[5] Under pressure from European encroachment into their territory during the 18th century, the Miccosukee underwent a period of increasingly frequent migration to Spanish Florida.

In the 1920s and 1930s, many Miccosukee established communities along the Tamiami Trail, a roadway completed in 1928 that ran through the Everglades and connected the cities of Tampa and Miami.

They were less interested in establishing formal relations with the federal government than the Cow Creek Seminoles to the north, who started moving to reservations around the same time.

[10] Under continuing encroachment from European, and later, American, settlers, many Miccosukee ancestors from different locations found themselves in northern Florida by the early 18th century.

[11] Muscogee was the dominant language within the Creek Confederacy, but Hitchiti had traveled with those who settled permanently in Florida and became the primary tongue, despite Muscogee often serving as the lingua franca throughout present-day Florida, Georgia, and Alabama whenever Indigenous people interacted with white people.

The spring of 1787 marked the first time that a group specifically known as Seminoles attended the Lower Creeks' annual meeting.

[19] The Miccosukees eventually joined with the Seminoles in defending their Florida homeland against encroaching white settlers during the 1820s.

[21][22] This entry of Muscogee-speaking Indians into Florida had the additional effect of pushing many Hitchiti-speaking (Miccosukee) people farther south.

[25] The true reasons for invasion included pursuit of runaway slaves and the realization that Spain was too politically and militarily weak to protect Florida.

In addition to the destruction of Negro Fort on the Apalachicola River by American forces in 1816, these events were the initial conflicts in the First Seminole War.

This was the period of numerous treaties between the U.S. and various bands of Indians living in Florida as white settlers increasingly pushed for more available land, and the government in Washington, D.C. sought to support those who wished to take advantage of settling the new territory.

The result of the war was many more Indigenous people dead or deported but a U.S. failure at complete removal of Indians from Florida.

[32] The Miccosukee chief Ar-pi-uck-i, also known as Sam Jones (Abiaki, Abiaka), proved an effective leader during the Second Seminole War;[33] his strategy of hiding the tribe on tree islands, or hammocks, in the Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades ensured that the ancestors of present-day Miccosukees and Seminoles remained in Florida.

The Third Seminole War began in 1855 after a small band of Indians led by Billy Bowlegs (Holatta Micco) attacked American encampments in response to repeated harassment and destruction of property by U.S. military forces.

[35] They survived by moving into central and southern Florida to take advantage of the topography of Big Cypress and the Everglades, which was largely unknown to the remainder of the U.S.

[39] With traffic in the region increasing, various drainage and canal projects throughout Florida changing the water levels around the tree islands, and declining opportunities for economic stability, Indians began to relocate to sites along the Trail.

[40] From these sites, Miccosukee Indians sought to improve their economic situation by offering airboat tours of the Everglades, Indigenous artworks for sale, and other goods and services to tourists traveling across the state.

The distinction between "Miccosukee" and "Seminole" began to grow as the former believed the latter were more willing to assimilate to the majority culture by moving onto designated Indian reservations in Florida starting in the 1930s and 1940s.

Unable to gain similar federal recognition of their own right to sovereignty, a group of Miccosukees, led by the young councilmember Buffalo Tiger (Heenehatche), visited Cuba in July 1959 during the brand-new Castro regime's celebration of the 26th of July Movement in Havana.

On May 4, 1971, the Miccosukee Corporation assumed operational responsibility for all of the programs formerly administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Following the great success of the bingo hall, the tribe opened the 302-room Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Facility, now called the Miccosukee Casino & Resort, in 1999, which includes gaming facilities, entertainment venues, bingo, and numerous restaurants and other amenities.

The 1962 Constitution of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida initially emphasized admitting tribal citizens of at least half-Miccosukee ancestry.

In this system, the mother's older brother is highly important in raising her her children, more than the biological father, especially for boys.

The tribe's educational system spans from a Head Start preschool program through senior high school.

[60] Past Miccosukee business interests have included sports sponsorship, extended to several teams in NASCAR, primarily Phoenix Racing and Billy Ballew Motorsports.

The museum offers to its visitors a variety of artistic expressions such as native paintings, hand crafts, and photographs.

The school's vision statement reads: "To empower every student to reach their full academic potential while being productive members of a bilingual and bicultural society.

We are dedicated to serve, inspire, and encourage our students with the understanding that the culture and traditions of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, along with a rigorous curriculum, are strengths upon which they can build personal, social, and academic success in the classroom and beyond.