Oklahoma Journeys

Week of May 23, 2009

Seminoles sign Treaty of Payne’s Landing – May 9, 1832

This week on Oklahoma Journeys, the Seminoles sign on the dotted line, or did they? As the population began spreading across the North American continent, conflicts inevitably arose with the groups of people who were already there. The Seminole Nation was one such group, and their removal story is the topic of this week’s Oklahoma Journeys from the Oklahoma History Center.

From the Oklahoma History Center, this is Oklahoma Journeys. I’m Michael Dean.

Each of the various American Indian nations moved off their land by white encroachment have a story to tell tracing their eventual arrival into what is now Oklahoma. Sometimes this act of relocating the population of entire countries from one place to another is called collectively the Trail of Tears, but each tribal nation really has a unique and individual story to tell about how they arrived in Oklahoma. While each is interesting perhaps the most protracted and longest period of removal and resettlement involves the Seminole Nation of Florida.

The beginning of the Seminole saga for the United States starts with the acquisition of Florida in 1819. Immediately upon gaining Florida as a territory the U.S. Army began pushing for the Seminoles to leave and relocate west of the Mississippi. Of special concern to the United States was the fact that, unlike U.S. society, the Seminole culture made little or no distinction between white and black, slave or free. This racial tolerance made it very easy for runaway slaves, especially those close to Florida to escape and find refuge within the Seminole tribe. It was this connection with slavery and the harboring runaways that added a touch of desperation to the mission of the U.S. in their attempt to remove the Seminoles. It wasn’t that the Seminoles were adverse to moving; they just didn’t want to leave behind the black members of the tribe, something that the U.S. government demanded.

It was in May 1832 that the U.S. government and the Seminole Nation signed the Treaty of Payne’s Landing, setting up the details for relocating the tribe to present day Oklahoma. The American Indians stuck by their word, signing no treaty that would abandon the black members. After the treaty was signed however, U.S. government officials altered the document to include a provision selling all black Seminoles into or back into slavery. The resulting aftermath of the Treaty of Payne’s Landing resulted in a six year long war, the longest U.S. military campaign ever against one single tribe. The Seminoles outfought the U.S. Army on every occasion, costing the government millions of dollars and thousands of lives. Only by falsely waving a white flag of truce did the army capture the Seminole leaders, thereby eventually forcing the relocation of most of the tribe. A considerable portion of the tribe never surrendered and still today resides in Florida.

You can learn more about our Indian heritage by visiting the American Indian Gallery at the Oklahoma History Center, NE 23rd Street, just east of the state capitol in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Journeys is a production of the Oklahoma History Center, dedicated to the collection, preservation and sharing of our state’s past. I’m Michael Dean.