Chapter 6
The Five Civilized Tribes
In This Chapter
Understanding the evolution of tribal names
Getting to know the major tribes
Recognizing other important tribes
There are over 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and there are many more tribes who have not received federal recognition, some of whom have applied for recognition and many who have not. The population of these tribes ranges from just a few dozen to hundreds of thousands. In this chapter, we give you a more detailed look at some of these groups.
Among all of the tribes along the southeastern part of the United States, five tribes made a marked impression upon the English colonists. In the minds of many of the English, these five tribes were far above other tribes in their intelligence, work ethic, and character. The tribes also made some effort to acquire some of the culture of the Europeans. These tribes were
The Choctaw
The Cherokee
The Chickasaw
The Creek (Muscogee)
The Seminole
Collectively, they were known as the Five Civilized Tribes.
What’s in a Name — a Tribal Name
Tribal names have changed through the years depending on who’s getting to do the labeling. In a lot of cases, the names of the tribes are not what the people actually call themselves. The Europeans might have misheard the tribal name, or misunderstood what their translators were saying.
A funny example of this is that the Caddo peoples were identified for many years by the Spaniards as the Tejas, when they heard people referring to Caddoan groups as “taysha,” or friends. Many early Spanish maps label East Texas as the Kingdom of the Tejas. Over time, they realized their error and the Caddo today take their name from one of the groups in their early confederacy, the Kadohadacho. The state of Texas got something out of the deal, though — its name and motto — two debts owed to the Caddo. Well, that along with the lands in the eastern portion of the state.
Today, many tribes are returning to their original names. For example, the Tohono O’odam are people who were formerly known as Papago. Some tribes maintain the names that they were given by outsiders, such as Creek or Chippewa in their legal names, but in reality, are known as Muscogee or Anishinabe.
Choctaw: The First Code Talkers
The Choctaw people, one of the largest tribal nations in the United States, originally lived mainly in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Their language is Muskogean and is similar to other Southeastern tribes. Choctaw is similar to the Mobilean trade language, a dialect used among groups in the Southeast to facilitate interaction and trade.
The Choctaw origin traditions center on a large mound in Mississippi called Nanih Waiya. In one version of the creation, people emerged from the mound and went in different directions to eventually become Southeastern tribes like the Cherokee and Chickasaw. The Choctaw emerged last from the mound and remained in the vicinity. Another version says that the people followed two brothers, Chahta and Chikasa, who held a sacred pole that would lean in the direction they were meant to travel. When it finally stood upright, the Chahta stayed in the area and raised a mound over it, surrounding the pole with the bones of their ancestors. Both stories indicate the importance of that particular land to the Choctaw. After being held by the State of Mississippi, the site of Nanih Waiya was finally returned to the Choctaw in 2006. The 2000 census counted 158,744 Choctaws.
The official seal of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma can tell you a lot about the Choctaw. The seal has an unstrung bow, three arrows, and a smoking pipe-hatchet. The pipe-hatchet represents discussion and deliberation. The three arrows represent three major figures in Choctaw history, Apukshunnubbee, Pushmataha, and Mosholatubbee.
The following sections explain a little about who they are and how they lived and still live today.
How they lived
Around the time of European contact, the Choctaw had two major groupings, or what anthropologists call moieties. Within these, there were a number of clans or iksas. The social organization governed things like marriage and authority over children. The Choctaw were matrilineal in nature. This meant the family was organized along the woman’s bloodline. Women and men each had their own set of rights and responsibilities, though.
Mound sites are important to Choctaw people because of the traditions involving Nanih Waiya. Archaeologists believe that the Choctaw incorporate the descendants of the people who constructed sites like Moundville, in Alabama.
A Choctaw game that is still played today is stickball. It was first described by a Jesuit priest around 1729, and he must have been alarmed at what he saw. This game was justifiably known as the Little Brother of War. Stickball was played by teams of as few as 20 or as many as 300 players. Using sticks with nets at the end, the precursors to modern lacrosse sticks, players tried to move a leather ball to the goal post. The games were sometimes used to settle differences between Choctaw towns. Today, it’s played by both men and women and remains a large part of Choctaw identity.
Politically, the Choctaw were divided into three major districts. Each of their districts had a leader. This leader often went by the title of mingo. The three mingos would come together in general council to discuss matters of importance to the entire tribe. These councils were usually open to anyone who wanted to attend, or to speak.
European contact and loss of lands
The first confirmed contact between the Choctaw and Europeans was with De Soto’s expedition in 1540. Word of De Soto’s brutality against other tribes and his desire for riches reached the Choctaw in advance of his soldiers. De Soto’s men clashed with the Choctaw near Mobile, Alabama. The reason for the battle is in dispute. Some say the Spanish were led into an ambush after taking Chief Tuscaloosa hostage. Others say the fighting started after the Spaniards beat a Choctaw who was forced into being one of their porters. The well-armed and armored Spaniards won the battle, but they suffered significant losses.
The Choctaw continued to have contact with Spanish, French, English, and American explorers and settlers in their homelands from around 1700 until the early 1800s. From 1776 to 1830, the Choctaw signed a series of treaties which slowly whittled away at the lands they claimed. They would eventually give up over 32,000,000 acres of land.
The Choctaw population at this time was estimated to be around 19,000 people. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed in September 1830. It required them to give up their remaining lands east of the Mississippi. The majority of the tribe moved to Indian Territory, which is modern-day Oklahoma. Those who went to Indian Territory became the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
A provision of the treaty allowed for a small group to remain in Mississippi. This group eventually became known as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Today, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw numbers about 8,900.
Some Choctaw in Louisiana refused to be removed and were federally recognized in 1995 as the Jena Band of Choctaw. Today, they are still a small group, with 241 enrolled members.
Of the tribes that would be removed from their old homelands to Indian Territory, the Choctaws were among the first to go. The first major group to leave numbered 4,000 and they set forth in 1831.
Charity-minded Choctaws
In 1847, the Choctaws heard about the potato famine in Ireland. Despite going through hard times themselves, a group of Choctaws collected money and sent it to help feed the starving Irish. In gratitude, a group of Irish people walked the Choctaw route of the Trail of Tears in 1997, and in doing so, raised more than $100,000 for famine relief for Somalia.
The “other” code talkers
While you may have heard of the Navajo code talkers of World War II, did you know that several Choctaws served the same function in World War I? A small number of Choctaws served in the army’s 36th Division. They participated in the Argonne-Meuse campaign as messengers or handling radio communications. They translated military orders or scouting reports into Choctaw. The Germans were never able to decipher any messages they managed to capture. Many Choctaw repeated these efforts in World War II, along with other American Indians from the Chippewa, Comanche, Cree, Crow, Hopi, Menominee, Mississauga, Oneida, Sac and Fox, and Sioux nations, as well.
Cherokees and the Trail of Tears
The Cherokee is one of the largest tribal nations in the United States. They originally lived in an area of over 81,000,000 acres covering Tennessee, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, and Virginia. Their language is Cherokee, which is distantly related to the Iroquois languages. The word “Cherokee” is not native to the Cherokee language. Its origin is not known. It is often thought to be a Choctaw word meaning “cave people.” The Cherokee used two main names to describe themselves:
Ani-yun-wiya (principle people)
Keetoowah (the name of one of their original towns)
“Cherokee” in their language was pronounced as “Tsa-la-gi.” English settlers called them Cherokee for so long that the name stuck. There are now two Cherokee dialects, eastern and western.
The official seal of the Cherokee Nation can tell you a lot about the Cherokee. The seal has a seven-pointed star. The points represent each of the seven clans and seven of the characters of the Cherokee language as designed by Sequoyah. The wreath is made of oak leaves. This is the wood which was burned in the tribe’s sacred fire.
You can find out more about the Cherokee and their past and present in the sections that follow.
Clans
Cherokee society was originally matrilineal, with emphasis centered around the woman’s bloodline. Over time, changes in the Constitution affected the role of clans and matrilineality, but clans are still identified by Cherokee people. Today, traditionalists refer to the clans when deciding on appropriate marriages. Children take on the clan of their mother. A boy’s mentor is his mother’s brother (uncle), rather than his father.
Cherokee society has seven clans: Long Hair, Blue, Wolf, Wild Potato, Deer, Bird, and Paint.
Clan members are considered brothers and sisters:
The Long Hair
Clan (also called Twister or Wind) usually produced Peace Chiefs. Orphans and prisoners of war were made members of this clan. They were at the eastern side of ceremonies.
The Blue Clan (also called Bear,
Panther, or Wildcat) often produced healers for children. They were to the left of the Long Hair clan at ceremonies.
The Wolf Clan often produced War Chiefs or protectors. It has often been the largest clan. They are usually to the left of the Blue Clan at ceremonies.
The Wild Potato Clan (also called Blind Savannah) were the gatherers or farmers. The Wild Potato is usually to the left of the Wolf arbor.
Deer Clan members were usually the best hunters and runners. The Deer Clan is often to the left of the Wild Potato at ceremonies.
The Bird Clan (also called Raven, Turtle Dove, and Eagle) often produced people who could deliver messages between heaven and earth. They were also responsible for the birds. At ceremonies, they were usually to the left of the Deer Clan.
Medicine People usually came from the Paint Clan. They were usually to the left at the Bird Clan at ceremonies.
How they lived
The Cherokee used bows and arrows, spears, blowguns, stone weapons, tomahawks, and battle hammers for hunting and warfare. The Cherokee could be fierce warriors. They often fought with the Creeks. They also engaged in a practice called blood feud. Simply stated, assaults against a member of one clan by another clan could be revenged against any member of the instigating clan. The responsibility for blood feuds was given to the Cherokee nation, in changes to the Cherokee constitution that were made around 1810.
The Cherokee also played the ball game the Choctaw played (see “Choctaw: The First Code Talkers” earlier in the chapter for more), but with different rules than the Choctaw. Another game involved marbles, which were originally made from stone, but today it is common for people to use billiard balls.
Rivers were sacred to the Cherokee. Rivers were considered to be the “Long Man.”
Medicine persons
Cherokees looked to medicine men and women to help them with illnesses. The knowledge of which plants or materials to use to practice medicine was passed along from one person to another. Medicine people were not allowed to “advertise” their services. Patients came to them by word of mouth. Traditional Cherokees still seek them out today. You can imagine how difficult it would be to preserve knowledge of medicines after having been uprooted from your homeland. The traditional healers today are impressive for having maintained this knowledge.
Lucky number seven
The number seven played a major role in Cherokee society:
There were the seven clans.
Unlike many other North American tribes, Cherokees recognized seven cardinal directions, rather than the traditional four. There were the standard north, south, east, and west. There was also up, down, and within or center.
There were seven levels of purity, with the seventh level being the hardest to achieve. The Cougar was believed to have attained this level, along with the cedar, holly, and laurel.
Encountering Europeans
Along with many of the other Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokee’s first encounter with Europeans was with De Soto in 1540. De Soto did not spend much time in Cherokee country, though. During the late 1600s, the Cherokee came into regular contact with Europeans, especially the British. Contact with the European world led to many advances and tragedies.
No good deed . . .
The Cherokee also were involved in several wars in the 1700s, including the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War. Despite problems with English settlers, the Cherokees allied with England in both of these wars. When the United States won the Revolutionary War, the Cherokees faced a gloomy future. The United States wanted land for its citizens. The Cherokee had one of the biggest pieces of land of any tribes in the area.
The Cherokees signed their first treaty ceding some land in 1721. This was with South Carolina. Over the next 110 years, they would lose all of their lands east of the Mississippi River. Some of these treaties were signed under duress. When Andrew Jackson was elected president, he saw American Indians in the Southeast as a true impediment to the United States. He wanted all of the Southeastern Indians to move west of the Mississippi, and especially to Indian Territory.
Removal
The Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. This law all but demanded that the remaining tribes in the southeastern U.S. (especially the Five Civilized Tribes) move west of the Mississippi. (See Chapter 12 for more info on Indian Removal.)
The Cherokee fought these efforts. Their own laws eventually made it a capital crime for any Cherokee to sell, or give away, any Cherokee lands. The final blow to the Cherokee’s desire to remain in what was left of their original homeland was the discovery of gold in their Georgia territory. Georgia passed a series of laws to deprive the Cherokees of all their rights, even those granted under federal treaties and laws. The Cherokees took some of the matters to court. Two cases went as far as the United States Supreme Court. In both cases, the court ruled in the Cherokee’s favor. However, President Jackson refused to enforce the ruling.
Several Cherokee leaders had been educated New England colleges. Cherokees Elias Boudinot and John Ridge went to Connecticut for their schooling. They became familiar with the thinking of the American people. They traveled across the country speaking to anyone who would listen. They explained how the Cherokee had adopted many of the European ways of life, as they had been asked. The Cherokees had a formal government. They had their own written language. A greater percentage of Cherokees were literate than Americans. Some Americans had sympathy for the Cherokees, others did not.
The New Echota Treaty
Eventually, Boudinot and Ridge realized that the Cherokees would have to move. So, they decided to try to get the best deal they could before there were no options left. Boudinot and Ridge were the nucleus of what was called the Treaty Party. Contrary to the wishes of the elected Chief John Ross and the majority of the Cherokee people, a few hundred members of the Treaty Party initiated a treaty with the United States at New Echota, Georgia, in 1836.
The New Echota Treaty gave up all of the Cherokee’s land east of the Mississippi, and required their removal to Indian Territory. When the treaty was announced, the Cherokee people were furious. Not a single member of the tribe’s elected council had signed the treaty. Over 16,000 of the 18,000 members of the tribe signed a petition stating that the treaty was a sham and did not represent the true wishes of the nation. Despite the obvious illegalities involved, the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty by a one-vote margin.
A deadline for moving to Indian Territory was established as a part of the New Echota Treaty. Most of the Treaty Party members moved immediately. Believing that the U.S. government would not enforce such an obvious fraud, and that some accommodation could be worked out, most Cherokees stayed where they were. Unfortunately for the Cherokees, the government wanted the land and did enforce the treaty. When the deadline arrived, the Cherokees were forcibly taken from their homes, many of which were superior to those of the white settlers.
A terrible, tearful trip
The trip from the Cherokee lands to Indian Territory was approximately 1,000 miles. Between 15,000 and 17,000 Cherokees made the trip. Often, they had little more than the clothes on their backs. Much of the trip was made overland. A drought had lowered the levels of many of the rivers in the area. This delayed some of the trip into the winter months. As many as 4,000 Cherokees died during the trip due to sickness, fatigue, or exposure. Many of the dead were the young and the old. Many more would die in the next few years in Indian Territory since they had been ill-prepared to move to a new land.
This forced march was called “the place where they cried,” or as it is better known, “The Trail of Tears.” Both Elias Boudinot and John Ridge would eventually be killed for their part in the New Echota Treaty.
Surviving against all odds
The Cherokees would survive and eventually become successful in their new lands. One of the first institutes of higher learning west of the Mississippi River was created by the Cherokee Nation.
The Civil War also wreaked havoc among the Cherokee. The tribe was divided on whom they should back, if either side. Some Cherokees fought for the North, others for the South. As many as 25 percent of the male Cherokee population would be killed in the conflict. The last Confederate general to surrender was a Cherokee named Stand Waite.
Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest Indian tribe in the United States. There are more than 200,000 tribal members. In the 2000 census, almost 750,000 people claimed to have some Cherokee ancestry. During the Trail of Tears time, a small group of Cherokees were able to hide in the mountains of western North Carolina. They were eventually given a small reservation by that state. There are three federally recognized Cherokee Nations:
The Cherokee Nation, 200,000-plus members in Oklahoma
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, 10,000-plus members in Oklahoma
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 13,400 members in North Carolina
Chickasaw: They Were Called Warriors
The Chickasaw lived primarily in northern Mississippi and Alabama, and in western Kentucky and Tennessee. They appeared to be related to the Choctaw. The Chickasaw language is another version of the Muskogean language. The Chickasaw people are perhaps the least known of the Five Civilized Tribes. The following sections give you a glimpse of who they were and are today.
The upright stick
There may have been as many as 15,000 Chickasaws at the time of the European contacts. Like the Choctaw, their ancient beliefs are that they migrated into their homelands from the west at God’s request.
As is often the case, the official seal of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma can tell you a lot about them. Known for their great courage and ability as warriors, the seal features Tishomingo, the last war chief of the Chickasaw, who died in 1841. The two arrows represent the two parts of Chickasaw culture. One group lived within the towns. The other division lived in areas surrounding the towns as security. The towns were often fortified. A unique sign of an honored warrior was the wearing of swan feathers. The warrior on the seal wears a mantle made from swan feathers.
At the hands of a friend
The Chickasaw had an interesting form of execution, and it was a practice shared with other Southeastern tribes. If a tribe member was condemned to die, they were given up to a year to tie up their affairs and obligations. During that time, they were free to come and go. No later than at the end of the year, they had to go to the place of execution. Normally a friend would be the one to put them to death. It is a point of Chickasaw honor and pride that of the few people who received this punishment, all of them completed their duty within the allotted year.
In the early historical period, Chickasaw towns would often stretch along both sides of a river valley for many miles. This helped to not overwork a small area. A family would often have both a summer and winter house, and a “woman’s time” hut. The crop growing was usually communal. As with most tribes of the Southeast, the Chickasaw grew a range of crops, but most important were the “three sisters”: corn, beans, and squash.
The Chickasaw also encountered De Soto in 1540. After his battles with the Choctaws, and noting the ferocious nature of the Chickasaw, De Soto did not openly confront the Chickasaw. He lived near them over the winter. Come spring, De Soto made too many demands of the Chickasaws and a battle ensued. The conquistadors soon left the area.
It was 1673 before the Chickasaws saw other Europeans. This was Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet. They were exploring the Mississippi River, coming from the north. Knowing of the might of the Chickasaw, Marquette and Joliet did not linger in their territory for long.
Family feuds
Like feuding family members, the Chickasaw and the Choctaw were often fighting. The Chickasaw often raided other tribes to get slaves. They soon became allied with British traders from the Carolinas. This led them into many skirmishes with the French over the next 100 years.
The Chickasaw’s political situation was similar to the Choctaw. They had a council and several leaders called minkos. The High Minko was their official leader, but his position was more for advice than for orders.
The Choctaw’s first land cession was in 1801. The deal provided land to build a road through their area. The road would become the famed Natchez Trace. This “small trickle” of land surrender led to a torrent in the next 30 years.
Although they aided Andrew Jackson in defeating the “Red Stick” Creeks in 1813, Jackson soon persuaded the Choctaw to sign a treaty ceding a large part of their lands to the United States government. When Mississippi became a state in 1817, there was even more pressure for the Chickasaw’s land. In 1818, they were only able to keep their lands in Mississippi by giving up their claims to land in Kentucky and Tennessee.
After the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, the Chickasaw’s days in Mississippi were numbered. When they did sell their lands in 1832, they only received money. Many of the other Southeastern tribes were given land in Indian Territory and a cash payment. It was 1837 before the Chickasaw could find suitable land to purchase. Thus they entered their own Trail of Tears.
On the wrong side
With the onset of the Civil War, the Chickasaws decided to join the Confederacy. This would be their first loss in a war. In fact, their government was the last one to surrender to federal authority in the Civil War. After the war, any tribe that had sided with the Confederacy lost more of their lands, as well as their prized slaves.
With the passage of the Dawes Act and other legislation, by 1901 the Chickasaw Nation had lost all of their communal lands. Tribal members were given individual allotments of land, and the tribal government was disbanded. The tribe reorganized in 1963. They remain today one of the largest tribes in the United States.
In the 1700s, a group of about 50 Chickasaws moved into South Carolina at the state’s request. The community still exists in Hemingway. It is called the “Chaloklowas Chickasaw Indian People.” They are a state-recognized tribe.
According to the 2000 census, there are a little over 21,000 Chickasaw in the United States.
Creek
The Creek people originally lived mainly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. There are two Creek languages, Muscogee, which is one of the Muskogean languages, and Hitchiti. One old story tells that the Creeks came out of a mountain in the west. They lived there until the earth opened up and ate their children. So, they began a long march to the east to find a new home.
The Creek were not one tribe, but a confederacy of many different towns. Over time, the towns united with each other and were identified based on geography as Upper and Lower Creek towns. While known by most people as the Creek, the name they use for themselves is Muscogee (or Muskogee). English colonists from the Carolinas called one member of the confederacy the “Ochese Creek Indians” (or Ocmulgee Creek) after the creek of the same name. Eventually, they shortened the name to just “Creek Indians.”
The center of the circle
In the early historical period, Creek communities often had a large, permanent town surrounded by smaller villages. The larger towns often had a large open area in the center of the town. Similar to many of the other Southeastern tribes, this is where many of the major ceremonies and games were held, and the sacred fire burned. The central town often had a large, round building where the council met. Each of the larger towns had a leader called the Mico. Each of these towns could have as many as 500 people. Individual houses were often covered in thatch. The Creek were good farmers, had extensive corn fields, and cultivated many other crops, too.
The Creeks had several encounters with Spanish explorers in the late 1500s; however, they managed to avoid any major battles with them. The Creek sided with the English of South Carolina and Georgia during the Apalachee War in the early 1700s. They were also known to be antagonistic to the Spanish in Florida. They established a significant trade in deer skins with the British. The Creeks would sell over 100,000 skins a year, for some time.
Eventually, the deer all but vanished from the area, and the Creek’s prospects were not good. More and more colonists came into Creek territories looking for land. In 1790, led by Mico Alexander McGillivray, the Creek negotiated a treaty with the U.S. government. It was called the Treaty of New York and it ceded all of the Creek lands in eastern Georgia. The Creeks were acknowledged to be the rightful owners of large parts of western Georgia and Alabama.
Red Sticks, White Sticks
Further incursions by American settlers led to a major split among the Creek towns. Some of the Creeks wanted to resist the incursion of American settlers. Inspired by the Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, they wanted to join in a revolt against the Americans. Creeks in the Lower towns were friendly with the Americans and resisted calls to join the revolt. This led to a Creek civil war.
In 1813, at the Battle of Burnt Corn, the Red Sticks had a run-in with American forces. Later, the Red Sticks attacked Fort Mims, where many mixed-blood Creeks had sought protection with the Americans. The Red Sticks killed as many as 500 people in the fort. This caused a general panic in the area. General Andrew Jackson led an army into the region. Along with his American soldiers were many Cherokees and White Stick Creeks. At the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Jackson’s forces were victorious over a large Red Stick force. Further battles left the Red Sticks defeated. The remaining Creeks signed a treaty which gave up much of their lands in southern Alabama and Georgia.
Forced out
It was only two dozen years later that most of the Creeks were forced to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) with most of the other American Indians of the Southeast. One small group of Creeks managed to stay in Alabama. Known as the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, this group of is now over 2,000 people. They have a small federally recognized reservation in Poarch, Alabama.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma has about 40,000 citizens, according to the U.S. census in 2000. In partnership with the Oklahoma State University system, the Muskogee Nation operates the College of the Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Some Creek people have returned to their traditional style of political organization and have become federally recognized as Creek Tribal Towns. These include the Alabama Qassarte, the Kilagee, and the Thlopthlocco.
Seminole: The Unconquered People
The Seminole people are the descendants of many Southeastern tribes who joined together in Florida. Many Creek people were forced out of Alabama and Georgia and mixed with the local Apalachee, among other groups. The formation of this tribe occurred over many decades. There were several significant waves of immigrations, especially after the Creek War. Runaway African slaves also became part of the tribe.
The name Seminole has been translated as “one who has camped out from the regular towns” and “runaway.” Some experts say it is a variation of the Spanish word cimmaron which means “wild.” While the name Seminole has it own variations because it emerged from so many groups, the Seminole Indians had two languages: Muskogee and Hitchiti.
By the 1800s, their population was estimated at around 5,000 people. As with many of the other Southeastern tribes, they had a Green Corn Dance. Various ceremonies were performed at this time. Individual houses were called chickees. It had a cypress log frame, which was raised above the ground. The roof was usually a thatch made from palmetto. (See Chapter 15.)
Problems aplenty
The Seminoles soon faced the same problems most tribes faced: American and Spanish settlers wanted their lands. Southern plantation owners also wanted the slaves who had taken refuge with the tribe. There were numerous disagreements over these issues.
A series of small violent encounters led to the First Seminole War. The starting date of this war is a matter of debate. Historians say it started somewhere between 1814 and 1818. It ended in 1818. Many of the battles were with American forces led by General Andrew Jackson. The army bested the Seminoles in most of the pitched battles. The fighting eventually led Spain to sell Florida to the United States.
In 1823, the United States signed a treaty with the Seminole at Moultrie Creek. This treaty established a Seminole reservation in central Florida. It took several years, and much prodding by the army, before most of the Seminoles had moved to the reservation in 1827. By the 1830s, the Indian Relocation Act called for all Southeastern tribes to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Some of the Seminole signed the Treaty of Payne’s Landing in 1834, which gave them three years to move. The conflict between the Seminoles who did not sign the treaty led to the Second Seminole War.
The Second Seminole War
In 1835, the fighting began in earnest. By 1837, a treaty was signed by several of the remaining Seminole leaders. Seminole chiefs Osceola and Sam Jones refused to surrender. They led a mission to Fort Brooks to help release over 700 Seminoles awaiting removal to Indian Territory. When Osceola and other leaders later met with the army at a peace conference under a white flag, they were seized and put in prison. The war continued.
According to the Seminole Nation’s Web site, “by May 10, 1842, when a frustrated President John Tyler ordered the end of military actions against the Seminoles, over $20 million had been spent, 1500 American soldiers had died and still no formal peace treaty had been signed.” The few surviving Seminoles were given a reservation in southwestern Florida. The rest were sent to Indian Territory.
The Third Seminole War
In 1849, more skirmishes took place among the Americans and the remaining Seminoles in Florida. More efforts were made to get the Seminoles to go to Indian Territory. A few of them left. Others stayed on their reservation. This led to the Third Seminole War in 1855.
While the army was actively involved in the Third Seminole War, much of the fighting involved militia. Chief Billy Bowlegs led many of the Seminoles. By May 1858, Bowlegs and most of the remaining Seminoles had surrendered. Most were shipped west. Chief Sam Jones and a few others remained in south-central Florida.
In all three wars, there was never a formal peace treaty. Often, the Seminoles were just left alone because it was too hard to find them in their inland Florida holdings. This is the reason the Seminoles are often called the “Unconquered.”
According to the 2000 census, the Seminole now number around 13,000 people. They are located in Florida and Oklahoma.