Where to Now? Events Following Constitutional Ratification

Seminole Tribal Members and BIA Employees Gather for the Groundbreaking of the Arts and Crafts Center on the Dania (Hollywood) Reservation in 1959.  The Business Council Sanctioned the Project, Despite its Supervision by State and Federal Officials. Courtesy of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indain Museum.

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Seminole Tribe
During the late 1950s, the Seminoles on the reservations continued to reevaluate the Bureau of Indian Affairs' and state initiatives, and worked to steadily build their relationship with the U.S.  Educational programs were now being cautiously encouraged, and federally funded health care was being provided to more people.  The Seminoles were also receptive to programs that improved their infrastructure and provided economic opportunities, although the lack of federal funds limited the amount of available BIA assistance.  The Seminole Tribe, however, was concerned that the Miccosukee Tribe’s requests were diverting federal attention away from the reservations and endangering their pending claims for financial assistance.

"Indians Ask Foreign Aid In Florida Land Dispute" by M. D. Rosenberg, The Washington Post, November 18, 1958. Courtesy of the George Smathers East Libraries Area and Special Studies Collections.

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Miccosukee Tribe
In 1958, the Miccosukee Tribe petitioned other countries for acknowledgment of their existence.  Despite Miccosukee insistence that past treaties between the Florida Indians and previous colonial powers were still viable, no European nation would agree to become involved.  The next year, however, they sent a “buckskin of recognition” to President Fidel Castro shortly after his revolutionary forces seized power in Cuba.  He responded by inviting a contingent of Miccosukee representatives to his country.   Understanding the important political statement that could be made through their alliance, the two entities jointly recognized one another.