Seminole

North Americahorticulturalists

Map
expand_more Description

The Seminole are a Native American group that had diverse and complex origin in a mixture of native societies and African slaves. The Seminole developed in Florida but now are divided with the majority living in Oklahoma as the Seminole Nation and the minority living in a few small reservations in Florida. Before the modern era, Seminole subsistence activities were primarily slash and burn horticulture supplemented by hunting, gathering, and the fur trade with non-Seminoles. The basic kinship groups are matrilineal clans named after ancestral totems. In Florida, farming was modified to match the Everglades environment. Principal crops included pumpkins, corn, and beans. In Oklahoma, these same crops were grown, with Seminoles also practicing small-scale commercial agriculture, growing cotton and other cash crops into the twentieth century. Seminoles also work in the oil industry. In Florida, tourism became the center of the Florida Seminole economic adaptation. Recently, all of the Seminole tribal governments established commercial business ventures, including retail, tourism, and gaming operations.

Identifier
Region
  • North America
Subregion
  • Eastern Woodlands
Subsistence Type
  • horticulturalists
Samples
Countries
  • United States
External Links