Origins of the Seminoles

The original Seminoles came to Florida because it was controlled by the Spanish, who had no interest in returning slaves to the British. They were mostly Lower Creeks who spoke the Mikasuki language, but other Indians, including Yuchis, Yamasees and Choctaws who had confronted Ponce de Leon and DeSoto, also joined the tribe in their trek to northern Florida from Georgia during the early 1700s.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Chief Micanopy


Chief Micanopy, leader of the Seminoles during the Second Seminole War, was said to have hired runaway black slaves to help build his home and community and also encouraged marriage between seminole indians and and former slaves to unify the tribe and its affiliates for a stronger opposition to the United States government.

Black Seminole Drawings

Black Seminoles

Works Cited for "Current Events" Post

http://velielaw.com/showArticle.asp?articleid=17

Current Events

Floridian Seminoles that were moved from their land during the Second Seminole War were forced to go to the golden prairies of Oklahoma, and that meant all of them (or at least those who surrendered).

This included the runaway slaves that were living in rural Georgia and South Carolina who had fled the harsh living conditions of plantations to gamble on living in the wild, swampy wetlands of Florida. Floridian Seminoles were a juxtaposition of runaway indians and slaves from multiple tribes and plantations who banded together under the humid Florida sun to maintain survival, which eventually led to the beginning of a completely new tribe. Black Seminoles were a great tool in interpretation and negotiation with U.S. forces trying to rid Florida of Indian tribes. They spoke Muscogee and participated in Seminole rituals and customs such as eating fry bread and engaging in the Green Corn Ceremony (Busk).

But once they were forced into Oklahoma, the Seminoles both black and full blooded realized that there was no use for afro-seminoles' characteristics such as swamp disease immunities or translation being as they were in the less-rugged prairies of the mid-west and many of them spoke english. Only to make matters worse, the United States put the ruling of the Oklahoma Seminoles in the hands of the Creeks, who favored slavery. In doing this, the tribe actually sided with the Confederacy during the civil war. After the war, the Seminoles signed a treaty in 1866 which included the full recognition of black tribal men and woman as Seminole Indians. The ties between the black and the full blooded seminoles began to fade, up until the early 1960's. Fast forward to the 2000's and things are right back to where they used to be: segregated.

After the U.S. Government awarded the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma $42 million in the mid-1990's for forcing them out of Florida, the Oklahoma Tribe is now divided on who is entitled to the retributions. The Tribe tried to change its constitution by doubling the amount of blood required to receive retribution money. The U.S. enables every Indian tribe to govern itself, but any treaties made between a tribe and the U.S. must be strictly enforced and can not be overridden by the tribe with out the United States' consent. Because of the treaty of 1866, black Seminoles are indeed Seminoles and are equally entitled to the hand out.

However, the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma is suing the government for this ruling.

The black Seminole descendants are now living in extreme poverty (some not being able to afford school clothes for their children and some who can not maintain repairs to the houses that they have been living in all their life) and are mostly forbidden to sit on the Tribal Council to talk politics and speak the needs of those that fall on deaf ears. The descendants of the ex-slaves-turned-Seminoles say that it's not a matter of money but a matter of racism. The full blooded Seminoles say it's not a matter of money but a preservation of bloodlines; the afro-seminoles say that if it weren't for their ancestors, there wouldn't be a Seminole tribe in either Florida or Oklahoma and that they are equally responsible for creating the tribe. The full-blooded Seminoles say that they respect the ex slaves and their descendants but feel as though they were never accepted as part of the tribe but were taken under the wing of runaway indians who felt for their plight.

Either way, it is sad that both full-blooded indians and slaves found the common ground of being outcasts in a world run by white settlers and joined up with each other for survival, only to be fighting with each other a little more than one hundred years later over who gets money, a western European concept introduced to both slaves and indians alike by invading forces.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Government


The Seminole Nation began in the early 18th century, but was not formally recognized as a separate tribe by the United States until 1957. Seminoles today have sovereignty over their own tribal lands and an economy based on tobacco, tourism, entertainment and gambling. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, like other Indian nations, retains its own government, laws, police, and services as if it was an independent nation. However, the Seminoles are also US citizens and are required to obey the law of the United States.

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma's government is made up of two key components, the Executive Office (Executive Branch), and the General Council (Legislative Branch). The Executive Office consists of a Principal Chief, and an Assistant Chief. The Principal Chief and Assistant Chief are similar to a president and vice president, given that they have executive authority to make decisions based on issues presented to them, but the General Council is actually above the Chiefs on the government's organizational structure and they are the ones who bring about the laws.

The General Council is made up of 28 representatives; two from each of the twelve bands and two each from the freedman bands. Representatives are elected to the Council for a four-year term, through a general election held to coincide with the election of the Chief and Assistant Chief. The Council representatives work as a body to pass resolutions and ordinances that govern the Seminole Nation and its members as a whole. Council resolutions and ordinances are first discussed at the Band level, where Band members review the issues and send their vote to the Council floor through their representatives. The General Council only meets four times per year to pass resolutions and ordinances, but in the case of an emergency or special issue, it has the ability to call a special session.


Links:

Constitution of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma: http://www.seminolenation.com/government_constitution.htm

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Code of Laws:

http://www.seminolenation.com/government_codeoflaws.htm

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

ART

Seminole culture has been manifested on the artist's canvas. Artist Noah Billie, is the most acclaimed of Seminole painters, had a distinctive style and a love of culture which is very evident to anyone who views his works. Wracked by illnesses with origins in Agent Orange-soaked Vietnam, Noah struggled to maintain his strength while producing a significant body of work, much of which is preserved in the Tribe's Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. He died in the early spring of 2000 at the age of 51, while his first large exhibit was being planned at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
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Paintings by Noah Billie


Basketry

"Sweetgrass" baskets have been made by Seminole Indians for more than 60 years. The wild sweetgrass used in these beautiful, sturdy creations is hand-picked from high, dry areas of the Everglades basin, washed, laid in the sun to dry and sewn together with colored threads. Palmetto fiber is the usual basket base material. The baskets may take many different shapes. Sweetgrass baskets are available at the Marketplace, click on baskets.

Beadwork

The amount of beads worn by Seminole women was a phenomenon to all who saw them. Imagine the amount of stamina it took to conduct daily tasks, which were a lot more vigorous than sitting in front of a TV, while wearing 12 pounds or so of beads!

Dolls

More than just cloth-wrapped palmetto fiber husk stuffed with cotton, the Seminole Doll accurately portrays the clothing and hairstyle worn by traditional Seminole men and women. It is a favorite item of purchase at the many festivals and "powwow" events attended by Seminole vendors. Palmetto fiber husk dolls are available at the Marketplace, click on dolls.

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Education

Past

When the Seminole Nation was removed to Oklahoma schools quickly popped up to educate Indian youngsters. By 1906 15 schools were in operation to serve the educational needs of the youngest tribal members.

While the US Federal government supported the schools they wanted to ensure that teachers were not teaching in the Seminole native language nor were they teaching the Seminole children about their native history and culture. Reports during that time period show that school superintendent insisted that teachers focus on teaching girls cooking, sewing and housekeeping and farming, carpentry and care of livestock to boys. For this reason, the Federal government did all it could to prevent the hiring of teachers by the tribe. For their part, the tribe resisted these efforts in order to provide their children with an education that was culturally relevant to tribal children.

Prior to 1900 the vast majority of schools were provided to the tribe via missionaries. While the missionaries may have had the best of intentions, their ultimate goal, conversion to Christianity, served to diminish the cultural and spiritual identity of the tribe. In 1867 the first school for Seminole Indian children was built using Reconstruction funds. The Presbyterian Home Mission Board provided the first teachers with a curriculum strongly focused on teaching English. In these early schools, children attended classes in the morning and returned home to work in the fields in the afternoon.

As time went on, schools became more specialized and in 1891 the Mekasuki (also: Mekusukey or Mekasukey) Academy for Boys opened followed in 1892-1893 by the Emahaka (also: Emahake) Academy for Girls.

Present

Currently the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma embraces primary, secondary and continuing education for its members. In doing so, the tribe offers a variety of educational grants and scholarships for its members with which to pursue college and vocational education. For all educational awards the student must provide the following:

1. Show tribal membership card
2. Show Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood
3. Provide college transcripts once per year
4. Maintain GPA of 2.0

Additionally, the following describe the additional requirements for Vocational and Undergraduate studies.

➢ Vocational School
The tribe allows a maximum award of $2400 to be used toward vocational education. The amount of the award varies based on enrollment status but will not exceed the actual cost of tuition and books. Additionally, the tribe will not award the funds directly to the student but will pay it toward the school. However, if a student can show paid receipts for tuition and/or books the tribe will reimburse the student directly. Finally, students have the option of an additional $100 toward the cost of any vocational licensure.

➢ Undergraduate Education
Educational award for undergraduate students may not exceed $5600 and total amount of award is determined based on undergraduate status i.e. freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and total number of credit hours taken.

In addition to the standard awards, tribal student may also be eligible to receive an incentive award. In order to qualify for the incentive award a student must take a minimum of 12 credit hours (or equivalent) and maintain a 3.5 GPA or the student must take 15 credit hours (or equivalent) and maintain a 3.0 GPA. In total the incentive award cannot exceed $4000.


























Works Cited

McReynolds, Edwin The Seminoles
Jorgenson, Lloyd P. Materials on the History Of Education in State Historical Journals
http://www.seminolenation.com/services_judgmentfund.htm