Seminole Indians: An Unconquered Tribe

1
Seminole IndiansAn Unconquered Tribe
Presented By Shawna Soller (Editor), Denise
Martinez (Researcher), Randall Smith (Timeline
Compiler) and Maggie Russell (Leader).
2
Table of Contents

• Title Page Slide 1
• Table of Contents Slide 2
• Time Line Slide 3
• General History Slides 4 5
• Global Impact Slide 6
• Famous People Slides 7 - 10
• Literature Slides 11 - 14
• Religion Slide 15
• War Slides 16 20
• Art Slide 21
• Architecture Slide 22
• Bibliography Slides 23 - 25

3
Time Line

• 1700s Seminole Tribe Unites
• 1804 William Powell Born
• 1810 Holata Micco Born
• 1812 Juan Caballo Born
• 1817 First Seminole War Began
• 1818 First Seminole War Ended
• 1832 Paynes Landing Treaty Signed
• 1835 Second Seminole War Began
• 1838 William Powell Died at Fort Marion
• 1842 Second Seminole War Ended
• 1855 Third Seminole War Began
• 1856 Seminoles given the Indian Territory
• 1858 Third Seminole War Ended
• 1864 Holata Micco Died
• 1882 Juan Caballo Died
• 1890 Seminoles and Whites begin to trade
  peacefully
• 1907 First Missionaries came to Seminole Lands

4
General History

• The word "Seminole" is derived from the Muskogee
  word "simano-li," taken originally from the
  Spanish "cimmarron." meaning wild or runaway.
• The Seminole tribe came together in the 1700s
  when groups of Indians from the Southeast left
  their territory to flee from enslavement. They
  settled in Florida which at the time was being
  held by the Spanish. Later in 1817 the Seminoles
  were accused of harboring runaway slaves. Because
  of this Andrew Jackson commanded 3,000 troops to
  attack the Seminoles and burn their land. This
  was the beginning of the First Seminole War.
  Shortly after the war the Spanish gave Florida to
  the United States. This sale meant the Seminoles
  had to live under the laws of the United States.
  Later a treaty was agreed upon and gave the
  Seminoles a reserved tract east of Tampa Bay,
  Florida.

5
General History

• In 1832 the Paynes Landing Treaty took away all
  the land from the Seminole Indians. Later in 1834
  the treaty was changed which allowed the
  Seminoles three years longer and then they were
  to leave. The Seminoles were angry with this
  because the they were being removed three years
  from the original treaty and not three years
  after the change. These problems resulted in the
  Great Seminole War. The war lasted for nearly
  seven years and thousands of people died.
• In 1842 an agreement was reached allowing for
  several hundred Seminole Indians to remain in
  Florida. By 1856 the Seminoles were given Indian
  Territory which was part of the Creek country
  that later became known as the Seminole Nation.
  Today the Seminole Indians are recognized as one
  of five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.

6
Global Impact

• The Seminole Indians are people that have left us
  with a lot of their culture. Today most of the
  Seminole Indians reside in Oklahoma. They have
  continued to make their Basketry which is from
  sweet grass that has been made for the last 60
  years. They also continue their gorgeous bead
  work. Seminole woman wear a remarkable twenty
  pounds of beads on them. There is also the
  Chickee style of architecture which is palmetto
  thatch over a log frame. This type of
  architecture came from the early 1800s when the
  Seminole Indians needed quick and disposable
  homes when they were on the run from the United
  States troops. They also continue to make their
  dolls that are dressed as original Seminole
  Indians were. Seminole children still listen to
  the old storytellers tell their stories and
  legends of the Seminole culture and life.
• We can learn a lot from the Seminole Indians.
  They were like African American slaves, on the
  run and were out only for their freedom and their
  land. From them we can learn about their lives so
  the people of the future will not make the
  mistakes of the people of the past.

7
Famous People
8
Holata Micco Billy Bowlegs

• Famous for attacks during the 3rd Seminole War.
• Assisted in negotiating land in Evergreens.
• Noted for very good war tactics.
• Part of the Cowkeeper Dynasty.
• Emerged as leader during 2nd Seminole War.

1810-1864
9
William Powell Osceola

• Had many names such as Black Drink,
  Asiyahola.
• Lead 5 successful battles against U.S. Generals.
• Estimated to have cost U.S. 50 million in the 8
  year war.
• Punished own people if they cooperated with the
  whites.
• Murdered the United States Indian Agent.

1804-1838
10
Juan Caballo Gopher John

• Began life as a black slave to the Seminole
  Indians.
• Later recognized as a Black Seminole Warrior.
• Able to speak in 4 languages fluently.
• Given title of Captain in Mexican army.

1812-1882
11
Literature
12
The Rabbit and the Lion

• Famous story told to Seminole Indian children.
• Explains why there are not lions on our side of
  the earth.
• Speaks of the continent dividing by the release
  of a rope.

13
The Milky Way

• Story regarding the life of Seminoles.
• Discusses that the Milky Way is where good
  Indian spirits go.
• Notes that the Milky Way shines best when a
  tribe member has died.
• Also called the City in the Sky.
• Explains how a solar eclipse occurs in Seminole
  tradition.

Milky Way patchwork
14
Seminole Creation Story

• Passed down from generation to generation.
• Explains how animals were brought to earth and
  named.

Seminole Tribe of Florida Flag
15
Seminoles and Christianity

• In 1907, the first Indian missionaries came to
  the Florida Seminoles living near Indiantown east
  of Lake Okeechobee. The missionaries were Creek
  Baptist Indian missionaries from Oklahoma. They
  spoke the Creek or Muscogee language.
• Black Seminoles inclined toward a syncretic form
  of Christianity inherited from the plantations.
  Certain cultural practices, such as jumping the
  broom to celebrate marriage, hailed from the
  plantations other customs, such as the names
  used for blacks' towns, clearly echoed Africa.

16
Seminole Wars

• First Seminole War (1817-1818)
• The Second War (1835-1842)
• The Third War (1855- 1858)

17
First Seminole War

• The First Seminole War was started with the
  invasion of eastern Florida by U.S. Army forces
  under the command of General Andrew Jackson.
• Andrew Jackson's army destroys crops, steals
  livestock, and destroys Negro forts in the
  Apalachicola and Suwannee River regions.
• White settlers had previously attacked the
  Seminole and the Seminole had retaliated.
• The presence of runaway slaves and maroons living
  among the Seminoles, a community known to
  historians today as the Black Seminoles, was
  another sore point.
• The largest battle of the war, an engagement on
  the Suwannee river, was between U.S. and black
  warriors. Jackson's overall campaign scattered
  but did not destroy the Black Seminole maroon
  settlements of Florida, led to the confinement of
  the Seminole Indians within a constricted area of
  the interior, and secured American control of
  eastern Florida, still nominally claimed by
  Spain.

18
Second Seminole War

• The Second Seminole War was fought by the
  Seminole as guerrillas. Drawing from a population
  of about 4,000 Seminole Indians and 800 Black
  Seminole allies, there were at most 1,400 allied
  Seminole warriors commanded by head chief
  Micanopy, but led and inspired by Osceola.
• A major battle fought between the Seminole and
  U.S. was the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in which
  Colonel Zachary Taylor won a Pyrrhic victory over
  the Seminole allies, claiming success even though
  U.S. forces suffered greater casualties.
  Eventually over 10,000 regulars and 30,000
  militia served in Florida during the conflict.
• Capture of Osceola under false flag of truce and
  later died at Fort Marion.

Chief Osceola
19
Second Seminole War

• Seminole villages were destroyed and their crops
  burned. Threatened with starvation, the conflict
  came to an untidy end on August 14, 1842,
  although no peace treaty was ever signed. Around
  1,500 U.S. soldiers had died during the conflict,
  mostly from disease.
• The U.S. government is estimated to have spent at
  least 20,000,000 on the war, at the time an
  astronomical sum.

• Many Indians were forcibly exiled to Creek lands
  west of the Mississippi others retreated into
  the Everglades where they became known as the
  Miccosukee.
• About 500 Black Seminoles emigrated west with the
  Seminole Indians, with 250 of the blacks
  receiving promises of freedom in exchange for
  their surrender. In the end, the U.S. government
  gave up trying to subjugate the Seminole in their
  Everglades redoubts and left the remaining
  Seminoles in peace.

20
Third Seminole War

• Third Seminole War was the final clash over land
  between the Seminole and white settlers.
• Third Seminole War, also known as the Billy
  Bowlegs' War.
• By the time the conflict was declared finished on
  May 8, 1858 there were fewer than 200 Seminoles
  in Florida -- and when Bowlegs surrendered, he
  had only forty warriors with him.

21
Art

• Basketry The Seminole tribe has been making
  baskets for many years. According to
  www.seminoletribe.com, the baskets were usually
  made of wild sweet grass. -gt

• lt- Dolls The Seminole tribe not only made
  houses out of palmettos, they also made dolls.
  These dolls accurately portray the clothing and
  hairstyles of members of the tribe.

• Beads The women of the Seminole Indians wore
  many strands of beads. These beads were usually
  made overseas. The were made of glass and about
  the size of a pea. -gt

22
Architecture

• The Seminole Indians needed a place to live that
  could be built very fast and simple. This was
  due to the fact that the Seminole Indians were
  usually being chased by US troops from place to
  place. The chickee was developed as a primary
  dwelling for the Seminole tribe. According to
  www.wikipedia.com, the word chickee is the
  Seminole word for house. The chickee was used
  as both a dwelling and for utility purposes. It
  consisted of a cypress log frame with palmetto
  leaves thatched over it.

23
Bibliography

• "Florida Facts." Seminole Indians. 05 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//dhr.dos.state.fl.us/facts/history/seminole
  /wars.cfmgt.
•  "Wikipedia." Black Seminoles. 30 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Seminolesgt.
• "Encyclopedia of the North America Indians."
  Seminole. Houghton Mifflin. 05 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/naind
  /html/na_035200_seminole.htmgt.
• West, Jean. "Slavery In America." Seminole and
  Slaves Floridas Freedom Seekers. 05 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_sem
  inole.htmgt.
• "The Seminole Tribe of Florida." 05 Oct. 2005
  ltseminoletribe.comgt.
• Murray, Dru. "The Unconquered Seminoles." Florida
  History Native Peoples. 03 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//www.abfla.com/1tocf/seminole/semhistory.ht
  mlgt.

24
Bibliography

• Gildewell, Jan. "St. Petersburg Times Turn."
  Osceola, ca. 1804-1838. 11 1999. St. Petersburg
  Times. 03 Oct. 2005 lthttp//www.sptimes.com/News/1
  12899/Floridian/Osceola__ca_1804_1838.shtmlgt.
• "Osceola." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.
  Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 03 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osceolagt.
• Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "CABALLO, JUAN,.
  03 Oct. 2005 lthttp//www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/
  online/articles/CC/fcacl.html.
• Welker, Glenn. "The Milky Way." Indigenous People
  Literature. 19 Oct. 2005 lthttp//www.indigenouspeo
  ple.netgt.
• "Legends." Culture Who We Are. Seminole Tribe of
  Florida. 19 Oct. 2005 lthttp//www.seminoletribe.co
  m/culture/legends.shtml.gt.
• Billy Bowlegs." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.
  Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 03 Oct. 2005
  lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy-Bowlegsgt.

25
Bibliography

• Wilkinson, Jerry. "History of The Seminole
  Indians." 01 Dec. 2005 lthttp//www.keyshistory.org
  /seminolespage1.htmlgt.
•  "Access Genealogy." Seminole Indian Tribe
  History. 01 Dec. 2005 lthttp//www.accessgenealogy.
  com/native/tribes/seminole/seminolehist.htmgt.
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  mericans.com/Seminole.htmgt. 
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