminoles hoped to distance themselves from the growing presence of English colonists in Georgia. The Seminoles also absorbed the remnants of earlier Florida tribes, such as theApalachees and Tocobogas. Lacking a central tribal government, the Seminoles did generally acknowledge a principal chief from the line established by Cowkeeper. Only gradually did the Seminoles acquire a sense of separate identity from their Creek relatives.
Nineteenth Century
Following the conclusion of the American Revolution in 1789, friction began to develop between the Seminoles and the United States government. Many Seminoles continued to look to Britain for protection, and American settlers complained that Seminoles provided a refuge for runaway slaves. There was truth to these assertions as a substantial African-American presence existed among the Seminoles. Some of these persons existed as slaves, while others lived in their own communities. Many Seminoles supported the Red Stick faction of Creeks in the Creek War (1813–1814). After their defeat by General Andrew Jackson, many Red Sticks joined the Seminoles in Florida. In 1818 Jackson launched an invasion of Florida (the first of the Seminole Wars). The Seminoles were defeated and saw their towns in northern Florida destroyed.
After Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819, the Seminoles found themselves on land claimed by adversaries. In 1823, the Seminoles agreed to give up their claims to northern Florida. Soon the US government began to pressure the tribe to leave Florida altogether. Using dubious methods, federal commissioners obtained the agreement of a few Seminoles to agree to the Treaty of Payne’s Landing in 1832. With this document the tribe agreed to remove to Indian Territory, now present-day Oklahoma. Other Seminole leaders regarded the treaty as a fraud. When attempts were made to force the migration of the tribe in 1835, the Second Seminole War erupted. After a protracted guerrilla struggle, the government declared it concluded in 1842, though about five hundred Seminoles evaded removal by taking refuge in the Everglades. Their numbers were halved by the Third Seminole War (1855–1858), which marked the last government attempt at forced migration.
Approximately three thousand Seminoles were removed to the Indian Territory, many involuntarily. Originally assigned to Creek lands, the Seminoles were reluctant to acknowledge Creek authority. The tension between the two groups also arose over black Seminoles, whom the Creeks regarded as escaped slaves. Eventually, in 1855, the Seminoles were given their own lands farther west. During the Civil War, most of the Oklahoma Seminoles desired to remain neutral. A minority signed an alliance with the Confederacy, however, and at the end of the war, the tribe was forced to give up all of its former land and was given a smaller area purchased from the Creeks (now Seminole County). Seminole slaves were freed and incorporated into the tribe. A new tribal government was organized, with its capital at Wewoka.
Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
In 1906 the Seminole government was ended, along with those of other tribes in Indian Territory, and the tribe’s land was allotted among its members, each one receiving 120 acres. A few Seminoles became wealthy when oil was discovered in Seminole County in the 1920s. Tribal government was reorganized in 1969.
Two hundred or so Seminoles had remained behind in Florida, surviving in small groups and adapting their lifestyle to the Everglades. In the 1890s, the federal government began to acquire reservation land for them, though it was not until the 1930s that a majority of Florida Seminoles lived on reservations. In 1957 the tribe organized as the Seminole Tribe of Florida, uniting both Muskogee and Hitchiti speakers. Some of the more traditionalist Hitchiti speakers, however, decided to preserve a separate identity, and in 1961 organized as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
In 1979, the Seminoles opened the first casino on Indian land; by the 2010s, the Seminole Tribe of Florida owned and operated seven casinos in the state and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida owned one casino. Annual revenue from these eight casinos is estimated to exceed $2 billion, and the tribes have used this income to fund initiatives in education and health care, among other development projects.
Bibliography
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Hatch, Thom. Osceola and the Great Seminole War: A Struggle for Justice and Freedom. New York: St. Martin's, 2012. Print.
Howard, James H., with Willie Lena. Oklahoma Seminoles. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1984. Print.
Littlefield, Daniel F. Africans and Seminoles: From Removal to Emancipation. Westport: Greenwood, 1977. Print.
McReynolds, Edwin C. The Seminoles. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1957. Print.
Morgan, Issac. "Seminole Tribe Leader Marcellus Osceola Jr. is Elusive, Inspiring — But Likely Unknown to Many Floridians" Florida Phoenix, 21 July 2021, https://floridaphoenix.com/2021/07/21/seminole-tribe-leader-marcellus-osceola-jr-is-elusive-inspiring-but-likely-unknown-to-many-floridians. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.
Paredes, J. Anthony, ed. Indians of the Southeastern United States in the Late Twentieth Century. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1992. Print.
Powell, Robert Andrew. "Florida State Can Keep Its Seminoles." New York Times. New York Times, 24 Aug. 2005. Web. 30 June 2016.
"The Seminole Wars." Florida Department of State, 2023, dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-history/seminole-history/the-seminole-wars. Accessed 30 Mar.2023.
Wright, James Leitch, Jr. Creeks and Seminoles: The Destruction and Regeneration of the Muscogulge People. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1986. Print.