Seminole Clothing

Seminole patchwork is a beautiful and distinctive style of clothing, unique to the Seminole tribe of Florida and Oklahoma. It’s more than just a technique – it's a deeply rooted symbol of cultural identity, resilience and creativity.

After the arrival of European settlers in the 1500s, many of Florida's indigenous communities were devastated by violence and disease. In the 1700s, refugees from various indigenous tribes fleeing colonial expansion began to settle in these sparsely populated lands. Over time, these groups came together to form the Seminole tribe. Among them were the remaining indigenous people who had called Florida home for thousands of years. The Seminole tribe also had allies, such as formerly enslaved people who had escaped from plantations, seeking freedom. The name Seminole likely comes from either the Creek words ‘simano-li’ which means ‘runaway’ or ‘separatist’, or the Spanish word ‘cimarron’ meaning ‘wild’ or ’untamed’ - reclaiming an insult to signify a history of seeking independence and freedom.

In the early 1800s, the Seminole resisted U.S efforts to claim their land, fighting fiercely in a series of conflicts now known as the Seminole War. A key source of tension which began this war was the Seminole’s refusal to surrender formerly enslaved people, which the US government and plantation owners viewed as their “property”. Eventually, after years of fighting, heavily outnumbered by U.S forces, most of the Seminoles and their allies were forcibly exiled to Oklahoma. Yet a small group managed to remain hidden in the Florida wetlands, where their descendants remain today. Those who remained in Florida are recognized as the Seminole Tribe of Florida while those that were removed to Oklahoma became the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Seminole Patchwork was created in Florida during the tourism explosion of the early 20th century. Today patchwork can be found in both Florida and Oklahoma. This continued tradition signals pride and cultural belonging as well as adaptation and survival.

The patchwork clothing that has come to be associated as ‘traditionally’ Seminole is in fact relatively recent. In the late 1800s, Seminole communities began using hand-operated sewing machines, which made it easier to sew long rows of fabric. By the 1920s, the modern patchwork technique had fully emerged. It was a practical solution to limited cotton supplies – rather than waste small pieces of cloth, women began sewing them together to create larger pieces of fabric full of striking patterns. Unlike appliqué, where the fabric is sewn over the top of the base fabric, patchwork is created by sewing the edges of different fabrics together to create one piece. In this way, the patchwork design is integral to the fabric used to make the garments.

As tourism in Florida grew, so did interest in Seminole patchwork. Patchwork clothing became an important source of income, with Seminole craftswomen selling patchwork clothing and small handmade dolls. The dolls, originally made for Seminole children, became popular souvenirs. Today, these dolls provide a useful timeline for changing fashions, including hairstyles and the number of bead necklaces worn with the outfits. Like all fashions, over time the style of clothing has changed and continues to change, but the technique remains the same and is passed down through the generations.

In the early 20th century, women and girls wore a floor length ruffled skirt and cropped, long-sleeved, ruffled blouse. Ruffles later went out of fashion and were replaced with capes. Once sheer fabrics came into use, the capes were made from this instead of thicker material. In the 1950s and 60s, shorter skirts came into fashion, and today children and younger women tend to wear these.

Today, most Seminole women only wear capes at special events. Men and boys used to wear a ‘bigshirt’, but mostly now wear a patchwork shirt or jacket with trousers.

If you would like to learn more about Seminole culture and history, check out the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s website: Seminole Tribe of Florida. We also recommend the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, which has a huge collection of patchwork clothing, with photos, stories and information available on their online archive as well.