Alabama-Coushatta Indians culture - Essay Example

MINORITY CULTURE POPULATION Minority Culture Population Living in Texas SCHOOL Minority Culture Population Living in Texas This paper provides an overview of the culture of the Alabama-Coushatta Indians and Black Seminoles. This paper attempts to briefly describe the lifestyle, values and norms of this minority groups residing in Texas.The Alabama-Coushatta Indians The Alabama-Coushatta Indians are actually comprised of two distinct tribes, namely the Alabama and Coushatta tribes, which coalesced and co-existed.

These tribes are originally from Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. Due to political reasons, the Alabama-Coushatta Indians were forced to move and managed to survive in East Texas (Moore, n.d.). They are currently occupying about 4,600 acres of land near Livingston in Polk Country (The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas,n.d.). In 1987, this minority group became one of the Indian tribes in Texas officially recognized by the federal government. This entitled them for federal loans and funding for infrastructure improvement (Cook, 2000).

As a people, the Alabama-Coushatta Indians are described as civilized with highly developed social norms. They lived in towns or villages with a public square, ball playing yard and council house (Cook, 2000). For sustenance, the group, which greatly adheres to the farming culture, plants crops like corn, beans and squash among others. They also gather berries, roots and nuts (Moore, n.d.). Furthermore, these people engage in trading, fishing and hunting by utilizing various innovative tools (Cook, 2000).

The Alabama-Coushatta Indians are said to be a part of the Southeastern Mound Building cultures. Tribes under this classification basically share a common religion. As part of their religious tradition, each house kept a sacred fire alive all the time. They also built pyramid-like temple mounds of dirt where they would then put a temple or the house of a priest or chief on top (Moore, n.d.). An important part of the Alabama-Coushatta way of life is giving honor to their heritage and cautiously weighing how decisions to be made in the present time will affect the entire tribe seven generations hence (The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas,n.d.).

As a way of preserving its culture and language, the young people are encouraged to learn to speak Alabama or Coushatta (Moore, n.d.).Black Seminole IndiansSimilar to the Alabama-Coushatta Indians, Seminole-Negro Indians, also known as black Indians, black Muscogulges or Seminole freedmen (Handbook of Texas Online, n.d.), are the result of tribal adoption and intermarriages between Seminoles and Negro people or African-Americans ("History of Black Seminoles in Texas," n.d.). The Seminole Indians originally lived in Florida and later moved to Texas.

During the period when slavery was prevalent, some Negroes were able to escape such condition and came into contact with the Seminoles when they hid in the Florida swamps where the latter lived (Riles, n.d.). Given that both groups have a common goal of resisting European invasion and desiring independence, coexistence became inevitable despite the apparent difference in ethnic origins ("History of Black Seminoles in Texas," n.d.). The Black Seminole community in Texas now called themselves as Seminoles so as to set their group apart from the Blacks.

This is also their way of emphasizing their pride as a people who vehemently resisted slavery ("The Black Seminoles' Long Road to Freedom," n.d.). Black Indians are described as a people with exceptional skills in guerilla warfare. The development of these skills are said to be attributed to the groups constant fear of recapture ("The Black Seminoles' Long Road to Freedom," n.d.). Aside from this, their fear of slave hunters has affected their sense of community and spirituality (Riles, n.d.).

In terms of religion, Seminole Negroes developed a distinct Christian denomination. They call themselves as Mount Zion Baptists, with rites and ceremonies influenced by Roman Catholic and Hardshell Baptists (McRae, n.d.). This minority group speaks Gullah and English, which is composed of African, Spanish and Muskhogean Indian expressions ("History of Black Seminoles in Texas," n.d.). They were described as savvy in their dealings with Native Americans and proactive in finding means to survive in new environments ("The Black Seminoles' Long Road to Freedom," n.d.).

ReferencesThe Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.alabama-coushatta.com/.The Black Seminoles' Long Road to Freedom. (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/News/seminoles2.html.Cook, C. (2000). "American Indian Country-The Alabama-Coushatta Indians." Texas Co-op Power. Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.texas-ec.org/tcp/600indian.html.Handbook of Texas Online. (n.d.) Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.tsha.utexas.

edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/bmb18.html.History of Black Seminoles in Texas. (n.d.) The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.texancultures.utsa.edu/seminole/history.htmMcRae, B.J. (comp.). (n.d.) The Alabama-Coushatta Indians. Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/mex_tex.htm.Moore, R.E. (n.d.). The Alabama-Coushatta Indians. Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.texasindians.com/albam.htm.Riles, K. (n.d.). The Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts.

Retrieved June 15, 2005 online at: http://www.texasindians.com/bsem.htm.