| Florida
Everglades Seminole |
What
are the Everglades?
In Florida, there is a huge area of 9-million-acres
of wet, swampy land, covered with tall saw grass. There are many slow
moving streams of water and stretches of quicksand. This area is called
the Florida Everglades. Many animals live in the Florida Everglades
including poisonous snakes, panthers, bobcats, alligators, deer, otter, turtles,
fish, birds. There are beautiful flowering plants.
Hammocks:
Dotted here and there in the Everglades are pieces
of firm ground positioned a few inches above the water. These firm pieces
of ground are called hammocks. They are islands in the swamp. Hammocks
vary in size from a footstep to an acre or more. Many support thick
forests.
Waterways:
Waterways run everywhere through the Everglades. Some waterways are only a
few inches deep. Others are 3 or 4 feet deep.
Who
are the Seminole?
The Seminole Indians are a group that settled in what
would become modern day Florida. When first the Spanish and then the
French explorers and settlers arrived in Florida, they wanted the Seminole
lands. There were wars. Some Seminole fled to the Everglades to live. They
knew the white man would not want the land of the Everglades. It was too
inhospitable. In time, the Seminole learned to love the Everglades. They
found it rich with food and shelter.
What
did they eat?
Food: Seminole
men were good hunters. Fish were speared from canoes. They caught otter,
raccoon, bobcats, alligator, turtle, and birds. To catch deer, they
would burn a patch of grass. When the new grass grew in, the deer
came to feast, and the Seminole caught the deer.
Villagers planted crops behind their house and on
nearby hammocks. But they did not tend their crops. They did not weed or
fertilize or irrigate. Wild plants mingled with the ones they had planted.
The land teemed with food like wild pineapples, mangos, guava, oranges,
and mulberry trees. The Seminole planted pumpkins, pawpaws, and corn. Corn
was the main crop. They used corn to make corn flour, corn bread, corn
pancakes, and even a corn soft drink called sofkee. Sofkee is still a
popular soft drink among the Seminoles on reservations today.
Cane
Sugar: These early people sweetened their food with
sugar cane. To crush the cane and get the sugar, they put wheels on either
end of a wooden pole. The men pushed the pole across the cane until
it shredded.
Eating
Houses: Each village had an eating house. This was
the biggest house in the village. The women cooked the food, and made food
for the entire village. Everyone ate together. They did not have
silverware. They ate with their fingers. The two big meals were breakfast
and lunch.
What
did they wear?
Clothes:
Babies wore patchwork dresses. At about age 3, the
boys continued to wear a knee length one piece garment. The girls moved to
a 2 piece garment - a blouse with puffy sleeves and a wide long skirt. As
a girl grew older, she had to wear three long skirts at the same time. The
Seminole made patchwork clothes, carefully hand sewn. Some had
applique and embroidery. Some had silver jewelry sewn on them. Clothes
were bright and cheery.
Beads: The
Seminole loved beads. From the time a baby was born, a string of
beads was placed around his or her neck. At age 3, the boys switched to a
scarf. But girls continued to receive new bead necklaces, to add to the
ones they already wore. By age 5, the beaded necklace a girl wore would
have grown to about 36 inches. Adult women wore beaded necklaces that were
about 60 inches long, and women did wear more than one necklace. These
necklaces did not hang down. The women wrapped them around and around
their neck until you could not see their neck at all. All you
could see were beads. The beads were heavy.
Hats: Men
wore a cowboy type hat with a colorful band around the rim.
Silver
Jewelry: The Seminole made and wore many rings and
bracelets made of silver.
Clans:
The Seminoles were broken up into several
clans. A clan is a family group. Each clan was named after something in
nature - Panther, Bear, Bird, Deer, Wind, Snake, Otter. Clan names
were very important. Your name announced what clan you belonged to.
The Seminoles had a naming ceremony. Only 2 people could have the same
name in a clan. When one died, that name was passed on to a boy or
girl turning 12. That person carried the clan name until they died, and
again the name was passed on. No other tribe or clan could use those
names. Clans had songs and special necklaces that also
identified them.
Marriage:
A wedding could be performed by any male
relative of the bride or any one of the "old men" of the tribe.
Often, the bride's father performed the ceremony. Marriage between
relatives was forbidden. You had to marry out of your clan. When a child
was born, it belonged to the mother's clan.
Law
and Order
The Seminole believed that you took care of your own,
and you punished your own. If a Seminole broke a Seminole law, the clan of the
offender inflicted the punishment.
Scarring: In
the old days, the Seminole would cut deep scratches in their arms and
legs. These cuts would be given for punishment and also for purification.
Cuts were deep and arranged in a line.
A Young
Maiden Disappears:
Not all punishment was scarring. Once, in the
1930's, a young girl wanted to go to the Indian school run by the whites.
Her clan allowed her to do so. White children attended this school as
well. There was only one schoolhouse. One day, this young girl put on a
bathing suit and went swimming with her white friends. Her clan heard
about it. That young girl disappeared into the Everglades for six months.
When she reappeared, she was wearing 3 long skirts, one puffy sleeve
blouse, a neck wrapped with beads, and she behaved as a young Seminole
lady should behave.
Everyone had to obey the rules. If you broke them,
you were punished. Punishment was swift. In rare cases of very serious
crime - if you killed someone, for example - your own clan would hunt you
down and kill you.
Daily
Life
Chickee (Seminole
Homes): Each family had their own home. Homes were called
chickees. Chickees were platform houses, made of logs. The bottom
floor was about 3 feet off the ground for protection from flooding and
animals. The roof was slanted.
Certain times of the year, people hung canvas
curtains (walls) to keep out the rain and cold weather. When walls were
not needed, the Seminole rolled up their canvas curtains and hung them
from the rafters to keep them safe and dry. They hung many things from the
rafters of their homes - cooking utensils, a baby swing, perhaps a wheel.
You had to keep things off the wet ground if you wanted to keep them safe.
Sometimes, the women worked in the chickee during the
day. The baby's swing, which was securely fastened to the rafters of the
chickee, had a piece of cloth tied to it that hung down. While
working at something else, the women would tug the piece of hanging cloth
to gently rock the baby.
Comfortables: Seminole
families slept in their chickee at night. Their beds of hides or blankets
were called "comfortables". Comfortables were rolled up and hung
from the rafters during the day. They had very little other furniture,
perhaps a chair, a table, and a few colorful baskets.
Seminole Kids: Kids
played quietly. They each had a little box that was exclusively theirs. It
was filled with their treasures - a shell rattle, a small ball, a
favorite doll. When they were not playing with their toys, they put their
toys neatly away, and hung their little toy box from the rafters to keep
it safe.
Pets: Tame
otters, birds
Seminole Dolls: Seminoles
were excellent woodcarvers. They made many things out of wood - homes,
canoes. They also made dolls. They made two types of dolls. One was a
little doll, about 2 inches tall. Each doll was dressed with fabric
garments such as a Seminole woman or man would wear. The other doll was
much bigger, perhaps 10 to 18 inches, and carved out of wood in an odd
way. Everything was elongated as if you took a person and pulled them thin
like taffy. It's a strangely attractive doll. Today, Seminole artists make
both types of traditional dolls.
Village Life: Seminole
villages were very small. The entire village might be 2 homes (chickees),
1 eating house, and 1 storage house. A large village might have 10-12
homes (chickees). Their homes were built in a circle around a central open
area used as a protected play area for their children and their central
campfire. Campfires were always built in the same way. Logs were arranged
like the spokes of a wheel.
Seminoles did not stay in their village year around.
They were often on the move, camping near harvest areas or off
hunting. If someone came by and found a village deserted, they were
welcome to spend the night. There were no locks. There were no walls.
The Seminole might not return to a specific village
for some time, but wherever they went, they either built a new camp, or
stayed at an old one that they had built in the past. Each Seminole family
had many homes.
How
did they travel?
Canoes:
They traveled by canoe. Canoes were decorated with
family colors. A favorite design was the diamond shape. Canoes were made
in different size. The largest one could carry a family. The smallest was
used for spear fishing.
On
Foot, Following Animal Trails: There were trails
made by animals through the Everglades, trails that led from one hammock
to another. The Seminole were experts at following animals trails.
Seminole
Religion:
Dreams:
The Seminole believed that everyone had dreams. When
someone had a dream, they would ask the old ones for guidance. They did
not have to take the advice offered, but they believed it was good to get
advice.
Animal
Spirit Helpers: They other place they could turn for
help was by praying to their animal spirit helper. The Seminole believed
that everyone had an animal spirit helper who watched over them and
guided them. It might take many years and many dreams to recognize
your particular spirit. Nothing in your dress or name could give away
the identify of your helper.
Funeral
Practices: When someone died, their body was put in
a coffin along with a bundle of clothes and some cooking utensils.
The coffin was buried. The rest of the family abandoned whatever chickee
they were living in at the moment, and moved on. The home
remained empty until another family moved in.
Ancient
Festivals:
Tribal
Festivals: There were two big festivals held each
year that were attended by all the clans. One was the Corn Dance in
June. The other was the Hunting Dance in September. Each
festival lasted 3-4 days. People came from great distances to attend these
festivals.
Musical
Instruments: Music was greatly loved. The Seminole
invented several instruments. One was a sugar cane flute. It had four
holes cut in it to vary notes. They made coconut shell rattles, and
used small drums mostly for ceremonial use.
Seminole Stories
The Seminoles loved stories of all sorts, including tall tales.
Seminole Tall Tale: Around 1896, Chief Wildcat told
some white traders that the Seminoles were the descendants of giants that
were 6 feet tall. Some were 8 feet tall. According to Chief Wildcat, the
giants built huge mounds. First, guards would burn an area around the
mound for some considerable distance. Then two guards would cross the
burnt earth and climb to the top of the mound. If anyone else tried to
cross the burnt earth, the guards would catch them, bring them to the top
of the mound, and burn them up.
None of the white traders asked if this was still
a Seminole custom, much to the Chief's delight.
Men Visit the
Sky (Seminole story)
Links for Kids
Seminole
Tribe - How do you spend your day?
Seminole
Indians
Seminole
Indians Report
Seminole
Clothing
Chief
Osceola (Scholastic)
Everglades
Adventure
Conflict in the
Everglades (Thinkquest)
Florida Panther
Endangered Species of
Florida (5th grade Thinkquest)
Free
Presentations in PowerPoint format
Free
Clip Art
Return to the Southeast
Indians Index or the Native
American Index
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All Rights
Reserved
Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin
Seminole Tall Tale loosely retold by Lin
Donn
Have a great year!
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