Miccosukee Indians

Miccosukee Indians, just as the Seminoles, were originally part of the Lower Creek Indians that inhabited parts of Alabama and Georgia. They settled in Florida around 1715 and lived by hunting, fishing and growing crops, mainly corn. The Miccosukees were also targeted by the US Government for relocation to Oklahoma during the three Seminole Wars occurring between 1817 and 1858. An approximate fifty Miccosukeesmanaged to avoid capture by fleeing south and hiding in the Everglades.

At first, the Miccosukee Indians were self-reliant, trading fish, game, and alligator skin for necessities such as food, clothing, guns and ammunition. However, their independence was compromised when the government began draining the Everglades and building canals for agricultural purposes in the early 1900s. This greatly reduced the fish and game populations that were the basis for the Miccosukee economy. At the same time, Miami experienced a large increase in its population, becoming a major metropolitan area. And in 1928, the Tamiami Trail was built providing non-Indians access to the abundant fish and game in the Everglades previously reserved for the Miccosukees.

In 1947, The US Department of the Interior declared that the majority of the land pertaining to Miccosukee ancestral land was to become part of the Everglades National Park. Consequently, the Miccosukees were thrown into modern living and forced to create an economy that provided for commerce and education. Nevertheless, the Miccosukees managed to retain their culture by keeping their clans, language and ways.

To this day, some even prefer to live in chickees, the traditional Indian swamp dwelling. The basis for the Miccosukee economy now is tourism and gambling, which supports the approximate 550 Miccosukees that live in the Everglades.