By: Thomas Lindsay

Seminole RegionThe Seminoles lived in

Florida. They started out in northern Florida, but when

the Americans attacked them, the Seminole tribe

retreated further south, into the Everglades. Some Seminole people were

forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800's along with other eastern tribes. Other Seminole

people still live in southern Florida today.

The Seminoles were farming people. Seminole women harvested crops of corn, beans, and squash. Seminole men did most of the hunting and fishing, catching game

such as deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, turtles, and alligators. Seminole Indian dishes included cornbread,soups

soups, and stews.

Seminole Food

Seminole Clothing

Seminole men wore breechcloth. Seminole women wore wraparound skirts, usually woven from palmetto. Shirts were not necessary in

Seminole culture, but men and women both wore poncho-style mantles in cool weather. The Seminoles also wore moccasins on their feet. In

colonial times, the Seminoles adapted European costume into their own characteristic styles, including turbans and long colorful tunics for men and full patchwork skirts for women. Here is a webpage with pictures of traditional Seminole dress, and here are some photographs and links

about Indian clothes in general.

The Seminoles didn't wear long headdresses like the Sioux . Seminole men usually shaved their heads except for a single scalplock, and sometimes they would also wear a porcupine roach. Originally,

Seminole women wore their long hair in topknots or buns, but later they developed a distinctive hairstyle in which they fanned their hair out

around a cardboard frame. The Seminoles wore elaborate tribal tattoos, but rarely painted their faces.

Seminole ShelterThe Seminole people lived in houses called chickees. Seminole chickees were made of wood and plaster, and the roofs were thatched with palmetto fiber. Here are some pictures of chickees like the ones Seminole Indians used. Originally, the Seminoles lived in large villages of chickees arranged around a town square with central buildings in it, like a meeting hall and a sports field. But as the Seminoles moved south, they began living in smaller groups in remote areas of the Everglades. They also began building their houses on wooden stilts that raised the floor two or three feet off the ground. This protected their homes from flooding and swamp animals.

Seminole Interesting Facts

the Seminole Indians made flat dugout canoes from hollowed-out cypress logs. They steered these boats with poles rather than paddles, and sometimes used sails made from palmetto fiber. Over land, the Seminoles used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)

References

http://www.bigorrin.org/seminole_kids.htm

http://www.google.com\