Transcript Seminole Food - Missouri State University

SEMINOLE FOOD
How Seminole People Met Their
Needs of Food
• All communities must
rely on the availability of
food resources for their
survival.
• In the past, Seminole
culture depended on a
healthy ecosystem. They
relied on what nature
provided.
Hunting and Fishing
Early Seminole people hunted and fished, just like
other Indian peoples.
Hunting was more like a sport game for men in the
tribe; they used bows and arrows to hunt, and
spears to catch fish. Later men began to use muskets
to hunt deer.
• The Seminole people usually hunted:
. wild turkeys
. deer
. rabbits
. alligators
. raccoons
and occasionally bears.
Fruit & Vegetables
The Seminole were also farmers.
Women grew gardens of corn, beans,
squash, and Indian potatoes.
They also cultivated small patches of
pumpkins, sugar cane, rice, sweet
potatoes, and fruits such as: bananas,
huckleberries, melons, and grapes.
They gathered wild plants like coontie
(Zamia), the root of which was used to
make flour.
Raising Livestock
The draining of the Everglades in the
early 1900’s caused the wild animal
population to decrease. To compensate
for the loss of food sources, hunting was
replaced by livestock. Seminoles started
to raise cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, etc.
Manner or Eating Habits
Seminole people did not eat three meals a day, like most
of us do today. They only ate when they felt hungry. In
fact, food was always available so people could eat
anytime during the day.
Seminole Meals
Meals were cooked and served in the eating house,
which was a large building in the village. Women
cooked for the entire village over an open fire.
Therefore, there was always hot soup or stew kept
warm on the fire.
Seminole Meals
Typical meals for the tribe included
cornbread, fry bread, soups, stews,
and hominy.
Nowadays, they use traditional foods
for special events.
•Hominy, made of corn
•Fry bread, made of flour
•The Sofk, a drink made of grits and
roasted corn,
.
Seminole woman preparing
traditional fry bread
WHAT SEMINOLES EAT TODAY
For every day meals, the
Seminole people eat just
about the same kind of food
that everyone else does.
They enjoy going shopping,
buying groceries and eating
pizza, but they also enjoy
eating some of their
traditional food, such as
hominy and fry bread.
Resources
•
http://www.seminoletribe.com/culture/SeminoleFood.aspx
•
http://www.bigorrin.org/seminole_kids.htm
•
http://www.members.tripod.com/~shamm/food.htm
•
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports1/seminole2.htm
•
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/education/guides/Inquiry_Boxes_FL_Native_People_Se
minole-Part4.pdf
•
http://www.fnps.org/palmetto/bennett_bradley_c_an_introduction_to_the_semi
nole_people_of_south_florida_and_their_plants__part_ii__seminole_plant_use_v
ol_17_no_3_fallwinter_1997.pdf