Seminole Clothing

According to Palm Beach History Online,“From the Creek phrase ishti semoli, Seminole means ‘wild men.’ From the Spanish cimarrone, Seminole means ‘runaway.’” The Seminole tribe is a very wild tribe and has many interesting things within their culture. Three of the many interesting things in their culture in their culture is their clothing, the techniques and things to hunt, and warfare of the Seminole’s. To begin with, the Seminole’s have many different ways of making their clothes. Pritzker explains that some of their clothing was made of deerskin. They also patched colorful pieces of materials together to make clothing. The UXL Encyclopedia says that they had some clothing woven from plant fibers and some accessories were made of plant fibers
and bird feathers. Men wore different types of clothing in different weather.
In warm weather, the Seminole men usually wore loin cloths (“Seminole” UXL Encyclopedia). In colder weather they would add a pair of leggings to what they were already wearing (Palm Beach History). They would wear a robe or cape to cover their shoulders to add protection in the cooler weather (“Seminole" UXL Encyclopedia). The men would sometimes wear shirts and vests to keep them warm (Palm Beach History). Also, women wore many different clothes in different temperatures of weather. In warmer weather women wore knee-length skirts so they wouldn’t get too hot (“Seminole” UXL Encyclopedia). In cooler weather, they would add a cotton shawl to their skirt or dress so they could stay warm (Pritzker). For accessories the Seminole women would wear as many as 200 bead necklace on their neck. Women would also wear dresses to keep warm when it was cooler (Palm Beach History).
Next, the Seminole tribe were very good hunters.They used many different tools and weapons when they hunted (Garbarino 16-17).The hunters used bow and arrows, spears, and stone knives to kill big game like deer. They used blow guns to kill small game and birds. Seminole hunters also used nets, gorges, hooks and lines, and sharp pieces of wood to catch
fish.
The Seminole hunter’s used many different techniques while hunting.
They usually hunted in groups of people (Garbarino 16-17). The Seminoles would prepare fires so deer would gather near the fire. Once the deer came near the fire and in range of the hunter, they would shoot the deer with a bow and arrow or use another tool. Hunters would disguise themselves with the head of a deer with the antlers attached. They would use nets to catch the fish when a fish passes by through the water. They would stick the net in the water, and as a fish swam through the water the net would trap the fish not allowing it to pass through the net. To catch the fish they would also you small sharp objects to get it stuck in the fish mouth and it would kill the fish.
In addition, the Seminole killed many types of animals to get their food source. Sometimes Seminole hunters would kill big game including deer (Garbarino 16-17). They would also kill small game and birds for a source of food. Fishing was also one other type of way the hunters could get food for their family and
tribe.
Within the Seminole tribe they had a lot to do with warfare including three Seminole wars. According to Birchfield, slaves escaping Georgia had been a problem and slave owners had no idea where the escaping slaves were going (Birchfield 1176). One day armed Georgia slave owners went into Seminole territory looking for the slaves that had escaped. By the doing that it started the first Seminole war between white slave owners and the Seminole tribe which lasted from 1817-1819 (“Seminole.” The encyclopedia of North American Indians). Osceola, a Seminole leader, was one of those who refused to leave his home after the Indian Removal Act. (Palm Beach History Online). Osceola led a small group of Seminole warriors to attack and kill a government agent who had thrown him in jail. The were persuaded to move somewhere else and moved there. Later they returned to Florida and were forced to sign an agreement. The Seminole tribe refused to leave and that led to the second Seminole war which lasted from 1835 to 1842.
Lastly, an American surveying team went into Billy Bowlegs’, a Seminole Chief, garden one day and destroyed his banana trees for no reason (Palm Beach History Online). Bowlegs’ confronted the team but they didn’t want to pay for the damage or they didn’t want to apologize to Bowlegs’. The next day, Bowlegs’ led a group of Seminole’s to attack the surveyors team and killed and injured the whole team. That led to the third Seminole war that lasted until 1858. In 1858 the Seminoles were forced to go to indian territory and and surrendered the war.