The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. They comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, as well as independent groups. The word "Seminole" is almost certainly derived from the Creek word simanó-li, which has been variously translated as "frontiersman", "outcast", "runaway", "separatist", and similar words. The Seminole were a heterogeneous tribe made up of mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia, who by the time of the Creek War (1813–1814) numbered about 4,000 in Florida. They were Creek-speaking Muscogee, and were the ancestors of most of the later Creek-speaking Seminole. The Seminoles generally welcomed newcomers, including Africans, African Americans, and American Indians who had escaped from slavery, as well as others attempting to avoid the bloody power struggles between European colonizers and other Southeast Indians.
The Seminole located their new villages in the Everglades, a patchwork of dense thickets and wetlands that provided protective isolation from outsiders. Their economy emphasized hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods such as nuts and berries; they also grew corn (maize), beans, squash, melons, and other produce on high ground within the wetlands. Homes included substantial log cabins and, later, thatched-roof shelters with open sides known as “chickees,” which promoted maximum ventilation.
The Seminole fought a succession of wars in 1817–18, 1835–42, and 1855–58 in an effort to stem further colonial encroachment and to avoid forced removal to the west. They fought against white settlers who wanted their land and their former slaves back. The Seminole tribe improved their independence by adopting a constitutional form of government, which allowed them to act more independently. In 1957, tribal members voted in favor of a Seminole Constitution which established the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida. Today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida is a global leader.
