Source: Excerpt from "Miami" The Official Directory of the City of Miami and Nearby Towns, 1904. The Seminole Withdraw to the Everglades There were few Seminole that remained, after most were sent to the reservations in the west. In the 1850s, the U.S. government felt the only way to move the remaining Seminole to the Indian Territory was to force them into battle. On December 18, 1855, a group of white men entered a Seminole camp to try to make the Seminole attack first. The Seminole chief Holata Micco, Billy Bowlegs, led an attack on a U.S. military camp on December 20. This was the beginning of the Third Seminole War. After three years of war, on May 7, 1858, in exchange for money and Seminole land in the Indian Territory, Billy Bowlegs agreed to end the war. Not all of the Seminole moved to the Indian Territory, however. Some still remained in the Everglades. Abiaka (Sam Jones) remained hidden on an island deep in the Everglades and never gave up. He and perhaps 200 Indians remained in Florida to preserve the Seminole culture. It is from this small band of survivors that today’s Seminoles and Miccosukees descend. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. They call themselves the "unconquered" because they never surrendered to the United States government.
Source: Excerpt from "Miami" The Official Directory of the City of Miami and Nearby Towns, 1904. The Seminole Withdraw to the Everglades There were few Seminole that remained, after most were sent to the reservations in the west. In the 1850s, the U.S. government felt the only way to move the remaining Seminole to the Indian Territory was to force them into battle. On December 18, 1855, a group of white men entered a Seminole camp to try to make the Seminole attack first. The Seminole chief Holata Micco, Billy Bowlegs, led an attack on a U.S. military camp on December 20. This was the beginning of the Third Seminole War. After three years of war, on May 7, 1858, in exchange for money and Seminole land in the Indian Territory, Billy Bowlegs agreed to end the war. Not all of the Seminole moved to the Indian Territory, however. Some still remained in the Everglades. Abiaka (Sam Jones) remained hidden on an island deep in the Everglades and never gave up. He and perhaps 200 Indians remained in Florida to preserve the Seminole culture. It is from this small band of survivors that today’s Seminoles and Miccosukees descend. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. They call themselves the "unconquered" because they never surrendered to the United States government.