Office of Environmental Management

Seminole Tribe of Florida

The Seminoles are comprised of various culturally related Creek Tribes that began to migrate into northern Florida sometime before 1750. In all likelihood, those Indians who survived the period of European settlement and the resultant diseases were absorbed into the Seminole Tribe as they migrated south into Florida. During and following the Seminole Wars, approximately 300 Seminoles took refuge in the Everglades and avoided removal to Indian Territory. Their descendants form the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In 1957, a majority of these people voted to establish an administrative entity called the Seminole Tribe of Florida and, in that same year, the U.S. Congress officially recognized them as an Indian Tribe.

Those who chose to not become members of the newly-formed Seminole Tribe either remained independent, or eventually joined together to form the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has almost 3,000 members living on six reservations across the peninsula: Hollywood (formerly Dania), Big Cypress, Brighton, Fort Pierce, Immokalee, and Tampa. Additional information on the Seminole Tribe of Florida is available on their web site: http://www.seminoletribe.com.