Customs (Richard)

Origin Of Customs: Contrary to popular belief the Seminole Native American tribe were not always from the U.S. state of Florida, but originated as the Maskókî tribe, whom originated from the South Eastern regions that are now Alabama and Georgia. It was not until after the Revolutionary war when White settlers began to push the Maskókî people further south into Florida near the swamp where they changed their name into the Seminole Tribe, which literally means "people of the Creek". White settlers breaking the Seminole people's trust eventually led them to obtain a culture of independence and rebellion. They used the environment that was forced on them to their best and worked to become excellent fishermen and used the thickly wooded swamps to harbor and protect escaped slaves.

Funeral Customs: In many cases when a member of a Seminole tribe dies they would be buried an a hut -like structure known as a "chickee"; these were traditionally made with palm fronds and poles of made from cypress. It is believed that they chose to bury their people above ground because of the proximity to the water and that it could take as long as a week for a Medicine-Man to complete the burial rituals. Unlike most Native American cultures, the belongs of the deceased was not given to their children/grandchildren because it was believed it would only extend the burden of one's journey.

Sources: 

1. Anonymous, . "Seminole Indian Funeral Customs."Funeralwise.com. Funeral Wise, n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2013.

2. Shea, Herlihy-Abba. "Seminole Tribal Land."http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/. Colorado, 31 Jan 2011. Web. 15 Jul 2013. 

Reflection:

In my research of the Seminole customs I was personally not shocked by their culture. To me the attitudes and basic customs of the Seminole people made sense when considering their history, that being a history of being knocked out of their homeland by acts of European cultural imperialism and Globalization. The European settlers had wanted to impose their beliefs on the native Americans and those that did not follow their way were forced to live where the Europeans did not want to. Something like this would most definitely cause a group of people to want obtain some sort of vengeance. Along with that they also adapted a culture to where they lived, such as not taking the belongings of there fallen relatives which was probably an adaptation of having to move camp often. To me they were a culture of revenge and adaptation, and in the end that is probably the best that they could do.