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At
the beginning of the historic period, in 1492 AD, it is conservatively
estimated that there were about 100,000 Indians living in Florida. The original inhabitants of the area that is now Florida included:
The Apalachee Tribe, The Calusa Tribe,
The Choctaw Tribe,
The
Creek Tribe, The Miccosukee
Tribe, The Tequesta Tribe,
The Jeaga Tribe,
The Ais Tribe,
and The Timucua Tribe. Although the
Seminole Tribe is probably the most
well known Florida tribe of Indians, they were not originally a
single tribe. They were an alliance of Northern Florida and Southern
Georgia natives that banded together in the 1700's to fight the European
invaders, including people from the Creek, Miccosukee, Hitchiti and
Oconee tribes. Later the alliance became even closer, and today the
Seminoles are a united sovereign nation, even though their people speak
two languages and have different cultural backgrounds. For further
information on Florida, you may want to purchase a book from our
Florida Nature Library. Don't miss our "Nature
Videos" slideshow set to music!The Apalachee Tribe- From at least A.D. 1000, a group of farming Indians was living in northwest Florida. They were called the Apalachees. Some think the Apalachee language was related to Hitchiti of the Muskhogean language family. The Apalachees’ territory extended from the Aucilla River in the east to the Ochlockonee River in the west. Its northern boundary extended to what is now the Georgia state line, and its southern border was the Gulf of Mexico. Settlements within Apalachee Province were concentrated in today’s Leon and Jefferson counties. Prior to European contact, there were probably at least 50,000-60,000 Apalachees. They were a strong and powerful chiefdom living in widely dispersed villages. Their leaders organized their work, and much of their social, ritual and political life as well. Other tribes respected the Apalachees because they belonged to an advanced Indian civilization, they were prosperous, and they were fierce warriors.
For food, the Apalachee grew corn, beans and squash. Men prepared the fields and women tended the crops. Men also hunted bear, deer and small game, while women gathered nuts and berries. Traditionally the men wore deerskin loincloths and women wore Spanish moss skirts. When preparing for battle, the men painted their bodies with red ochre and put feathers in their hair.
The de Soto-era capital, Anhaica, became one of the first missions established in Apalachee Province around 1633, and was eventually relocated and renamed San Luis de Talimali. Between 1656 and 1704, San Luis was a principal village of the Apalachee Indians and the Spaniards’ westernmost military, religious, and administrative capital. More than 1,500 Apalachee Indians and Spaniards lived at the mission. Following a series of devastating attacks on Spanish Florida by the British and their Creek Indian allies, Mission San Luis was burned and abandoned by its residents on July 31, 1704.
The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. Instead, they fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. The men and boys of the tribe made nets from palm tree webbing to catch mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and catfish. They used spears to catch eels and turtles. They made fish bone arrowheads to hunt for animals such as deer. The women and children learned to catch shellfish like conchs, crabs, clams, lobsters, and oysters. The Calusa are considered to be the first "shell collectors." Shells were discarded into huge heaps. Unlike other Indian tribes, the Calusa did not make many pottery items. They used the shells for tools, utensils, jewelry, and ornaments for their shrines. Shell spears were made for fishing and hunting. Shell mounds can still be found today in many parts of southern Florida. One shell mound site is Mound Key at Estero Bay in Lee County. Its construction is made entirely of shells and clay. This site is believed to be the chief town of the Calusa, where the leader of the tribe, Chief Carlos lived.
Living and surviving on the coast caused the tribesmen to become great sailors. They defended their land against other smaller tribes and European explorers that were traveling by water. The Calooshahatchee River, which means "River of the Calusa," was their main waterway. They traveled by dugout canoes, which were made from hollowed-out cypress logs approximately 15 feet long. They used these canoes to travel as far as Cuba. Explorers reported that the Calusa attacked their ships that were anchored close to shore. The Calusa were also known to sail up and down the west coast salvaging the wealth from shipwrecks. The Calusa tribe died out in the late 1700s. Enemy Indian tribes from Georgia and South Carolina began raiding the Calusa territory. Many Calusa were captured and sold as slaves. In addition, diseases such as smallpox and measles were brought into the area from the Spanish and French explorers and these diseases wiped out entire villages. It is believed that the few remaining Calusa Indians left for Cuba when the Spanish turned Florida over to the British in 1763. (NEXT)The Choctaw Tribe & The Creek Tribe ----->