Like Beads on a String: A Culture History of the Seminole Indians in North Peninsular Florida

by Brent Richards Weisman

Florida's Seminole Indians are exerting an ever increasing influence on crucial issues in state politics, economy, and law. From a position of near obscurity less than a century ago, these Native Americans have staged a remarkable comeback to take an active hand in shaping Florida society, present and future. Anthropologists have long been fascinated with the Seminoles and have often remarked upon their ability to adapt to new circumstances while preserving the core features of their traditional culture. Early observers of the Seminoles also commented on the dynamic tension that existed for the individual, clan, and tribe, that drew them together, "like beads on a string," into a resilient and viable society. This study traces the emergence of these qualities in the late prehistoric and early historic period in the Southeast and demonstrates their influence on the course of Seminole culture history.

Genres: Native Americans, Anthropology

216 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 1989

Reviews

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Beads on a String looks at the Seminole ethnogenesis east of the Suwanee River, from migration through the Seminoles being mostly driven from the area during the Second Seminole War. The focus is on the Alachua Seminoles, the early Suwannee River band of White King, and Powell's Town in the Cove of the Withlacoochee. As a cultural history, the book uses a mix of archaeology and anthropology. It's also more a group of case studies than an attempt to provide a complete history. The book has illustrations, endnotes, bibliography, and an index.

This book is fine for what it is. The average history reader can skip it in favor of the author's later Unconquered People: Florida's Seminole and Miccosukee Indians.