GENERAL SEMINOLE

BY: FELIPE VEGA

Language in the Seminoles

There is no such thing as a "Seminole" language. Today, the members of the Seminole tribe speak one or both of two languages: Maskókî and Mikisúkî. These are the only two left from among the dozens of dialects that were spoken by their ancestors here in the Southeast. Maskókî, erroneously called "Creek" by English speakers, is the core language. Mikisúkî is a dialect of Hitchiti, which was itself a dialect of the core language, Maskókî. Although Maskokî is spoken in Oklahoma as well as in Florida, Mikisukî is spoken in only one place on earth: in South Florida, by the members of the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes.

What is the difference between the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes?

The difference is political, not cultural. In 1957, many of the Native Americans in Florida formed a political organization called the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Others, wishing to make political decisions separately, formed the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida in 1962. Today, there are also about 100 individuals living in South Florida, especially near the western end of the Tamiami Trail and the lower Gulf Coast, who qualify for membership in either Tribe but also choose to remain separate. They are referred to as "Independents" or "Traditional."

The name for Seminoles

Seminole naming systems are very different from those of the Western or Plains Indians, with whom most movie-goers are familiar. Women are given one name, shortly after their birth, and they keep it all through their lives. Their names usually are words taken from medicine songs (ritual chants) and do not translate well. After a woman has her first child, only her mother and older Clan relatives are permitted to use her name. All others refer to her in reference to her own child's name, that is, as "so-and-so's mother."
Seminole men, on the other hand, traditionally received one name and many titles during their lifetimes. Their boy names were discarded when they passed into manhood (around age 14 or 15). Thereafter, they received ceremonial titles or earned titles in battle or as community leaders. The famous warrior, called "Osceola" by English speakers, is an excellent example of this process. We do not know his boy name but, in young manhood, he was given the ceremonial title of asén yahola. Asén is an important ceremonial drink. Yaha is the wolf, and yahola is the cry of the wolf or the ritual song that is sung when asén is drunk. English speakers, who could not pronounce his title correctly, corrupted it as Osceola. Today, Seminole men and women also have English names, in addition to traditional names.