Seminole Indians
The Seminole Indians were a tribe of the Creek Indian Confederation and in
the 1700's they migrated to the southeast area of the United States that is
now Florida. When the Seminole Indians arrived in the Florida area it was
being inhabited by the Spanish. When they arrived in Florida the land they
made their homes was shared by another Indian tribe that they ended up banding
together with and they became known as the Seminole Indians, Seminoles means
runaways. Later on in the 1700’s Florida was taken over by the British,
who started causing many problems between the Indian tribes and the Americans
who had settled there.
The American settlers were not fond of the Seminoles
even before the British came because the Seminole tribe would protect runaway
slaves. The Seminole Indian tribe was also involved in many wars that are
referred to as the three Seminole wars. The first one was because Spain gave
the lands of Florida to the United States and then the second Seminole war
was the Seminole tribe against the United States and this second war forced
many of the Seminole Natives out of Florida and into the Oklahoma areas. The
third war involved the Seminoles that remained in Florida and the United States
and this war do\id not last long and the US paid the Indians to move west
in hopes of peace. Many thousand Natives moved out west and a couple hundred
remained in Florida, but there was peace among them and the US.
The Seminole Indians lived off the land as most tribes do and they survived
by fishing and hunting. They crafted small houses that were similar to what
we would call a lean-to, which is just a sloped roof that is supported by
four poles. The Seminole Indians wore bright colored patchwork clothing and
many historians say that this style of clothing was influenced by the Spanish
that lived in Florida when they arrived. The Seminole tribes were also the
only Native American tribes that never signed a peace treaty with the United
States, but some of them were paid to move from Florida to Oklahoma, and many
Seminoles still reside in Oklahoma. There is also some of the Seminole tribe
in Florida still and the Florida State University’s sports teams are
named after the Seminoles, many college teams that had Native American names
changed them since many tribes were offended but there are over 9,000 Seminoles
that make up the remaining Seminole tribe, 3,000 in Florida and 6,000 in Oklahoma,
and they unanimously officially approved the usage of their name and image
for the FSU teams.
Looking for something different? Search our site.
|
|
Native American Tribes:
Native Americans
NativeNet Archives
|
