Indigenous Peoples of Florida

The word Florida originates with a Spanish word meaning "feast of flowers"

To learn how to get started with American Indian research, find research facilities, and American Indian websites click here.

Tribes and Bands of Florida
A list of American Indians who have lived in Florida has been compiled by John R. Swanton in his The Indian Tribes of North America Many of the tribes in this list may have had very limited contact with the area which became Florida. Some have become extinct or have been consolidated with other tribes. And some may simply be variant spellings.

Acuera, Aguacaleyquen, Ais, Alabama, Amacono, Amacapiras, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Calusa, Caparaz, Chatot, Chiaha, Chilucan, Chine, Creek, Fresh Water Indians, Guacata, Guale, Hitchiti, Icafui, Jeaga, Koasati, Macapiras or Amacapiras, Miccosukee or Mikasuki, Mococo or Mucoco, Muklasa, Muskogee, Ocale or Etocale, Ocita, Oconee, Onatheaqua, Osochi, Pawokti, Pensacola, Pohoy, Pooy or Posoy, Potano, Saturiwa, Sawokli, Seminole, Surruque, Tacatacuru, Tawasa, Tekesta or Tequesta, Tocoboga, Ucita, Utica or Timucua, Yamasee, Yuchi, Yufera, Yui, Yustaga

Other tribes may have also been residents of the area of Florida, at least for a short time.

Reservations
From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America , and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.


 * Big Cypress Reservation: Federal, Tribe: Seminole
 * Brighton Reservation: Federal, Tribe Seminole
 * Creek Reservation
 * Dania Reservation
 * Florida Reservation (1839-1847)
 * Florida State Indian Reservation: State, Broward County, Tribes: Miccosukee and Seminole
 * Hollywood Reservation: Federal, Tribe: Seminole
 * Immokalee Reservation
 * Miccosukee Reservation: Federal, Tribe: Miccosukee
 * Seminole Reservation: Federal,under jurisdiction of Seminole Agency, Tribe: Wewokaof Oklahoma
 * Tampa Reservation

Agencies and Subagencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies or subagencies, that have operated or now exist in Florida, has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians , and others.


 * Apalachicola Subagency
 * Miccosukee Agency
 * Seminole Agency 1824-1876

Family History Library
Florida Superintendency 1824-1853

See Also:

 * Florida - History
 * Florida - Military for a list of forts