The Seminole Indians are a tribe of Indians who now have territory and reservations in
Florida and Oklahoma. They once belonged to the Muskogee tribe that lived along streams in
what are now southern Georgia and Alabama. The Seminoles moved to Florida and Oklahoma
around 1708 when the white men drove them out of their homes and took their land. The
Seminoles adjusted well to life in Florida.
In the late 1700's and early 1800's Florida was a territory of Spain, that made the
Seminoles Spanish citizens. Like white men, they had black slaves, but they treated their
slaves with respect. In the early 1800's General Andrew Jackson attacked the few Seminole
villages left in Georgia and forced most of the Indians to flee to their relatives in
Florida. Among them were 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, which is now known as Oklahoma. Most of the Seminoles
wouldn't go. This started the Second Seminole War. During the Second Seminole War many of
the Seminoles gave up and went to Oklahoma. The ones that didn't had to hide deep in the
Everglades where the white men couldn't find them. Osceola was taken prisoner 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 have had many tragedies along the
way. The Seminoles always were a strong tribe and continue to be a strong tribe.
