Section 4: 1950-1957--We Are Here
The mid-20th century witnessed a transitional period in the relationship between Florida’s Native population and the United States. In the 1950s, the U.S. began an effort to end federal supervision of many tribes in favor of gradual assimilation into mainstream American society. During this period, however, the Florida Indians took steps to redefine themselves politically, as they asserted their identities to the federal and Florida governments, as well as to one other.
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Children's Political Corner:
Primary sources are court records, letters, diaries, photographs, and other documents that were written by people who witnessed historical events. They are important tools that scholars use to analyze historical events. Let’s become historians!
The document to the left is called the Buckskin Declaration. It got this name because it is made of buck skin, which is a deer hide. The declaration was written by leaders from a group of Florida Indians called the Miccosukees. This group was smaller than the Seminoles of Florida. The Miccosukee leaders gave the Buckskin Declaration to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. They said that they were different from the Seminoles and did not want the United States to treat them as though they were the same. This was very important, because they wanted the United States to recognize them as a separate tribe. That way, they could make their own decisions and have their own government that could protect their rights.
Task: Click on the picture of the Buckskin Declaration. Read the document’s text in the section labeled “description.” Think about these questions:
- Who do the Miccosukee say they are?
- What do the Miccosukee say their people want? What is important to the Miccosukee people?
- What kind of government do they have?
- What kind of relationship do the Miccosukee people want with the United States?
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