Indigenous people of the Everglades region

The Indigenous people of the Everglades region arrived in the Florida peninsula of what is now the United States approximately 15,000 years ago, probably following large game. These Paleo-Indians found an arid landscape that supported plants and animals adapted to prairie and xeric scrub conditions. Large animals became extinct in Florida around 11,000 years ago. Climate changes 6,500 years ago brought a wetter landscape across much of eastern North America. Approximately 5,000 years ago, the climate shifted again to cause the regular flooding from Lake Okeechobee that became the Everglades ecosystems. Paleo-Indians across the continent adapted to the new conditions and became more sedentary, with the timing of the transition varying by region. Archaeologists call these cultures Archaic peoples, with the archaeological culture of the eastern side of the peninsula dubbed the Orange period. Groups became more specialized for their local environments than their ancestors, and created many tools and mounds with the resources they had.

From the Archaic peoples of the peninsula, two major tribes emerged in the area: the Calusa and the Tequesta. The earliest written descriptions of these people come from Spanish explorers who sought to convert and conquer them. Although they lived in complex societies, few traces of their existence remain today. The Calusa were more powerful in number and political structure. Their territory was centered around modern-day Fort Myers, and extended as far north as Tampa, as far east as Lake Okeechobee, and as far south as the Keys. The Tequesta lived on the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula around what is today Biscayne Bay and the Miami River. Both societies were well-adapted to live in the various ecosystems of the Everglades regions. They often traveled through the heart of the Everglades, though they rarely lived within it.

After more than 210 years of relations with the Spanish, both Indigenous societies lost cohesiveness. Official records indicate that survivors of war and disease were transported to Havana in the late 18th century. Isolated groups may have been assimilated into the Seminole, which formed in northern Florida when a band of Muscogee consolidated surviving members of precontact societies in Florida into their own to become a distinct tribe. Seminoles were forced into the Everglades by the U.S. military during the Seminole Wars from 1835 to 1842. The U.S. Army pursued the Seminoles into the region, which resulted in some of the first recorded explorations of much of the area. Seminoles continue to live in the Everglades region, and support themselves with casino gaming on six reservations located throughout the state.