Seminole
Seminole was a Native American nation.
Contents
History
In establishing Spanish Florida, almost all pre-existing residents had been genocided. "It took the Spanish exactly two centuries virtually to extinguish Florida's aboriginal life." This opened the door for mass migrations.
A coalition of the Yamassee, Apalachicola, Catawba (alt. Iswa, Nasaw, Issa), Waxhaw, and Santee nations emerged organize against British colonization in South Carolina. The Yamassee War began in 1715 with a raid on Charles Town.
Several of these nations, but especially the Catawba and Waxhaw, had a long history of conflict with the Haudenosaunee and their allies. The war was decided when the Cherokee nation joined against the coalition.
- The Catawba were quickly forced to make peace and re-join the war against the coalition. This established them as the dominant colony-supported tribe of South Carolina.
- The Waxhaw and Santee nations were effectively eradicated, while the Yamassee and Apalachicola fled into Florida.
Although uninvolved with the war, tribes including the Oconee migrated from their traditional lands to the Chattahoochee River to avoid conflict. Just a generation later, Ahaya led their nation into Florida.
Mikasuki (alt. Miccosukee) was settled by the Apalachicola and Chiaha.
Finally, the Seminole nation emerged from the Creek nation. The Red Stick War ended in the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which ceded all Creek territories to the United States. They then fled into Florida.
The First Seminole War began with the United States assaulting and destroying the Negro Fort. The presence of a fortification armed by free Black men and escaped Black slaves caused anxiety for slavers in neighboring Georgia, so in 1817, Jackson was charged with invading Spanish Florida to destroy it and the associated Seminole towns. He briefly occupied Pensacola. In 1819, with Spain's inability to hold Florida plain to see, the territory was ceded to the United States by the Adams-Onis Treaty. The Treaty of Moultrie Creek removed the Seminole to a reservation in central Florida.
The Second Seminole War began when that treaty was unilaterally voided in 1836. Jesup was charged with the removal of the Seminole nation. He had been previously leading a campaign in the undeclared Creek War. He abducted tribal leaders including Osceola (alt. Asi-Yaholo) and Micanopy, and burned settlements. By the 1840s, the Seminole nation had been reduced greatly and the U.S. Army began to withdraw without a formal peace. Those who were removed established the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; those who remained had to flee deep into the Everglades.
The Third Seminole War began in 1855 with the sudden burning of Seminole plantations by the U.S. Army. Violence continued until 1858. Again the Seminole nation was reduced and forced deeper into the Everglades.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida gained federal recognition in 1957. Citing cultural differences, the Mikasuki separated and gained federal recognition in 1962.
Composition
There are currently three federally recognized tribes which are counted as being part of the Seminole nation:
- Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, established by removals in the 1840s
- Seminole Tribe of Florida
- Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida