Southernmost Indians Call the Shots: Introducing the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes

Florida House Speaker E.C. Rowell Dressed in Indian Costume While Greeting Miccosukee Seminole Nation Tribal Leaders during Their Visit to the Florida House in 1965.  Tribal President Buffalo Tiger Stands with Him. Courtesy of the Florida Memory.

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Florida Governor Charlie Christ Joins Representatives from the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 2007 to Dedicate a Monument to Florida Indian History outside of the Museum of Florida History. Courtesy of the Florida Memory.

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Today, the two major recognized tribes in the state of Florida are the Seminole Tribe and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.  The Seminole Tribe was recognized by the U.S. government in 1957, while the Miccosukee Tribe was recognized in 1962.  In reality, there is a third group of Florida Natives who call themselves the Independent Traditional Seminole Nation, but they are not federally recognized.  Over the last 100 years, each of these groups of Florida Indians has forged its own unique political history with the United States.

The first half of the 1900s marked an ongoing debate concerning the matter of Florida Indian sovereignty.  At issue was how the Florida Natives could best deal with the United States to achieve their political goals, which eventually led them to transform from multiple autonomous factions into two federally recognized groups.  Despite these challenges, the two groups worked during the 1950s and 1960s to establish their own unique identities and political interactions with the U.S. and with one other.   Their legacy is the influence they asserted in their relationships with the state and federal entities that sought to bring the Indian population of Florida into mainstream citizenship.