[1] At a young age, Chipco and his family of Red Sticks fled as refugees to Florida because of the War of 1812, where they joined the Seminole tribe.

The Red Sticks were political traditionalists who militantly opposed both the United States and the adoption of White American cultural practices.

The Red Sticks were opposed by the "National Creeks" faction of the Muscogee, who instead advocated for allying with the United States and assimilating into White American culture.

The Red Sticks were defeated by the United States and the National Creeks in the War of 1812 and many of them fled south as refugees to Florida.

Chipco was part of this wave of refugees at a young age, and after migrating to Florida they soon joined the Seminole tribe who were already living in the area.

Around this time, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, with the goal of ethnically cleansing the Seminoles from Florida.

Immediately after this war began, Chipco's band of Muscogee-speakers started to raid areas in both southern and central Florida.

[10] After initially going on the offensive, Chipco and his band then went south to hide in the Everglades, where he successfully avoided capture for the remainder of the war.

After the Seminole Wars ended, Chipco and his band left the Everglades and moved back up north to live in Central Florida.

The Seminoles who lived in Chipco's village farmed patches of corn, rice, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, sugarcane, melons, and tobacco.

During his visit Pratt commented on how fertile the soil around the village was, and on the abundant amount of crops grown by Chipco's band.