Seminole Song

Seminole Song by Vella Munn is a story about the struggle of Seminole Indians and runaway slaves living in the Everglades during the 1830s. Growing up near the Everglades and a Seminole Indian reservation, I'm always drawn to books about both topics.

 The story focuses on Panther, the war chief of the Egret clan of Seminoles, Winter Rain, half Seminole and half runaway slave, Gaitor, a runaway slave who is Panther's closet confident, and Calida, a runaway house slave who escapes a cruel plantation owner and former army officer. Army generals, angered by the Seminoles who help runaway slaves, refuse to live on reservations, and conceal themselves in the swamps, offer a false treaty to the tribal chiefs. Meanwhile, the cruel plantation owner rejoins the army under the false pretense of helping the army round up the Seminole clans so he can pursue capturing Calida.

One of the unique aspects of this book is the little-known alliance between the Florida Seminole Indians and runaway slaves just prior to the Civil War. It also examines the prejudice and injustice white plantation owners and army soldiers inflicted upon both the Seminoles and the slaves struggling for freedom. From the very beginning, I was struck by the cruelty, hate,and inhumane treatment white men dispensed while they referred to the Seminoles as savages and the slaves as animals.