Seminole history started in the 1700s in the states known today as Georgia and Alabama. They all descended from the creek Indians which disbanded mostly because of wars and conflicts with European settlers. However, even within the creek Indians there was some disharmony as the lower creek Indians moved to Florida to escape the domination of the Upper creeks. “Some Creeks were searching for rich, new fields to plant corn, beans and other crops. For a while, Spain even encouraged these migrations to help provide a buffer between Florida and the British colonies.”(Seminole history) In the 1770s these lower creek Indians acquired there name as the Seminoles which has a few different translations such as “wild people”, “runaway”, and “unconquered people”. In addition, thus is a well deserved name as they only started with 300 Native Americans who were able to escape the hands of the U.S. army during the 1800s.
Present Day there are more than six Seminole reservations in the state of Florida located in Tampa, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, and Ft. Pierce. “The Seminoles work hard to be economically independent. To do this, they’ve jumped into a number of different industries. Tourism and bingo profits pay for infrastructure and schools on their reservations, while citrus groves and cattle have replaced early 20th-century trade in animal hides and crafts as the tribe’s primary revenue sources.” In addition the Seminole tribe played a major role in Indian gaming into the U.S. for economical succession. The Seminole tribe also paved the way for tribes in the regulation process for Indian gaming taking legal actions in one of the earliest lower court cases.
Seminole Tribe 