All about the ancient tribes
A: Each member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, even children, now receives a monthly dividend check of $7,000, or $84,000 annually, as his or her share of money made mostly from casinos.
Current enrollment in the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is approximately 18,800 members. Over 13,500 live within the state of Oklahoma and slightly more than 5,000 live within Seminole County.
To be eligible for membership, you must be at least one-quarter Florida Seminole, meaning one of your grandparents must be full-blooded Florida Seminole. You must also prove direct lineage to a Florida Seminole listed on the 1957 Tribal Roll — records kept when Native Americans were uprooted.
The Seminoles of Florida call themselves the “Unconquered People,” descendants of just 300 Indians who managed to elude capture by the U.S. army in the 19th century. Today, more than 2,000 live on six reservations in the state – located in Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Ft.
Today, the Shakopee Mdewakanton are believed to be the richest tribe in American history as measured by individual personal wealth: Each adult, according to court records and confirmed by one tribal member, receives a monthly payment of around $84,000, or $1.08 million a year.
The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to the lowest life expectancy, and a number of the poorest communities in the United States. The average life expectancy on Pine Ridge is 66.81 years, the lowest in the United States.
The Seminole are a Native American people originally from Florida. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, as well as independent groups.
Trail of Tears | |
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Attack type | Forced displacement |
Deaths | Cherokee (4,000) Creek Seminole (3,000 in Second Seminole War – 1835–1842) Chickasaw (3,500) Choctaw (2,500–6,000) Ponca (200) |
Victims | Five Civilized Tribes of Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Ponca and Ho-Chunk/Winnebago nations |
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Tribes in Oklahoma.
Once a month, every man, woman and child in the tribe gets a check for $1,000 – up from $300 a year ago. The money is generated from the tribe’s gaming tables, with revenue divided equally among members after expenses.
Q: What is the difference between the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes? A: The difference is political, not cultural. In 1957, many of the Native Americans in Florida formed a political organization called the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
These two languages are related but different, like English and German are. If you’d like to know a few easy Seminole words, istonko (pronounced iss-tone-koh) means ” hello” in Seminole Creek, and chehuntamo (pronounced chee-hun-tah-moh) means ” hello ” in Miccosukee.
Unfortunately, the Seminole Tribe’s gambling taxes are now causing major issues with Florida lawmakers. It all stems from a 2010 agreement in which the tribe pays annual taxes to the government in return for exclusive rights to offer casino-style games.
Unlike their dealings with other Indian tribes, however, the U.S. government could not force a surrender from the Florida Seminoles. The U.S. declared the war ended – though no peace treaty was ever signed – and gave up.
Why did the Seminoles welcome runaway slaves? An example of guerrilla warfare because the Seminoles made a quick surprise attack. At the end, the U.S. allowed the remaining Seminoles in Florida to stay in their land.