Tribe: The Seminole. They are part of the "Five Civilized Tribes" (so-designated by white people) which include the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek.
Meaning of Name: From the Spanish word "Cimarron," meaning "Runaway" or "Wild Man." They call themselves the "Yat-siminoli" or "Free People," because they were thrown out or ran away from their original tribes, resisted Spanish and British attempts to subdue them, and as a group, had never signed a treaty with the United States. They originally formed in the 1700's as a collection of refugees from other tribes- the Creek, the Yuchi, the Yamasee, the Hitchiti, the Choctaw and runaway slaves from Africa.
Location: Originally from Florida, most Seminoles live in Oklahoma. These two groups have developed into distinctly different subcultures, per state, with varying degrees of assimilation. In 1832, the Seminole were forced off their land in Florida and relocated to "Indian Territory." Some refused to go and escaped to the Everglades where they continue to refuse to assimilate and where they speak Miccosukee, which is a Muscogean dialect.
Original Languages: Muscogee, Creek and Miccosukee.
Tribal Affiliations: The British, the Spanish
Traditional Enemies: The Creek, the United States Army
Traditional Housing: Open-air thatched roof houses (thatched roof, no walls, or at least not all four walls, looks like a tropical patio) called a "ramada" which are sometimes elevated to avoid being flooded. Like many of the other Muscogee tribes, Seminole villages are divided into white villages for peace and red villages for war.
Traditional Attire: Before they met the Spanish in the 1500's, considering how hot and sweaty it is in Florida, the Seminole wore as little clothing as possible: breach-cloths, maybe leggings, for the men, and for the women, woven skirts, no shirts. After they met the Spanish, who appear to have been easily shocked, the women wore long full Spanish-style skirts, sometimes ruffled, comprised of horizontal ribbons of various bright colors, and what was essentially a smaller and shorter bright but solid-colored skirt that served as a blouse, or a blouse with three-quarter-length sleeves and a wide ruffled cape-collar or shawl. Seminole men wore vests, pants and long-fringed shirts, and either boxy caps with or without feathers, or turbans. Seminole men and women both wear their hair in topknots or buns (because it is cooler that way) and some women wear "board hair," which is a hairstyle that looks like the hair has been wrapped around a plate to form a hair-halo around the face.
Traditional Foods: Like most of the Native American tribes of the Southeast, the Seminole were/are an agrarian people who grew their own corn, beans and squash. They also ate fry bread, deer, turkeys, rabbits, fish, turtles, raccoons, bobcats, squirrels, otter, birds, alligators, and probably pork after the Spanish arrived. The men did the hunting and fishing and the women did the farming, gathering and cooking.
Position of Women: Low. Men held the power, but kinship was reckoned through matrilineal descent. A child is born into his/her mother's band, which is like a clan. There are eight bands in the Seminole Nation of Florida: Panther, Deer, Bear, Wind, Bigtown, Bird, Snake and Otter. There are fourteen bands in the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma which are known by their Muscogee names, and two bands are comprised of Black Seminoles, who are of African-American descent.
Seminole Courtship: In Florida, you cannot marry someone from your mother's band. In Oklahoma, you cannot marry someone from the same band as both your mother or your father. A young man decides who he wants to marry and a council is convened to discuss it. If she and her family have no objection, the groom's family gives blankets and a bed to the bride's family to signal assent. The wedding is informal and the groom lives with the bride and her family until he has built them a house nearby.
Interesting Tidbits: Like many of the tribes of the Southeast, the Seminoles drank something called "the black drink," which is like a very caffeinated coffee that induces vomiting and is used in purification rituals along with smoking pipe-tobacco.
Traditional Religion: Protestant (Baptist) and Catholic due to the Spanish and French influence. Some overlap with native customs, such as the Green Corn Dance.
Slavery and the Seminole: One would think "Against" since they openly harbored runaway black slaves and integrated them into Seminole society. However, they were considered part of the Confederacy, because if they didn't join the South, they would have lost their lands.
Current Population: There are more than 15,000 registered Seminole.
Current Sources of Tribal Revenue: Cattle, casinos in Florida, tourism, cigarette shops, restaurants.
Famous Seminole: Osceola, a famous Chief of the Seminoles.
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