Removal of the Seminole Nation (2024)

Seminole Nation Case Study

How were some of the members of the Seminole Nation able to avoid removal?These sources allow you to further to investigate this story of American Indian removal.

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The United States forcibly removed about 4,400 individuals from the Seminole Nation to Indian Territory in the 1800s, but 300–500 managed to stay in Florida. Today their descendants belong to two federally recognized nations: the Seminole Nation of Florida and the Miccosukee Nation of Florida.

Be the Geographer

What does this map tell you about Seminole resistance and removal?

  1. Were all members of the Seminole Nation successful in avoiding removal?
  2. Where were some members of the Seminole Nation removed to?
  3. How many Seminole communities are located in Florida today?
  4. Challenge Question

  5. Based on this information, what challenges would the Seminole Nation have? (What would be difficult about maintaining unity while being spread so far apart?)

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Removal of the Seminole Nation (7)

Some members of the Seminole Nation successfully avoided removal. Even the U.S. military was unable to force all of the Seminole Nation from Florida.

Gene Thorp/Cartographic Concepts, Inc. © Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian.

Removal of the Seminole Nation (8)

Removal of the Seminole Nation (2024)

FAQs

Removal of the Seminole Nation? ›

The United States forcibly removed about 4,400 individuals from the Seminole Nation to Indian Territory

Indian Territory
Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States government for the relocation of Native Americans who held original Indian title to their land as an independent nation-state.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Indian_Territory
in the 1800s, but 300–500 managed to stay in Florida. Today their descendants belong to two federally recognized nations: the Seminole Nation of Florida and the Miccosukee Nation of Florida.

Why did the Seminoles get removed? ›

By the nineteenth century the Seminole were deemed a threat to the slaveholding culture of the American South and thus were designated for pacification and removal.

What was the Seminole Indian Removal Act? ›

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act. This act of legislation changed the course of history for many Native American tribes. It sparked the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of thousands of tribe members, and instigated violence and war in many locations around the United States.

How many Seminoles died during the Indian Removal Act? ›

Some estimates put the number around 3,000 Seminole deaths.

How did the removal of the Seminole differ from other groups? ›

Here are some key differences: 1. Resistance: The Seminole fiercely resisted removal and put up a significant fight against the U.S. government. Led by leaders like Osceola, they engaged in guerrilla warfare tactics and hid in the Florida swamps, making it difficult for the U.S. troops to capture them.

Why is Florida state allowed to be the Seminoles? ›

Florida State University and the Seminole Tribe of Florida have been mutual partners for decades. Since becoming a coeducational university in 1947, we have had the honor and privilege of calling ourselves “Seminoles” in tribute to the federally recognized Tribe's resilience.

Are there any Seminole Indians left? ›

The Seminoles of Florida call themselves the "Unconquered People," descendants of just 300 Indians who managed to elude capture by the U.S. army in the 19th century. Today, more than 2,000 live on six reservations in the state - located in Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Ft. Pierce, and Tampa.

How much money does a Seminole Indian get? ›

Today every man, woman and child in the tribe receives biweekly dividend payments totaling about $128,000 a year. Indeed, by the time a Seminole child today turns 18, she is already a multimillionaire, thanks to tribal trusts that prevent children or their parents from touching the funds until adulthood.

Were all members of the Seminole Nation successful in avoiding removal? ›

The United States forcibly removed about 4,400 individuals from the Seminole Nation to Indian Territory in the 1800s, but 300–500 managed to stay in Florida. Today their descendants belong to two federally recognized nations: the Seminole Nation of Florida and the Miccosukee Nation of Florida.

How did the Seminole avoid removal? ›

When the U.S., enforcing the Removal Act, coerces many Seminoles to march to Indian Territory (which is now known as Oklahoma), some Seminoles and Creeks in Alabama and Florida hide in swamps to avoid forced removal. The descendants of those who escaped have governments and reservations in Florida today.

What state did the Seminole resist removal from? ›

The Seminole tribe in Florida resisted, in the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) and the Third Seminole War (1855–1858), however, neither appeasem*nt nor resistance worked.

What is the Seminole tribe like today? ›

Today, you can find these victorious descendants (of just 300 unconquered Natives) booming in several industries. Well-known for their decade-long ownership of the Hard Rock Café, the Seminoles have also prospered in farming and cattle.

What tribe was most affected by the Indian Removal Act? ›

The Cherokee's journey by water and land was over a thousand miles long, during which many Cherokees were to die. Tragically, the story in this lesson is also one of conflict within the Cherokee Nation as it struggled to hold on to its land and its culture in the face of overwhelming force.

How did the Seminoles react to the removal? ›

A small group of Seminoles was coerced into signing a removal treaty in 1833, but the majority of the tribe declared the treaty illegitimate and refused to leave. The resulting struggle was the Second Seminole War, which lasted from 1835 to 1842.

What did the Seminoles do after the Indian Removal Act? ›

Expert-Verified Answer. After the indian removal act of 1830, most of the Seminoles moved to the new territory. The few remaining had to fend for themselves during the Third Seminole War (1855-58) when US forces tried to drive them out. Eventually, the United States paid off the remaining Seminoles and moved west.

Are Seminoles native to Florida? ›

Seminoles largely trace their ancestry to the ancient Indigenous people of Florida (Calusa, Tequesta, Ais, Apalachee, and others) and to the Muscogee Creek and other Native American migrants from Georgia and Alabama who came into Florida in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

What happened with Florida Seminoles? ›

A Third Seminole War broke out in 1855, when conflicts -- largely over land -- arose between whites and some Seminoles who remained in Florida. Constant military patrols and rewards for the capture of Indians reduced the Seminole population to about 200 when the Third Seminole War ended in 1858.

What happened to the Seminoles on the Trail of Tears? ›

After the passing of the Indian Removal Bill in 1830, the Seminole Indians fought perhaps harder than any other tribe to defend their lands. The Seminoles' homes and settlements were destroyed and the inhabitants were driven into the nearby swamps where they were hunted for six years.

What happened to the group of Seminoles that remained in Florida? ›

In 1842, the Army forcibly removed them, along with their Indian comrades, to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the unsettled West. The Black Seminoles, exiled from their Florida strongholds, were forced to continue their struggle for freedom on the Western frontier.

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