Seminole Indian

Seminole Indian. In the early history of 18th century, the Seminole were a heterogeneous tribe made up of mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia, Mikasuki-speaking Muskogees, and escaped African American slaves.The unified Seminole spoke two languages, Creek and Mikasuki (a modern dialect similar to Hitchiti), two different members of the Muskogean Native American languages family, a language group that also includes Choctaw and Chickasaw. It is largely on linguistic grounds that the modern Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida maintain their separate identity today

The Seminole Indians are Native American peoples originally of Florida, and now residing there and in Oklahoma. Today, they have sovereignty over their tribal lands, and an economy based on tobacco sales, tourism and gambling.

In the United States 2000 Census, 12,431 people reported themselves racially solely as Native Americans with only a Seminole tribal affiliation. An additional 15,000 people identified themselves as Seminoles in combination with some other tribal affiliation or race.

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma has about 6,000 enrolled members, who are divided into fourteen bands. Two are called "Freedmen Bands" (also black seminole) because they count their descent from escaped slaves. Band membership is matrilineal: children are members of their mother's band. The group is ruled by an elected council, with two members from each band. The capital is at Wewoka, Oklahoma.

"When South Florida tourism boomed in the 1920s, Seminoles capitalized by wrestling alligators for money. In 1979, the Seminoles opened the first casino on Indian land, ushering in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry operated by numerous tribes nationwide." In more recent years, the Miccosukee Tribe has sustained itself by owning and operating a casino, resort, a golf club, several museum attractions, and the "Indian Village". At the "Indian Village", Seminoles demonstrate traditional pre-Columbian lifestyles to educate people about their culture.