Wet Season, Seminole Innovation, and the Magic of A Chickee

Hurricane season is only a few short weeks away. These days, prepping for summer storms means stocking up on non-perishables, water, and putting up storm shutters. But, what about hundreds of years ago? Seminoles have lived in Florida forever, so they have weathered their fair share of storms. This week, we are exploring just some of the ways Seminoles stayed safe from inclement weather. From utilizing traditional knowledge, to innovative architectural techniques, Seminoles have adapted their ways of life to survive the unique, and sometimes dangerous, Florida environment.

In our featured image, you can see a Real Photo postcard showing two men poling a canoe. In the background, you can see some chickees, more canoes, and another Seminole man, woman, and child standing outside the village on the waterway. (2003.15.112, ATTK Museum). Below, you can see another style of chickee in postcard, this one a lean-to. Seminoles made these lean-to style chickees for more transient camps (like hunting camps). Seminoles didn’t intend for them to last long. You can also see a small raised platform the women are sitting on.

 

What is Hurricane Season?

Hurricane Season runs from June 1^st through November 30^th annually in Florida. Although hurricane season doesn’t include all Atlantic hurricanes, it does bring most of the inclement weather we experience. Hot, humid conditions and a higher chance of severe weather and storms characterize hurricane season. Also known as the “Wet Season” this period of increased weather activity also brings Florida most of its rain. Canals, waterways, rivers, and springs swell with the increased water. Areas that were completely dry in December may be underwater in July and August! The landscape drastically shifts during these months, and with the increased water also comes shifts in the plant and animal population.

Tropical storms, tropical depressions, and hurricanes all pose a real threat to life and property. People who live in Florida or visit should do their best to take precautions. Although NOAA has not yet issued their prediction on the severity of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season (look for their announcement on May 22^nd!), regardless of the prediction it is important to stay informed, stay prepared, and stay safe.

 

Interested in some tips to navigating Hurricane season as a visitor? Check out a previous blog post.

 

How did Seminoles handle Hurricane Season?

With Florida experiencing wild weather for a large portion of the year, you may be asking: How did Seminoles handle these extreme weather events?

 

Traditional Knowledge and the Seminole Perspective

Unsurprisingly, Seminole resilience in the face of inclement weather is deeply rooted in traditional knowledge. Stories and traditions are handed down over the generations, teaching younger generations what they needed to know to survive. Seminoles were able to, because of oral histories passed down, accurately predict major storms before they hit. They were deeply connected to the land around them. They made careful note of the behavior of animals, weather patterns, and shifts in the climate.

In a 2012 Op-Ed former Chairman James E. Billie alludes to this, stating that “They say the old Seminoles who lived in the ‘glades could tell when a hurricane was coming and would always find safe haven when the big storms came rolling across the sawgrass and prairies. Today, we call it a drop in barometric pressure when the hair rises on your arms and the feeling of a headache comes on. Back then, the Seminoles somehow knew it meant a bad storm was coming. In fact, no Seminoles are known to have perished in the great hurricanes of the ‘20s and ‘30s that killed so many around Lake Okeechobee.”

Billie has written a number of Op-Eds for the Seminole Tribune detailing traditional knowledge around fub leh che chobee or ‘Big Wind,” including how to pinpoint the change in the season. “The split tail or thunderbirds (snail kites) are flying around. The sawgrass flowers are starting to bloom. It’s raining a little too much, flooding the fields and swamps, and the green tree frogs have been crying up a storm for the last several days. I don’t mind all this, but the season of fub leh che chobee (Big Wind) is about to begin,” he writes. He also shared some methods for protecting yourself, writing “God gave Seminoles a whole bag of tricks to survive.”

Betty Osceola (Miccosukee) recalled after Hurricane Irma that storms like this are part of the Everglades ecosystem. “I think indigenous people have a different feel for hurricanes,” Osceola said. “We look at it as another person. It just takes a different form. We have stories about hurricanes and we were told that when a hurricane comes it washes the land and it creates a new cycle.”

 

Chickees

Chickees are one architectural innovation that Seminoles have perfected and are suited to the weather shifts found in Florida. Many Seminole ancestor tribes constructed similar dwellings. Similarities between chickees, traditional Miccosukee dwellings, Creek Summer homes, and even Calusa and Timucua homes are present in the historic record (Dilley 54-55). In effect, centuries of traditional knowledge and a deep connection with the environment have gone into perfecting the chickee architecture.

Today, authentic chickees can only be constructed by someone who is Seminole or Miccosukee. Typically, traditional chickees are constructed with two main components: a cypress log frame and cabbage palm thatched roof. A raised platform keeps individuals off the ground, allowing protection from animals and rainwater during storms. The thatching provides protection from the worst rains and wind, and the open sides allow air flow.

After the threat of the Seminole war period had mostly passed, Western anthropologists, adventurers, and curious explorers began finding their way to different Seminole camps, documenting what they saw. In the early 1880s Reverand Clay MacCauley led one of these expeditions, at the behest of the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology. In his report, he detailed many aspects of Seminole life, including describing chickees. “The thatching of the roof is quite a work of art,” MacCauley wrote “inside, the regularity and compactness of the laying of the leaves display much skill and taste on the part of the builder…the covering, I was informed, is water tight and durable and will resist even a violent wind. Only hurricanes can tear it off, and those are so infrequent in Southern Florida that no attempt is made to provide against them.” He also asserted that chickees “[were] perfectly suited to the South Florida environment: ‘A shelter from the hot sun and the frequent rains, and a dry floor above the damp or water covered ground are sufficient for the Florida Indian’s needs.” (Dilley 66)

In a 2019 Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum Blog post, then-Visitor Services and Development Manager Carrie Dilley shared the benefits of chickees in simple terms. “The temperature beneath a chickee is 10-15 degrees cooler than the outside air.  As a result, the chickee is comfortable in less-than-ideal temperatures.  In addition, the open sides enhance structural stability during hurricanes as the winds blow straight through it.  Chickees fare quite well during inclement weather and typically suffer only from some ruffled palm fronds.”

 

Mobile and Moveable

One interesting, and important, difference between traditional Seminole society and that of modern Western society to keep in mind is a sharp difference in perspective. Seminoles were no strangers to moving across the land, or relocating due to cultural, social, or environmental shifts.

As the social structure was rooted in family, and thus the camp, it was not uncommon by any means to uproot and rebuild somewhere else for any number of reasons. The family, then, was not insomuch tied to any single plot of land, but rather more focused on the safety and security of the camp itself. Thus, even when Seminoles became less transient with the end of the war time era, the exact location of family camps could shift and ebb depending on a variety of factors.

Hunting camps and seasonal camps were also still incredibly relevant, where Seminoles would follow game and shifts in the environment and seasons. This perspective also had a protective effect on Seminoles when considering inclement weather. Often, they could just pack up and leave, returning once the worst of the storm had passed or the weather had shifted.

Chickees, which can be put up over the course of a few days or even hours depending on the size, are the perfect dwellings when considering the wild swings of Florida weather. Popularized over other types of dwellings during the war-time era, chickees’ ease of construction and easily sourced materials made movement straightforward. If resources dwindled, or other environmental pressures persisted, camps could simply move. This also meant that even in the most transient of camps, protection could still be found in these quickly erected dwellings.

Above, a Seminole man stands on a platform between a large chickee and the edge of a canal at John Osceola’s camp. There is a chickee covered bridge over the canal. The white writing at the bottom of the image reads, “John Osceola’s Seminole Indian Camp. Tamiami Trail.”

Above, a Seminole man stands on a platform between a large chickee and the edge of a canal at John Osceola’s camp. There is a chickee covered bridge over the canal. The white writing at the bottom of the image reads, “John Osceola’s Seminole Indian Camp. Tamiami Trail.”

 

Chickees Today

Today, chickees are still very popular in South Florida. Although most Tribal members do not live in chickees full-time anymore, they still play an important role in Seminole culture. Chickees have lasted the test of time. Chickees were also a very visible component of the Seminole tourist camp era. Camps popped up along Tamiami Trail, Miami, and other South Florida locations characterized by the gold-thatched roofs. Today, although they are no longer primary residences, their many benefits still make them an attractive construction option in the hot and humid environment of South Florida.

 

Looking for more information on chickees? Check out two previous blog posts, linked below!

Seminole Spaces: Chickees

Top 5 Spectacular Off-Reservation Chickees to Visit this Summer

Additional Sources

The author accessed these sources digitally. Page reference numbers may not align with paper and hardback copies.

Dilley, Carrie. Thatched Roofs and Open Sides; The Architecture of Chickees and Their Changing Role in Seminole Society. 2018. University of Florida Press. Digital.

West, Patsy. The Enduring Seminoles: From Alligator Wresting to Casino Gaming, Revised and Expanded Edition. 2008. University Press of Florida. Digital.

 

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.