The Seminole Indians are a tribe of Indians who now

have territory and reservations in Florida and Oklahoma.

They once belonged to the Muskogee tribe that lived along

streams in what are now southern Georgia and Alabama.

The Seminoles moved to Florida and Oklahoma

around 1708 when the white men drove them out of their

homes and took their land. The Seminoles adjusted well to

life in Florida.

In the late 1700's and early 1800's Florida was a

territory of Spain, that made the Seminoles Spanish

citizens. Like white men, they had black slaves, but they

treated their slaves with respect. In the early 1800's

General Andrew Jackson attacked the few Seminole

villages left in Georgia and forced most of the Indians to

flee to their relatives in Florida. Among them were a

young woman and her son, Osceola, who would grow up to

become a great Seminole leader. This attack started the

First Seminole War.

Florida was sold to the United States by Spain in

1819. In 1823 the Seminoles signed a treaty giving up most

of their land. Once they moved into their new reservations

in Central Florida Andrew Jackson who was president at

the time signed the Indian Removal Act which required all

Seminoles to move to the Indian Territory, which is now

known as Oklahoma. Most of the Seminoles wouldn't go.

This started the Second Seminole War. During the Second

Seminole War many of the Seminoles gave up and went to

Oklahoma. The ones that didn't had to hide deep in the

Everglades where the white men couldn't find them.

Osceola was taken prisoner by the United States

government. He died in prison.

The Florida Seminoles never signed a formal peace

treaty with the United States. The Seminole Indians are

still living in reservations in Florida and Oklahoma, The

Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., has its headquarters in

Hollywood, Florida, where there is a replica of a traditional

chickee village.

The Seminole Indians have been in what is now The

United States of America for over fifteen thousand years.

They have been through many wars and have had many

tragedies along the way. The Seminoles always were a

strong tribe and continue to be a strong tribe.