CHAPTER 1 Homelands The Seminole Nation is made up of many groups who spoke the Maskoki language Their original homelands included present-day Georgia Alabama South Carolina Tennessee Mississippi and Florida As more Europeans colonized these areas Native American groups such as the Creeks fought to protect their lands Survivors of these wars went farther south into Florida They joined Seminole groups who had lived there for thousands of years Soon American settlers began calling all Native Americans in Florida Seminoles In the mid-1800s the US government forced many of the Seminole people to move to a reservation in Oklahoma Some Seminole escaped into the Florida swampland Today many Seminole remain in Florida 4
Many Seminole lived in what is now Everglades National Park
CHAPTER 2 Society The Seminole built villages in the Everglades on islands called hammocks Hammocks could be reached by canoe only Hardwood cypress and palmetto trees and sawgrass grew on these islands They also had good soil for planting gardens The Seminole built their homes around the island’s outer edge In the center they built a cook house and an eating house Guests stayed in the eating house The traditional teachings held Seminole society together These teachings contain the instructions on how to live in harmony with nature 6
THE SEMINOLE HOMELANDS WASHINGTON MAINE MONTANA NORTH DAKOTA OREGON MINNESOTA VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS IDAHO SOUTH DAKOTA WISCONSIN NEW YORK WYOMING MICHIGAN RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT NEW JERSEY IOWA PENNSYLVANIA NEVADA NEBRASKA OHIO UTAH ILLINOIS INDIANA DELAWARE MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC WEST VIRGINIA COLORADO KANSAS VIRGINIA MISSOURI KENTUCKY CALIFORNIA NORTH CAROLINA TENNESSEE ARIZONA OKLAHOMA NEW MEXICO ARKANSAS SOUTH CAROLINA MISSISSIPPI ALABAMA GEORGIA TEXAS ALASKA LOUISIANA FLORIDA Everglades THE SEMINOLE HOMELANDS HAWAII
