The history of the Seminole Indians in what is now the Southeastern United States is one of resilience, forced migration, racial misclassification, and systematic land theft. Throughout the 19th century and beyond, Seminole Indians were often misclassified as Black, a tactic that not only denied them their Indigenous identity but also facilitated the illegal seizure of their lands. This article will explore the methods of racial misclassification imposed on the Seminole, how these methods were entrenched in legal frameworks, and the subsequent theft of their lands.
Documenting the story of the Black Seminoles from the creators of the first Underground Railroad to the largest slave revolt to the present day.
The Origins of the Seminole People and the Early Colonial Encounter
The Seminole Nation emerged from a diverse blend of Muscogee Creek people, escaped African slaves, and other Indigenous groups who migrated into Spanish Florida in the early 18th century. As the British, Spanish, and eventually the United States laid claim to Florida, the Seminoles became targets of imperial expansion.
The arrival of European settlers in the Southeast created a complex social hierarchy in which race, land ownership, and freedom were deeply intertwined. Seminoles, who had built autonomous communities with African allies and escapees from Southern plantations, were seen as a threat to the growing institution of plantation slavery. This partnership between Native Americans and Africans would later become a justification for their misclassification.
Footnote 1: Daniel F. Littlefield, Africans and Seminoles: From Removal to Emancipation, University Press of Florida, 1977.
The Seminole Wars and the Targeting of Black and Native Communities
The First (1817-1818), Second (1835-1842), and Third Seminole Wars (1855-1858) were not merely battles for territory; they were campaigns of racial subjugation and land acquisition. U.S. military forces, under General Andrew Jackson, declared war against the Seminoles, often labeling them as “runaway Negroes” or “savage Indians.” This label served dual purposes — it denied the Seminoles their Indigenous sovereignty and justified their forced removal.
During these wars, Seminole lands were confiscated, and surviving members were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). However, the government selectively classified many of the Seminoles with African ancestry as Black slaves, stripping them of Indigenous rights and protections. This deliberate misclassification laid the groundwork for future land dispossession.
Footnote 2: Joe Knetsch, Florida's Seminole Wars, 1817-1858, Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
Caption Massacre of the whites 'Massacre of the whites by the indians and blacks in Florida'. 'The above is intended to represent the horrid massacre of the whites in Florida in December 1835 and January February March and April 1836 when near 400 (including women and children) fell victim to the barbarity of the negroes and indians'. Image taken from An Authentic Narrative of the Seminole War; and of the miraculous escape of Mrs. Mary Godfrey and her four female children. Annexed is a minute detail of the horrid massacres of the Whites by the Indians andNegroes in Florida etc. With a handbill relating to the work annexed. Originally published in Providence U.S. 1836.
Racial Misclassification: The Weaponization of Black Identity
After the forced removals, U.S. policies began to heavily rely on racial misclassification to justify the seizure of Seminole lands. The Dawes Act of 1887, which divided tribal land into individual allotments, was one of the primary legal instruments used to divest Seminoles of their land. Under the Act, the U.S. government categorized many Seminoles with African ancestry as “Freedmen” instead of Indians, thus denying them access to land rights, citizenship, and treaty protections.
The government specifically targeted mixed-race Seminoles, branding them as “Black” under the guise of the ‘one-drop rule,’ which stipulated that any person with African ancestry could not claim Indigenous status. Consequently, these individuals were divested of their land and political representation.
Footnote 3: Kevin Mulroy, Freedom on the Border: The Seminole Maroons in Florida, the Indian Territory, Coahuila, and Texas, Texas Tech University Press, 2003.
The Theft of Land Under the Guise of Racial Identity
By the late 19th century, most Seminole land in Oklahoma and Florida had been reduced to individual parcels. However, land designated to “Freedmen” was often auctioned or repossessed under fraudulent claims that Black individuals were not eligible for Indigenous land rights. White settlers, supported by the U.S. government, began acquiring these lands at rapid rates. The Curtis Act of 1898 further undermined Seminole sovereignty by dissolving tribal governments and distributing their communal lands. This act did not recognize the land rights of Seminoles classified as Black, ultimately stripping them of both citizenship and land ownership.
Footnote 4: William Katz, Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage, Atheneum Books, 1986.
Red Bays in Andros, Bahamas, is a settlement largely populated by descendants of Black Seminoles who fled from Florida in the early 19th century seeking freedom from slavery and the Seminole Indians
Miami location of dispatch from Florida to to the Bahamas for Seminole Indians
Cape Florida Lighthouse, south of Miami, Bill Baggs State Recreation Area State Park. One of the only lighthouses to be attacked by Native American Indians.
Vol. 4, No. 11, March 16, 1837
Pg. 162-163 Appropriations for building lighthouses on the Florida coast, included rebuilding the lighthouse on Cape Florida that was destroyed by Indians.
Pg. 163-168 Gen. Gaines responds to letters and newspapers that he interfered with Gen. Scott’s command, or disturbed his plan of operations. (Long, but good read.)
Pg. 168-176 Gen. Scott responds to the Court of Inquiry at Frederick for his conduct in the Creek and Seminole campaigns, starting out comparing himself to a European general who was imputed by the French monarch. And, of course, blames Gaines for his failure and says that Gaines’ negotiation with the Indians actually made things worse.
The Role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Misclassification
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), established under the Department of the Interior, played a significant role in perpetuating the misclassification of Seminoles. By the early 20th century, the BIA explicitly categorized Black Seminoles as “Negroes,” disqualifying them from receiving federal protections, allotments, or reparations under treaty law.
Moreover, when Seminoles filed land claims based on treaties such as the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832) or the Treaty of Fort Gibson (1833), the BIA often rejected claims from Black Seminoles, stating that their "Negro blood" made them ineligible. This misclassification was a tool to consolidate land under U.S. ownership.
Footnote 5: Angela Walton-Raji, Black Indian Genealogy Research: African-American Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes, Heritage Books, 1993.
Land Speculation and Corporate Seizures
By the early 20th century, much of the land that had been forcibly taken from Black Seminoles was auctioned to private corporations, railway companies, and white settlers. The Florida East Coast Railway and Standard Oil were among the major entities that profited from the mass land theft that occurred under the pretext of racial misclassification.
Further, the Florida Homestead Act (1862) disproportionately barred Black Seminoles from claiming public lands while white settlers were granted full ownership of stolen property. As a result, entire Black Seminole communities in Florida, like those near Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, were uprooted, and their descendants were left landless.
Footnote 6: David H. Jackson Jr., Booker T. Washington and the Struggle Against White Supremacy, University Press of Florida, 2014.
The Aftermath: Intergenerational Land Theft
The generational impact of the land theft continues to affect Black Seminole descendants. Today, thousands of Black Seminoles are still denied tribal recognition and land ownership rights because of their racially-imposed misclassification. Attempts to reclaim their land through litigation have been met with fierce opposition, often relying on the argument that they are "Black" and not "Indian."
In Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas, several Black Seminole descendants have filed legal claims for their land under the Fort Gibson Treaty of 1833 and the Treaty of Payne's Landing. However, the U.S. government has consistently used the racial misclassification of their ancestors to deny these claims.
Footnote 7: Patrick Minges, Slavery in the Cherokee Nation: The Keetoowah Society and the Defining of a People, 1865-1905, Routledge, 2003.
Legal Remedies and Restorative Justice
The misclassification of Black Seminoles as African Americans was a deliberate legal and social strategy to justify land dispossession and treaty violations. This historical injustice has perpetuated intergenerational poverty, social disenfranchisement, and systemic land theft among Black Seminole communities.
Today, there are growing calls for reparations, land restoration, and formal recognition of Black Seminoles as Indigenous peoples under federal law. These measures would not only restore stolen lands but also repair the systemic erasure of Black Seminoles from the historical and legal record. Footnote 8: Gregory Smithers, The African Creek Nation: Black Seminoles, Ethnic Identity, and the American South, University of North Carolina Press, 2019.
Littlefield, Daniel F. Africans and Seminoles: From Removal to Emancipation. University Press of Florida, 1977.
Knetsch, Joe. Florida's Seminole Wars, 1817-1858. Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
Mulroy, Kevin. Freedom on the Border. Texas Tech University Press, 2003.
Katz, William. Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage. Atheneum Books, 1986.
Walton-Raji, Angela. Black Indian Genealogy Research. Heritage Books, 1993.
Minges, Patrick. Slavery in the Cherokee Nation. Routledge, 2003.
FIRST TRIBE
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