The Tequesta Tribe

The Tequesta was a small, peaceful native American tribe. They were the first tribe in south

Florida and they lived in Biscayne bay which is now present day Miami dade county and half of

Broward county they also had some small island in the Miami keys. They built many villages at the

mouth of the Miami River and along the coastal islands. The chief lived in the main village at the

mouth of the Miami River. The Tequesta lived in Huts.

like many other tribes in Florida the houses

were built with wooden posts, raised floors, and roofs thatched with palmetto leaves. during the year

the main village relocated to barrier islands or to the Florida Keys during mosquito season which

lasted about three months. They wore light clothing The men wore a sort of loincloth made from deer

hide while the women wore skirts of spainsh or plant fibers hanging from a belt.

The Tequesta native American tribe were hunters and gatherers. They relied mainly on fish,

shellfish, nuts, and berries for food. The men caught sharks, sailfish, sea cows which is a manatee.The

Tequesta men also consumed cassina known by the black drink which drunk on important

rituals. while the women and children gathered clams, conchs, oysters, and turtle eggs in the shallow

waters. The manatee was considered a delicacy and served mainly to the chiefs and other important

leaders. In the Everglades, they hunted bear, deer, wild boar, and small mammals.The Tequesta used

shells and sharks' teeth for a variety of tools. These included hammers, chisels, fishhooks, drinking

cups, and spearheads. Sharks' teeth were used to carve out logs to make canoes

The Tequesta language may have been closely related to the language of the calusa of the

southwest Florida coast and the Mayamis who lived around lake okeechobee in the middle of the

lower Florida peninsula.The Tequesta were once thought to be related to the Taino, the Arawakin