Seminole Wars

First Seminole War happened in the years of 1817 to 1818 between the United States and the Seminoles of Florida. The first Seminole War was a punitive journey led by Andrew Jackson into the La Florida, which was a Spanish colony in 1818. Many are under the impression that the United States were responsible for the cause of the war and everything that happened in the war, when in fact both sides were responsible for the war, and both were equally to blame for the consequences of the war. The Seminoles were actually the Creeks who had escaped from being slaves in the Northern colonies. They spoke the Mikasuki language and consisted of several different Indian tribes. Their life centered around their clans and communities. The chiefs were chosen from a hereditary line from the women’s side of the family and the chief also stayed with his wife’s family. Their diet consisted of corn, beans, squash, and animals including: deer, rabbits, and wild turkey. The term Seminoles comes from the Spanish word “cimarron” which means wild men. They were allies of both the British and the Spanish and occupied lands that be accessible to unfriendly European empires. The Seminoles had weapons including: clubs, knives, bows and arrows, spears and axes and then the British introduced them to rifles and muskets. Most of the Seminole population consisted not of red men but of black runaway slaves. The Seminoles were…

of compensation. These disagreements would culminate in Florida in the 19th century with three Seminole wars which pitted the local native Seminoles versus the ever expanding United States government. Historian Joe Ketch studied the intricacies of the three wars and the events leading up to the conflicts in his book titled “The Florida Seminole…

worked as a domestic servant for Doctor Sierra, a Spanish physician. Abraham joined the British army during the War of 1812 because the British commanders promised freedom to slaves who joined them in fighting the Americans. Shortly thereafter, during the period that Florida was under nominal Spanish rule, the Americans attacked. Abraham fled from General Andrew Jackson’s military advances and helped build the Negro Fort (1816) on the Apalachicola River. The Fort became a haven for African…

HISTORY AND OUTCOME In 1846 near a border traced by a river, two neighbors went to war. The fighting between the United States and Mexico, began near the Rio Grande and raged deep into the heart of the Mexican nation. From the shores of the pacific to the Gulf Coast of Veracruz. Mexico’s regular Army was three times as large as that of the United States, but the ranks where filled with inexperienced troops. The American troops near the border where commanded by a 61 year old named General…

driven out of their homelands including escaping wars and colonial expansion, migrated to Florida. Although many other Indian tribes previously inhabited the peninsula, European diseases and wars devastated Florida’s Native population. Those few who survived: Timucua, Apalachee, Oconee, and Yuchi, among others, for the most part, assimilated with the more recent arrivals. Migration and the passage of time contributed to the spread of Muscogee language dialectal influences throughout Florida.…

they got to where they are today. The part of the exhibit that told the story of their removal to Indian lands was the most interesting to me. Instead of plaques that you could read, it was designed to evoke emotion. The statues that were used were plain and there were no real faces, but the sounds and the stories that were spoken showed the pain and hardship of the removal. Overall, the museum was thorough and informative of the Chickasaw’s history. After the museum, I ventured onto the sky…

Miccosukee Seminole Indian tribe Over 200 years ago, the Miccosukee tribe have been known by its characteristic way of fighting to protect their territory. First, the Spaniards, and then even worse, the Anglo-American who tried to exterminate the Miccosukee’s Indians almost two centuries ago and who eventually left them no other option than to live in a very small place in ancestral areas of the Everglades in Miami. The Indians seeking for a decent style of life had to adapt themselves to sleep…

point in federal government policy of moving away from encouraging the Seminoles to move to the Florida, and instead to force migration to the west of the Mississippi. Among the rationalizations discussed before the introduction of the proposal were that the Indian Territory would supply the Seminoles with more game to hunt, and better soil for cultivation. While no new federal treaty would be negotiated until 1832, the Florida Legislature in 1827 passed a decree to further persuade the…

The Green Corn Ceremony is an important Native American gathering. This passage will pertain solely to the Floridian Seminole ideas with some mention of Oklahoma Seminoles. Each tribe has their own rituals and traditions but are fairly all connected. To the Seminoles, the Green Corn Ceremony represents the first corn of July or August. Therefore, the special event is held every year to celebrate the growing season and a new year or new beginnings. The ceremony also depicts the community’s social…

Joy Harjo 's choice to use of Creek Indian Social Ball Game by Solomon McCombs as cover art for Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings invokes Mvskoke cultural traditions and methods of conflict resolution. The references to traditional ceremonies and the treatment of storytelling in her poems affirms that Harjo sees preservation of her heritage through art as a form of healing from ancestral trauma, a theme that dominates her poetry. Healing implies that the body and soul have worked through a…