Everglades National Park EDUCATION PROGRAM SHARK VALLEY GUIDE

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A Home Without Walls

Could you imagine living in a home without walls? The traditional home of the Miccosukee Indian People is called the chickee. This building is made from cypress poles used as beams, topped with a thatched roof of sabal palm fronds. The Miccosukees had a chickee for sleeping and a second one for cooking.

The Miccosukees are a self governing nation. The majority of Miccosukees live along the Tamiami Trail, just west of the entrance to Shark Valley.

Food and Transportation

Traditionally the Miccosukees were hunters. The game they ate included garfish, large-mouthed bass, turtles, and deer. Along with hunting, they supplemented their diet with gardens, where they grew pumpkin, corn, tomatoes and bananas. They drank sofkee, a gruel-like drink made from corn, fruit or other grains.

They lived on hammocks in the sawgrass Everglades and traveled primarily by dugout canoe. Along with poling their canoes, made from cypress logs, they would also rig sails to use when the wind was strong enough.

Changes

Primarily due to drainage and the subsequent lack of water, along with the building of the Tamiami Trail, the canoe is no longer their main mode of transportation. Most Miccosukees have left their traditional world and have moved into today's "modern" world.

While chickees are still used for traditional ceremonies, most members of the tribe live in "modern homes" complete with air conditioning and modern appliances. Jobs vary, however, today many tribal members operate craft shops, offer airboat tours, or work in tribal and school offices.

The Miccosukee people keep alive their culture by participating in the yearly green corn dance ceremony and by speaking in their native language.