The Seminole are a Native American people who formed as a distinct group in Florida during the 1700s. The name comes from a Creek word that is often understood to mean “wild” or “runaway,” and it fit: the Seminole were made up of Creek people who had left their original communities in Georgia and Alabama, along with other Native Americans and escaped slaves who found refuge with them in Florida's swamps and forests.

The Seminole became famous for their fierce resistance to forced removal. In the 1830s, when the U.S. government tried to force them to leave Florida and move west to Indian Territory (in what is now Oklahoma), most Seminole refused. This led to the Second Seminole War, a brutal seven-year conflict that became one of the longest and most expensive Indian wars in American history. The Seminole used the Florida Everglades' thick vegetation and waterways to their advantage, launching surprise attacks and then disappearing into terrain that American soldiers found nearly impossible to navigate. Though most Seminole were eventually forced to relocate, several hundred remained hidden in the Everglades and never surrendered.

Today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida operates successful businesses and proudly maintains its identity as one of the few Native American tribes that never signed a formal peace treaty with the United States. Many Americans know the name from Florida State University's athletic teams, though the use of Native American names and imagery for sports teams remains controversial.