Reorganization of the Florida Indian Tribes
Having voiced their disagreement with the termination initiative at the Congressional hearings held in March of 1954, both Florida groups returned home to continue to evaluate their options. In 1955, representatives from the Congressional Subcommittee on Indian Affairs visited Florida to talk separately with the two Florida Indian groups. This represented a milestone in interactions between the federal government and the Florida Natives.
The reservation Indians confirmed that they had begun to politically reorganize themselves in a manner compatible with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 and questioned why the U.S. had not acknowledged their attempts thus far. The off-reservation Miccosukee, however, wanted the federal government to designate particular lands for them, which would ensure their economic autonomy. Tribal representatives also expressed a desire to retain certain aspects of their own traditional system of governance, and did not articulate plans to modify their political structure.
Although the primary objective of the meetings was to ensure that individual community goals were met, each faction expressed concern that conflicting interests could arise if American governmental attentions were split between the two Indian political bodies.