Art of the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians

Abstract

The artistic tradition that in the past sustained Florida Indians helps identify them today as possessing a resilient, modern culture. In this account of the arts and crafts of the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, the author shows how artistic expression reflects and inspires history. Approximately 2000 Seminoles and 500 Miccosukee (recognised as a separate tribe in 1962) now live in Florida, primarily on reservations in the southern part of the state and particularly along the edge of the Everglades. Their elders say, We're not from here, a poignant allusion to their years of geographic relocation and social upheaval. While their heritage includes the Mississippi Culture of the Indians of the Eastern Woodlands of North America, for the most part the Indians who lived in Florida and greeted the early explorers were annihilated by 1710. The ancestors of today's Seminole and Miccosukee are the Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama, who were joined by runaway African slaves and free blacks. Emphasising the influence of drastic cultural changes on their artistic traditions, Downs traces Seminole and Miccosukee art from the 18th century. Retaining only the most persistent designs from prehistoric Southeastern Indian culture, their primary art form of dress reflects the materials, techniques and design elements they encountered during their contact with Europeans. In addition to clothing and finger-woven or bead-embroidered accessories, their arts and crafts - most often practiced by the women - include pottery, basketry, and doll making. Their most powerful artistic expression is found in the colourful and intricate patchwork patterns that have become their 20th-century signature. The black-and-white photographs of these articles, along with examples of the men's work of silver and wood crafts and chickee building, should interest both scholars and the general public.