Page 16 - LIN November 2022 Issue

TINA OSCEOLA Chickee Talk

A CHANGING

FLORIDA

Co-Written by Tina Osceola and David Scheidecker,
the Tribal Historian, Seminole Tribe of Florida Captain Tom Tiger
he Seminole who remained in Florida had been prepared for in Big Cypress. One trading post established by the Seminole east of
survival in the harsh wetlands environment by nearly five Lake Okeechobee grew to become the community of Indiantown.
Tdecades of wartime life. The declaration by the United States One Cow Creek leader, Thlocko Tustenuggee (Captain Tom Tiger),
that the war was over did not mean much to the Native people, who began to visit the American towns regularly, becoming a popular figure.
had heard such statements before. The Seminole remained on guard When one settler stole Tom Tiger’s horse, he became the first Native
and cautious, making their homes and camps in places hidden from person in Florida to take an American to court. While he lost the case,
the expanding American settlements. the support he got spread into the organization known as the Friends
Ties with Americans were never completely severed, however, and of the Seminole. Tom Tiger would later open the first Seminole tourist
trade was kept with select Americans who had earned trust. When the camp near Miami, boosting a new enterprise for the Tribe.
United States broke into Civil War, Sam Jones learned of it, and even New sources of income were needed as well. While the hunting
at one point met with a representative of the Confederate Florida gov- trade had brought wealth into the Tribe, it also attracted more settlers
ernment. Throughout the next few decades the Seminole maintained looking to compete. Soon American hunters not only outnumbered the
their wariness, with only a few interacting with Floridians to buy and Seminole, but the toll on the animals from over-hunting brought them
sell goods, and to learn the news from the outside world. to the brink of extinction. Expanding land plans in Florida also called
for draining the wetlands. For the Tribe this meant not only losing the
canoe routes they relied on for transportation, but their isolation as
canals and roads cut through their lands. During the Florida land boom
developers bought wide swaths of land from the state, much of which
was home to Seminole camps. Tribal members began to take what jobs
could be found in the new economy, often working as farmhands or
laborers.
Faced with growing threats to their way of life Tribal leaders began
working with the Friends of the Seminole to find a solution. A petition
to the federal government started the process for land to be brought
into trust for the Tribe. By 1938 three reservations had been established,
covering over 80,000 acres, near Dania, Okeechobee, and Big Cypress.
Old lessons of government deals were not forgotten, however, and many
Tribal members were wary of moving to these lands.

Real Postcard, Courtesy Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
During this time the Tribe began to divide. The majority remained
in the south, in the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamps. They were
primarily the descendants of the Miccosukee, Calusa, Apalachee, and
other Florida people. These families spoke Miccosukee and were led by
Abiaka (Sam Jones). The Red-Stick Creek and their families, who had
come into Florida after the Creek Civil War, spoke the Muscogee lan-
guage and preferred the more central lands east of Lake Okeechobee.
The Seminole people watched as Americans expanded further in
Florida. Trade became more regular, with Florida commodities such as
alligator hides, deer skins, and bird plumage grew popular in the north-
ern United States. Trading posts were established with friends of the
Tribe, such as Frank Stranahan in Ft. Lauderdale, and William Brown
Real Photo Postcard of Stranahan House, 1947, Courtesy Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
16 Life in Naples November 2022