A tribe of the Muskhogean family allied to the Hitchiti and Creek. The Seminole formerly lived in the southern and northern Florida. They are usually thought of as being inhabitants of the semitropical, swampy country of Florida, but they did not enter the Everglades section until after a long and bitter war with the white man.
Seminole men usually were tall and well proportioned. They wore
long, 
knee
length shirts of striped material, tied around the waist by a cord from which
hung bags or pouches for pockets. They also wore a turban wound round
their head Turkish fashion, which sometimes was decorated with plumes.
These Indians lived on game - deer, turkeys, fish, and even turtles which
they roasted in their shells. Their houses were made mostly from the
palmetto and were open on all sides, much like a covered platform.
Trouble between the Seminole and the American began in the War of 1812, but became serious in 1817-1818 during what has been called the First Seminole War. This war was brought on when the Seminole were accused of protecting runaway slaves. Army troops under General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida, and more than 300 Seminole were killed. The remaining Indians fled to the swamps.
In 1819 Spain ceded Florida to the United States, which was pledged to treat Indians fairly and deal justly with them - a pledge which it is doubtful was ever fulfilled.
In 1834 an attempt was made to force the Seminole on a reservation and as a result the Second Seminole War started. For almost eight years the Indians fought off the American troops. Finally when Oscelola, their chief, sought to talk peace he was imprisoned. The Indians were rounded up and sent to Oklahoma where they became known as the Seminole Nation and one of the Five Civilized Tribes. Some escaping capture, remained in the Everglades section of Florida where they were later assigned reservations.
The county in Oklahoma where most of the Seminole were sent at the end of the war bears their name, as does a county in Florida. Towns and villages of the name are in Alabama, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Related Information within this Site
[ Creek ][ Five
Civilized Tribes ][ Osceola ][ Red
Sticks ][ Slaves ][ Tattooing
]