Current Seminole Economy

Since tribal goods cannot be taxed within reservation borders, people went to tribal smoke shops to buy their cigars and cigarettes because they were cheaper. Smoke shops gained a fair amount of income, but not enough to pull Native Americans out of their endless cycle of poverty. So, Seminoles began high stakes gaming. High stakes gaming is Class Three gaming which involves casinos. The Seminole Tribe of Florida opened the first bingo hall at 5 pm December 14, 1979. They also began all Native American gaming in general. There are three classes of gaming covered in the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Class One gaming consists of traditional Native American games connected with tribal ceremonies or celebrations, and games that solely for prizes of minimal value. Class Two gaming consists of bingo which is played for prizes, with cards bearing numbers or other designations, in which the holder of the card covers such numbers or designations with objects, and in which the game is won by the first person covering a previously designated arrangement of numbers or designations on such cards. Class Three gaming consists of casinos and all games that are not Class One or Two. In order to have a casino and engage in gambling, a tribe must enter into a compact with the state that the tribal lands are located in. Also, the type of gaming they wish to engage in must not be outlawed by that state. Before 1979 the Seminole government distributed less than $2 million to its tribal members, most of it federal grants. By 2006, tribal net income surpassed $600 million. Also in 2006, the Seminole Tribe of Florida purchased Hard Rock Café for $965 million. As an effect of this economic independence, the Seminoles now run their own schools, shops, and government. They created a constitution in 1957, becoming like our government, but still maintaining their culture. The curriculum of the tribally run schools include the English language as well as Miccosukee and Creek, the two languages Seminoles speak. Seminole children are taught science and math alongside traditional religion and dances. The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum was opened on August 21, 1997 to house and exhibit tribal artifacts and other things that were dug up from grave sites and just recently returned to the tribe under the Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Another example of how economic independence effects tribal sovereignty is the Seminole Tribune, the tribal newspaper. With the $600 million a year the tribe is currently making, no longer are they dependent on government funds and programs to survive. Now the tribe can fund their own support programs and schools, making money and preserving their culture and traditions in the next generation.

Early Seminole Economy

The Seminoles who stayed in the Everglades, known as the Seminole Tribe of Florida, lived off the land, which unfortunately kept getting taken away by settlers. As a result, there was very little land left to build a community on, and even scarcer resources with which to earn a living. If natural resources such as oil or coal did exist on Seminole land, the tribe could have gotten contracts with big industries to mine the coal or drill for the oil, and in return, a certain percent of the profits would go to the tribe. However, the white settlers took the best land, containing a vast majority of the natural resources, and left the rest for the tribe. So, realizing the fascination that many people held for their "savage" way of life, the Seminoles began a tourism business. The tribe gave tours of their village and the surrounding Everglades. For souvenirs, the women sold arts and crafts, native beadwork, and clothes. Seminole men did alligator wrestling for the tourists. It started out as a sign of manhood, but since it was popular with the tourists, it soon became a sport used to make money. Also, Native Americans in general did not understand the concept of making money in the current society. They had always traded for anything they needed, or gotten it off their land. They did not understand the concept of "owning" a piece of land and the resources on it. To them, no one owned anything; everything was shared and taken only when needed. The federal government tried to start up a business of cattle raising for the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In 1936 they shipped 500 head of cattle to the tribe. The government provided services such as pasture improvement, marketing, and breeding. Cattle were given only to male Seminoles who lived on designated federal reservations. Consequently, the tribe became reliant on government financial aid and technical assistance. The financial aid was needed to help build the pastures and buy feed, the technical assistance was needed to care for the cattle and find buyers. This dependency forwarded the governments' mindset that Native Americans could not exist without government support, and that they can be transformed into "civilized" farmers.

Analysis Post

Before the arrival of the Europeans on the continental United States, Native American tribes “owned” land and the natural resources upon that land. However, Native Americans did not believe in the concept of “owning” land. They knew that in order to survive, one must cooperate with nature. They did not go hungry, or ever run out of food or fuel. The hunting grounds were filled with buffalo and wild herbs. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 took away Huron and Seminole land, the Act took away all land from all the eastern Native American tribes, but I am going to focus specifically on the Huron and Seminole tribe, and stated that they had to move to Indian Country in Oklahoma. The Seminole tribe resisted the attempts of General Jackson to remove them during the First Seminole War from 1814 to 1818 by hiding deep within the Everglades. After the Second Seminole War of 1835 to 1842, 3,000 Seminole were removed to a reservation in Oklahoma, and are now the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma. Similarly, in 1842 the Huron tribe was forcibly removed to reservation land in Kansas. However, 5,000 Seminole remained hidden in the Everglades and were not moved to a reservation. The descendents of these 5,000 Seminole make up the Miccosukee tribe of Seminole Indians and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Once the Huron tribe and the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma reached their respective reservations, the land was parceled out, or "allotted", to each family. Each head of the family was granted a 160 acre piece of land to cultivate and raise cattles and crops upon. The Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma and the Huron tribe lost additional reservation land when the United States government opened up reservation land to white settlers. Native American culture is defined by taking what is provided, and only as much as is needed. They lived off of the land, what grew on the land and what was born on the land. As a result of this philosophy, The federal government tried to “civilize” Native American children, by taking them off their reservations and to a bording school, sometimes miles away, for their "American education". The teachers, sometimes nuns from the local missionaries, taught them English, Math, Science and Music, but did not teach the children about tribal culture, language and traditions. The children were scared of the school because they did not understand English and the teachers would not let the students speak their native language. Furthermore, the Native American children could not know anything about their “savage” tribe. Additionally, the Native American children were constantly told that they were inferior. The education they recieved was supposed to help them learn the white ways of farming, cattle raising, industry, and societal behavior. With a Christian education and faith, the federal government believed that the Native Americans would become "civilized" contributors to society. Who decides what they should and should not be taught?

Later, the federal government, realizing the horrible conditions that Native Americans had on their reservations, decided to start helping them. First, they passed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Next, Congress developed the Indian Reorganization Act 1934. Restoration with setting aside lands specifically for Indians, state government could not interfere or rule over aspects of Native American tribes “domestic dependent nations”.

Not longer after the Restoration Period, the federal government grew tired of helping Native Americans; it just wanted them to become part of society. Whites were also getting tired of the special treatment that the Native Americans were receiving; they didn’t like the idea of a United States, but with different Native American tribes residing within the borders. States and white residents did not trust the Native Americans. They believed that Native Americans were savages who would cheat and steal. Consequently, the government withdraw its support and financial aid, and left the tribes to their devices. For example, the government ignored the treaties it had made with the Native American tribes, and letthe states and settlers take over reservation land and treat the tribes and citizens however they wanted. The government gave states the ability to control Native American tribes on reservations through Public Law 280, which states that the states have the power enforce civil and criminal laws in Indian Country.

Once the whites began to realize that the Native American were not going to die out, the government started providing programs to help them adjust to modern society. In addition, the government protected Native American tribes from taxation by the states. In order to make a living, the Seminole and Huron tribes decided to sell native arts and crafts and promote tourism to their reservations. Moreover, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, since they lived near the Everglades which have an abundance of alligators, decided to start alligator wrestling in order to attract tourists. The tourists would come to the tribal lands and pay to see the Seminole men wrestle alligators. On their way home, they would buy native arts and crafts as souvenirs. So, as native goods cannot be taxed, the Seminole Tribe of Florida decided to start a smoke shop. Cigars and cigarettes sold by Native Americans are not taxed. Consequently, people traveled farther and crossed state lines in order to buy cigars and cigarettes cheaper. This income helped a great deal in stymieing the cycle of poverty. In spite of that, Native Americans were still the poorest people in the United States. The government attempted to help by providing grants and federal aid. Nevertheless, Native American economy did not begin to rise significanlty until 1979, when the Seminole Tribe of Florida opened its first bingo hall. As Native American tribes began to explore additional gaming options, such as casinos, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act , defining the types of gaming allowed and restriction for Class 3 (casino) gaming. It also stated that if a state law prohibited that type of gaming, then the Native American tribes living in that state could not have that type of gaming. The Seminoles, through bingo halls and casinos, are making a huge profit. During the year 2006, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, gained a net income of $600 million dollars from its casinos and bingo halls. Native Americans tribes have, since the beginning of their relations with the European powers and the United States, fought for the right to be independent nations. The tribes were granted enough sovereignty so that the states could not rule over them, but they were, and still are, under the rule of the federal government. With the newly gained financial savvy gained from Native American gaming, tribes are now almost completely governing themselves. The money they make is put to use by the tribal government; and their is a tribal court on most if not all reservations that deals with the crimes of the tribe. The United States of course does not want separate nations within our one nation, so it has not let the tribes become fully sovereign and independent. However, the United States can loosen federal restrictions on inherent tribal sovereign powers, thus giving tribes more freedom; such as the ability to make their own laws and enforce them.

The links that lead you to books.google.com are in my analysis post because I have those books for my first year seminar class, and found useful information inside them. However, since we can only use online sources, I found the books online and provided links to them. Not all of the book is shown, but the title and author are there in case you want to check them out at a library.