The Seminole Indians of Florida

This classic portrait of the Seminole people, written at a time when their way of life was virtually unknown to the rest of the world, was originally published by the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology in 1889.

In 1881, Reverend Clay MacCauley was asked by the bureau to inquire into the condition and to ascertain the number of the Seminole Indians of Florida. MacCauley, an anthropologist but without formal training in ethnology, spent three months in south Florida. When published six years later, his report was hailed by John Wesley Powell, director of the bureau, as the first ethnologic exploration of the Seminoles of Florida ever attempted.

The report describes Seminole clothing and ornaments, the palm-thatched chickees in which families lived, economic pursuits, crafts, and other aspects of everyday life. Supplementing MacCauley’s report in this edition are additional materials and photographs.