The Seminole Indians are a tribe who currently have territories and reservations in Florida and Oklahoma. They were originally part of the Muskogee tribe, which lived along streams in what is now southern Georgia and Alabama.
The Seminoles moved to Florida and Oklahoma around 1708 when white men drove them out of their homes and took their land. The Seminoles adjusted well to life in Florida. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Florida was a territory of Spain, which made the Seminoles Spanish citizens. Like white men, they had black slaves, but they treated their slaves with respect.
In the early 1800s, General Andrew Jackson attacked the remaining Seminole villages in Georgia and forced most of the Indians to flee to their relatives in Florida. Among them was a young woman and her son, Osceola, who would grow up to become a great Seminole leader. This attack started the First Seminole War. Florida was sold to the United States by Spain in 1819. In 1823, the Seminoles signed a treaty giving up most of their land. Once they moved into their new reservations in Central Florida, Andrew Jackson, who was president at the time, signed the Indian Removal Act, which required all Seminoles to move to the Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma.
Most of the Seminoles refused to go, which started the Second Seminole War. During the war, many Seminoles surrendered and relocated to Oklahoma. Those who chose not to surrender had to hide deep in the Everglades to avoid being found by white men. Osceola was captured by the United States government.
He died in prison. The Florida Seminoles never signed a formal peace treaty with the United States. The Seminole Indians are still living in reservations in Florida and Oklahoma. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. has its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida where there is a replica of a traditional chickee village.
The Seminole Indians have been in what is now the United States of America for over fifteen thousand years. They have been through many wars and tragedies along the way. The Seminoles have always been a strong tribe and continue to be so.
