Seminole Nation



To get started in American Indian Research

The Seminole Tribe is part of the group known as the Five Civilized Tribes

Ancestral Homeland: Southeastern United States - Georgia and Florida

Linguistic Group: Muskhogean

Federal Status: Recognized

Leaders: Osceola

Miccosukee Tribe live on the Miccosukee reservation or along the Tamiami Trail

Tribal Headquarters

 * Seminole Nation-Indian Territory website

Brief Timeline

 * 1817-18: Seminole War; American troops under General Andrew Jackson. Jackson's victory led to Spain selling Florida to the United States.
 * Februray 22, 1821: Florida became part of the United States.
 * 1823 September 18, at Fort Moultrie Creek in Territory of Florida, with the Florida Tribes of Indians the tribe gave up 30 million acres of farmland and received .5 million acres in central Florida.
 * 1832 May 9,Treaty at Payne's Landing,Territory of Florida, annuity, removal, land cessions and to remove within three years
 * 1833 Mar 28, Treaty at Fort Gibson Major Phagan to superintend removal
 * December 1835 - August 14, 1842: second Seminole War lead by Osceola
 * 1835-1842: estimated 4,000 Seminole had been removed from Florida. Those removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) became the Seminole Nation and one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
 * A refugee band of Seminole negroes removed near the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas.
 * 1845 January 4, at Creek Agency, with Creeks and Seminole, annuity, rations, removal
 * 1856 August 7, Washington D.C., removal, with the Creeks
 * 1865 with the Cherokee and other Tribes in Indian Territory
 * 1866 March 21, Washington D.C.
 * 1957: Florida Tribe of Seminole incorporates - federal recognition

Reservations
Big Cyprus

Brighton

Hollywood

Miccosukee

Additional References to the History of the Tribe
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Seminole tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Enrollment:

 * Dawes Commission Enrollment
 * Eastern Cherokee- Guion Miller Enrollment

Indian Pioneer Papers
In 1936, the Oklahoma Historical Society and University of Oklahoma requested a writer's project grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in which interviews would be conducted with early settlers in Oklahoma who had lived on Indian land. More than 100 writers conducted over 11,000 interviews and were asked to "call upon early settlers and (record) the story of the migration to Oklahoma and their early life here." The University of Oklahoma Western History Collection has digitized the Indian Pioneer Papers which consists of approximately 80,000 indexed entries arranged alphabetically by personal name, place name, or subject. An index to the Indian Pioneer Papers may also be found at OkGenWeb Oklahoma Genealogy. A separate index of Indians interviewed may be viewed at: “Indians in the Indian Pioneer Papers” The interview of Willie Larney includes information about the Seminoles in Oklahoma.

Treaties

 * 1823 September 18, at Moultrie Creek in Territory of Florida, with the Florida Tribes of Indians
 * 1832 at Payne's Landing,Territory of Florida, annuity, removal, and land cessions
 * 1833 Mar 28, at Fort Gibson
 * 1845 January 4, at Creek Agency, with Creeks and Seminole, annuity, rations, removal
 * 1856 August 7, Washington D.C., removal, with the Creeks
 * 1865 with the Cherokee and other Tribes in Indian Territory
 * 1866 March 21, Washington D.C.

Important Web Sites

 * Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Constitution.
 * Constitution and By-Laws of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Ratified August 21, 1957.
 * Seminole Tribe Wikipedia
 * Seminole Nation-Indian Territory website