We Seminole have lived in Florida for thousands of years. Our ancestors were the first people to come to Florida. Our ancestors were connected by family and culture to others across North America, from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi river, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. They are now called the Mississippian Culture, and their traditions still exist among the Seminole and other tribes today.
We were in Florida when the Spanish arrived. They met our ancestors, who they called by different names; the Miccosukee people, the Muscogee people, the Calusa people, and other Native American tribes. The Spanish brought with them diseases that devastated our ancestors. Within one hundred years the new diseases had killed nine out of ten of the Native People of the Americas.
We gathered from across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama; those borders did not exist for us. Our culture, our home, and our way of life joined us together. We defended our homes and our people, and we became a refuge for those who sought freedom from conquest and slavery. For this, we were seen as a threat.
