Empowering Economies: Trade and Tourism as Acts of Resistance and Survival

Seminoles have a history marked with incredible pressures, both through war time and economic hardship. Through it all, they have remained adaptable and resilient, carrying the threads of continued resistance for centuries. But, how did Seminole families and camps survive? This week, follow along as we explore some of the ways Seminoles shifted and adapted their economic ventures to respond to a changing world.

From trading posts to eventually bingo halls and casinos, each became part of the Seminole history of resistance. Seminoles were determined to preserve their culture and ways of life at all costs. They chose adaptation over assimilation in order to keep their economic and cultural identity. Today, we explore the various shifts in Seminole economies that helped build upon Seminole agency and began the path towards the Seminole Tribe of Florida of today.

In our featured image,  you can see a group of Seminoles trading at Storter’s in Everglades City, FL at around the turn of the 20^th Century. Trading posts like Storter’s would be an integral part of Seminole life at the time.

 

 

Trade

Following the pain, heartbreak, and disruption of the Seminole war period, Seminoles would retreat into the safety of the Everglades. They, understandably so, intentionally isolated themselves in order to protect their culture, community, and ways of life. After decades of being hunted down, deported, and killed, the Everglades was their refuge. But, the world did not stop changing and shifting around them. As time wore on, and they came closer to the 20^th century, trading posts began popping up around the remote areas of South Florida.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Seminoles began utilizing these trading posts to trade goods for items that they could not independently obtain. They would trade alligator hides, deer, foodstuffs, and plumes for Western convenience goods. Paired with their isolated nature, these tentative relationships with trading posts were vital points of contact. Many of these trading posts were intentionally located on arteries of water, so Seminoles could canoe their goods and families to come trade. Some, like Brown’s Trading Post, were even located further inland for ease of access.

Trading posts like those at the Stranahan House and Ted Smallwood’s store were incredibly important to the Seminole economy at the time. Seminoles could capitalize on hunting, fishing, and farming while still keeping their camps and communities separate and hidden. Soon, these tentative relationships began to strengthen. Improved relationships between Seminoles and some of the traders would have a marked impact on Seminole history, as Seminoles became increasingly forced to leave the seclusion of the Everglades.

 

Tourist Camps

As Western developers dredged, dug, and diverted the sheetflow of the Everglades, the Seminoles’ desire to stay isolated in the Everglades became increasingly impossible. The famous River of Grass was being cut to pieces, built upon, and drained. Seminole traditional ways of life, and even means of transportation, were threatened. Traditionally, Seminoles and Seminole ancestors navigated the Florida peninsula through the Water Highway, an interconnected series of canoe trails that allowed them to navigate the area in both wet and dry season.

The draining of the Everglades severely limited their mobility, as well as threatened the flora and fauna they depended on for subsistence purposes. Thus, Seminoles had to adapt rapidly. In only two decades, the landscape around them would be almost unrecognizable. At the turn of the 20^th century, the first Seminole tourist camps began cropping up around South Florida. Captain Tom Tiger would open his camp in March of 1904, setting off a new wave of Seminole economy.

Tourist camps quickly became a vital part of the Seminole economy. Seminoles would sell crafts such as patchwork, dolls, wood carvings, and baskets. They would also participate in demonstrations and often were part of the “living village”, where chickees would be built for visitors to see. Canoe tours up and down the waterways would bring visitors to the edge of the wild Everglades. Seminoles would wrestle alligators to the delight of visiting tourists.

As Tamiami Trail opened at the end of the 1920s, even more camps emerged along this brand- new road. These tourist camps would be an integral part of the Seminole economy for decades, and even today the threads of these camps can be found in places like Okalee Village and other shops.

 

Arts and Crafts

Seminoles made big business on their arts and crafts during the tourist era. Often, Seminole women would make patchwork clothing, dolls, baskets, and other items to sell to the visiting tourists. Men would carve miniature canoes and other wood carvings. Crafting became an important part of cultural survival, as they were able to maintain their traditions through art.

Seminole dolls reflected the fashions of Seminoles themselves: with vibrant patchwork, beaded necklaces, and swooping hairstyles. Interestingly, the dolls also began to reflect the changing fashions and styles, and you can trace many of these shifts in the evolution of Seminole dolls. People like Deaconess Harriet Bedell, a missionary, helped Seminole women build this fledgling economy. These distinctive dolls became a popular item, and they still are today. Other traditional crafts such as palmetto fiber baskets, beadwork, and patchwork similarly capitalized on inherently Seminole traditions that adapted to reflect the changing times. But, they never strayed far from their cultural roots.

Today, arts and crafts are still an important part of the Seminole economy. Skilled crafters sell their wares at pow wows, tribal events, and at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. Interested in some authentic Seminole art of your very own? Tomorrow, June 21^st you can join the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino Tampa Event Center for part of their Seminole Artist Experience Art Sale. We encourage you to swing by and bring a piece home of this incredible legacy!

 

Cattle

Cattle and cowkeeping are another Seminole economy rooted in tradition, and then revitalized and adapted to help Seminoles seize their agency in the 20^th century. Seminoles have been involved in the cattle economy in Florida since its inception. Ponce de Leon brought the first Andalusian cattle to the Florida peninsula in 1521, intending to colonize the area.

By the 1700s, the Spanish had abandoned these colonies, leaving the cattle behind. Now adapted to the harsher environment of Florida, the cattle were prized. They quickly became folded into these indigenous communities and food systems, with famous Seminole ancestor cattlemen being known as ‘cowkeepers’. Ahaya, or Cowkeeper, is one of the most famous, but not the first. An Oconee leader, Cowkeeper slowly gathered abandoned and feral Spanish cattle. He would build a thriving cattle industry, and found Cuscowilla (now Micanopy). By 1775, these Seminoles were working 7,000-10,000 head of cattle.

Unfortunately, the conflict and strife of the Seminole War period would decimate the Seminole cattle industry. Fragmented and fleeing removal, Seminoles were not safe to work cattle during this period. Rising tensions around cattle and grazing lands would erupt between Seminoles and Western settlers, which significantly contributed to the war. Seminole cattle became a target, and “As part of the war strategy, U.S. Army General Jesup ordered the burning of Seminole crops and the seizure of Seminole cattle and horses” (STOF-THPO 11). Seminoles who continued to keep cattle did so at great personal risk.

But, the Seminole tradition of cowkeeping would get its renaissance in the 1930s in order to shore up the struggling Seminole economies. The U.S. Government furnished the Brighton and Dania Reservation with starter herds. On the Brighton Reservation, five men were selected to spearhead the efforts: Frank Shore, Charlie Micco, Naha Tiger, Willie Gopher, and Willie Tiger. They all came prepared with traditional knowledge and ranching experience.

Despite some extreme difficulties, these men were determined to make the opportunity a success. By 1939, there were over a thousand head of cattle on the Brighton Reservation. By the 1940s, more herds were established on Big Cypress and other reservations. These small herds would flourish into a booming cattle industry that is still part of the Seminole story today.

 

Casinos, Bingo Halls, and Smoke Shops

The economy of the Seminole Tribe of today looks much different than it did even a handful of decades ago. While many things have stayed consistent, such as cattle, farming, and crafting, other new additions have diversified the economic portfolio and cemented the Tribe as a financial and business powerhouse. Bingo halls and casinos are one of these incredible economies that have transformed not only the Seminole Tribe of Florida, but Indian Country as a whole.

In the late 1970s, the Seminole Tribe of Florida under the direction of Howard Tommie would open its first smoke shop. It is one of the first major businesses upholding tribal sovereignty. Facing criticism that the Tribe should not operate tax free, Tommie responded with “We feel we have a right to do this…The thing people don’t know is that these politicians never put any tax dollars back on the reservation. We paid taxes for so many years, but money never came back on the reservation. This is a high cost area, we have a tribal government to run, and we have to survive” (Miami Herald, 12 August 1977).

Soon after, the new Chairman James E. Billie would again flex the Tribe’s sovereignty by opening up the first Bingo Hall on the Hollywood Reservation. Immediately facing opposition, the Tribe would continue to push the boundaries and insist on their sovereign right to operate on reservation land. After years of legal court battles, Seminoles would finally win in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Butterworth. Decided in 1981, the fallout from this legal win would travel throughout Indian Country as it set legal precedent on reservation land.

Bingo would eventually pave the way for Seminole Casinos, leading to the incredibly legacy of the Hard Rock brand that we know today. During the 1980s as Seminoles would continue to push the envelope for Seminole gaming,  Jim Shore, the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s general legal counsel at the time stated “If you wait for the federal government to plan your destiny, you’ll have to wait a long time. You have to use your imagination and take risks, and that is what the Seminoles claim to fame is – being able to take risks on business opportunities” (The Miami Herald, 23 August 1988).

 

Seminole Economies as Resistance

Although these are not the only Seminole economic ventures to develop and change over the last century, they all represent an important facet of Seminole survival that can be traced through to today. All of them, from trading to casinos, have made an impact on Seminole history and the Seminole story. They also all still survive in some capacity, and are part of Seminole resilience and resistance that has survived since before the Seminole war period.

In every example listed above, Seminoles chose to share and build on their own traditions in order to survive. Alligator wrestling is rooted in traditional hunting practices. Seminole crafts like patchwork and dolls began as traditional Seminole crafts that changed and adapted as the times did. For centuries, Seminoles were incredible cowkeepers, cattlewomen and cattlemen. All of these vital Seminole economies have ties directly back to traditional practices. In many ways, these economies are also acts of resistance against the incredible pressures Seminoles and other indigenous peoples were under to assimilate and lose their culture.

On this blog, we often talk about the fallout of the Indian Removal Act. But, we haven’t touched too many times on the continued efforts by the U.S. government to eradicate Indigenous peoples. Beyond active war, there were a number of concentrated efforts and programs developed that intended to continue the decimation of Native Americans. In 1892 R.H. Pratt would utter the infamous words “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” This framework would drive policy in both Canada and the United States, aimed at eradicating the culture when they could not kill the people. The residential school system, forced migration, and cultural assimilation policies were all aimed at separating the people from their culture.

Thus, it is incredibly important to highlight and recognize the history of these Seminole economies. Seminoles were grappling with many of these same programs and pressures, and reacted with continued resistance to assimilation. Rooted in tradition, these economies would eventually lead to enough resources and agency that they would seize the sovereignty and gain federal recognition, and lead to the Seminole Tribe of Florida that we know today.

 

Additional Sources

The Seminole Tribe of Florida Tribal Historic Preservation Office. (2023). “Cowkeeper’s Legacy: A Seminole Story”

 

Author Bio

Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to South Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series, and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Fort Myers, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.