This is a list of chiefs of the Seminole, which includes military and civic leaders of the Seminole people, who today are enrolled in the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Leading chiefs (1750–1849)
There were four leading chiefs of the Seminole, a Native American tribe that formed in what was then Spanish Florida in the present-day United States. They were leaders between the time the tribe organized in the mid-18th century until Micanopy and many Seminole were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s following the Second Seminole War.
Cowkeeper, 1750–1783 King Payne, 1783–1812 Bolek, 1812–1819 Micanopy, 1819–1849
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida were recognized by the state of Florida in 1957, and gained federal recognition in 1962 as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.Mahon, John K.; Brent R. Weisman (1996). "Florida's Seminole and Miccosukee Peoples". In Gannon, Michael (Ed.). The New History of Florida, pp. 202–04. University Press of Florida. .
ca. late 18th c.–1819: Kinache, also Kinhagee (ca. 1750–ca. 1819), the last chief of the Creek of Miccosukee, Florida, who was defeated in battle in 1818 by US forces commanded by General Andrew Jackson. Later Kinhagee's people migrated south, maintaining their local village name Miccosukee as the name of the tribe. 1962–1985: William Buffalo Tiger, also Buffalo Tiger or Heenehatche, (1920–2015), first chief of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, led initiatives for self-determination, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Volume 29, Number 1 / 2005, ISSN 0161-6463 (Print) 1986–2011: Billy Cypress, tribal chairman 2011–2015: Colley Billie, tribal chairman, ousted in 2015 2015–2016: Roy Cypress Jr., interim tribal chairman 2015–2021: Billy Cypress, tribal chairman 2021–present: Talbert Cypress, tribal chairman
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma 1819–1849: Micanopy (ca. 1780–ca. 1849) 1849–: John Jumper (ca. 1820–1896), chief of Confederate faction of Seminole 1882–1885: John Jumper, chief 1866–1881: John Chupco (ca. 1821–1881), town chief, leader of Union faction of Seminoles, Hvteyievike Band 1885–1901: John F. Brown (1842–1919), governor, Tiger clan 1905–1919: John F. Brown, governor 1922–1935: Alice Brown Davis (1852–1935), chief 1935–1936: Chili Fish, chief 1936–1946: George Jones, chief 1942–1944: Willie Haney, chief 1944–1946: Jeffie Brown, principal chief 1948–1952: George Harjo (1886–1952), chief, Tvsekayv Haco Band, Bear Clan 1952–1954: Marcy Cully, Nokuse (1910–1954), chief 1955–1950: Phillip Walker, chief 1960–1969: John A. Brown, principal chief 1969–1972: Terry Walker, chief 1972–1973: Floyd Harjo, chief 1973–1977: Edwin Tanyan, chief 1977–1978: Richmond Tiger, chief 1978–1981: Tom Palmer, chief 1979–1985: James Milam, principal chief 1985–1989: Edwin Tanyan, chief 1989–2001: Jerry Haney, principal chief 2003–2005: Kenneth Edwards Chambers, principal chief 2005–2009: Enoch Kelly Haney, principal chief 2009–2017: Leonard Harjo, principal chief 2017–2021: Greg Chilcoat, principal chief, Tusekia Harjo Band and Deer Clan 2021–present: Lewis Johnson
Seminole Tribe of Florida 1957–1966: Billy Osceola, inaugural holder. 1967–1971: Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, first and only chairwoman of the tribe, editor-in-chief of the Seminole Tribune,"About Us" , The Seminole Tribune, 2013 tribal communications director,Betty Mae Tiger-Jumper and Patsy West, A Seminole Legend, University Press of Florida, 2001 and the last matriarch of the Snake clan. Jumper spoke English, Mikasuki, and Muskogee.Kersey (1996), p. 118 1971–1979: Howard Tommie,Harry A. Kersey, "Howard Tommie, Seminole", The New Warriors: Native American Leaders Since 1900, ed. R. Edmunds, University of Nebraska Press, 2004, p. 171 political leader and two-term chairman of Seminole Tribal Council who initiated programs in the 1970s, including accepting the U.S. land claim settlement; successfully negotiated with the State of Florida for water rights for the Seminole reservations, and establishment of tax-free smoke shops and high-stakes bingo as revenue generators. Tommie speaks English, Mikasuki, and Muskogee.Kersey (1996), pp. 120–126 1979–2003: Jim Billie, suspended in 2001, officially removed in 2003. Billie chaired during an expansion of Indian gaming and time of increased tribal wealth and economic development. 2003–2011: Mitchell Cypress 2011–2016: Jim Billie, re-elected and again removed by Seminole Tribal Council in a unanimous vote (4–0) on account of "various issues with policies and procedures of the Chairman's office." 2016–present: Marcellus Osceola Jr.
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