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Seminole Nation

Welcome to the Seminole Nation Archives of the state of Oklahoma!

The Seminole Nation

The Seminole tribe was formed in the 1700's when groups of Southeast Indians fled white encroachment and enslavement and settled in the plains of Spanish held Florida. In 1817, with the accusation that the Seminole were harboring runaway slaves, Andrew Jackson commanded nearly 3,000 American troops to attack and burn their lands, starting the first Seminole War. Shortly thereafter, Spain ceded Florida to the U.S. bringing the Seminole under U.S. jurisdiction. A treaty later provided the tribe with a reserved tract east of Tampa Bay.

In 1832, the Payne's Landing Treaty took away all Florida land claims from the tribe, and provided for removal to Indian Territory. Ratification of that treaty in 1834 allowed the Seminole three years before removal was to take place. Among the worst chapters in the history of Indian Removal, the war lasted almost seven years and cost thousands of dollars not to mention, lives. It finally ended in 1842 with the agreement that several hundred members of the tribe could remain in Florida.

In 1856, the Seminole were assigned land in Indian Territory, and by 1868, the tribal bands from refugee locations elsewhere in Indian Territory had settled on those lands. The Seminole are one of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma.

Until the first railroad opened in their area in 1895, the Seminole were more isolated than any of the other Five Civilized Tribes.

Landmarks

The Five Civilized Tribes Museum (Muskogee); The Seminole Nation Capitol/Museum (Wewoka); exhibits at Woolaroc (Bartlesville); The State Museum of History (OKC); Gilcrease and Philbrook Museums (Tulsa); The Mekasukey Mission Grounds (Seminole)

Seminole Nation Archivist

Linda Simpson

Gene Phillips - State Archivist

Linda Simpson-Indian Nations/Indian Territory Archivist

Please help the Seminole Nation Archives Grow, Kindly Submit Data

If you have any cemetery records, bible records, deeds, applications for citizenship, census, probate, tax, etc.. in the Seminole Nation, please send them in an attachment to me. Please be sure to identify that it is for the Seminole Nation. It also needs to be a plain text file, no HTML and no images. This ensures that everybody will be able to read it, no matter what kind of web browser. Here is a help file.

Please read the Guidelines.The information found below has been submitted to The USGenWeb Archive Project. It is offered free to all who visit. The ownership - copyright stays with the submitter. Please read and respect the copyright on all submissions.

Cemeteries

Arbeka Trading Post Cemetery -1K-Nov 2001-Linda Simpson

Arbeka Indian Methodist Church Cemetery-1K-Nov-2001-Linda Simpson

Konawa Cemetery (partial)-4K Feb 2000 - Robert W. Smith

Oakwood Cemetery (partial)-5K Feb 2000 - Robert W. Smith

Schoolton Cemetery Database -17K - June 1999- Phyllis Curry

History

Observations on the Seminole Indians-14.6K-May-2002-Lance Hall

Indian Nations to Oklahoma Counties-Oct-2002-Linda Simpson

Obituaries

Richard Allen Bemo - 3K - ***

Alice B. Davis - 3K-Jan-2002-Linda Simpson