The Calusa Indian

By: Candace Rayford
4/22/2012
Hist105
Unit 5 IP 5
Aiu-Online

Abstract

The term Native American is widely accepted as the “correct” term for the indigenous peoples that were residing in North America when the Europeans first arrived. When the Europeans touched land, they found a thriving population of people. The Europeans categorized those found into separate tribes. There was the Calusa in the Caloosahatchee region, the Mayaimi in Lake Okeechobee Basin (or Belle Glade area) and the Tequesta in the Everglades region. In this reading, I will cover the short existence of the Calusa tribe, also known as, “The Shell People”.

The Colusa tribe was originally called “Carlos” meaning “fierce people”. They were descendants of the Paleo Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida, approximately 12,000 years ago. When the Spanish explorers arrived in the 1500s, they were not friendly people and had no interest in missionary activities. Their society was somewhat closed off to others. When the Spanish arrived, there were an estimated 20000 Calusas in Southwest Florida. They were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. The Calusas inhabited a territory from Charlotte Harbor to Caper Sable. This region was abundant with bears, woolly mammoths, sloths, tortoises, and saber toothed tigers. Hunting these animals was a mainstay until they discovered the waters, which was full of fish. Soon they realized that hunting for these fish took less time and allowed other things to take place. During this vacancy, it allowed them to establish their own system of centralized government. Their government was a quite complex structure involving nobility, commoners, and slaves. They constructed a canal system, developed organized religion, and created many different types of art forms. These people were functioning extremely well without the influence of other groups. Their military was highly organized and structured. The military was well armed, and defended the Calusa realm. When Spanish explorers arrived, many battles between them ensued. In one of those battles, the Calusa were responsible for the death of the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon had traveled with Christopher Columbus during Columbus’s second trip to America. The Calusa military was able to keep off Spanish conquerors for almost 200 years before being killed off by the Europeans. Their religion was that of the Native religion. This was developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglade region. The Kings were said to have had supernatural ties to the heavens, which ensured the day-to-day well-being of his subjects. Sacrificial worship was a common practice, and to keep the tribe in order the chief priest demanded nothing but complete obedience from the village. Leaders included the tribal chief, or “king”, a military leader and a chief priest. Their political influence and control extended over other tribes in south Florida, like the Mayaimi, Tequesta, and the Jaega. A few leaders governed the tribe; they were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. In 1564 according to a Spanish source, the priest was the chief’s father, and the military leader was his cousin. There are four cases in which successor to the position of paramount chief are known. There was Senequene who succeeded his brother, and in turn was succeeded by his son Carlos. Carlos was succeeded by his cousin and brother in law Felipe, who in turn was succeeded by Carlos’ cousin Pedro. The use of marriages were used to secure alliances. This was demonstrated when Carlos offered his sister Antonia in marriage to the Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1566. When the Europeans arrived, it was noticed that the Calusa men stood almost 4 inches taller than the European men. The Calusa Indian men wore their hair long and wore tanned deerskin clouts with belts. On their belts were indications of their position in the tribe. Women wore cloths that consisted of a woven garment of moss and leaves, and they as well had very long hair. The Calusa were known as mighty warriors and great sailors. They built their cities on seashells. The seashells were used as foundations, some still exists today. They can be seen as several small islands off the coast of southwest Florida. One of these islands is named Mound Key and is believed to be the Calusas military stronghold as well as the ceremonial center. Mound Key has a 125-acre span and sits deep in Estero Bay. The Calusas utilized shells in for almost anything they needed. That is how they got their nickname the shell people. They used shells to make tools, weapons, art, and jewelry. Some of these items include; hammers, picks, anvils, scrapers, weights, anvils, choppers, knives, and in decorative used in pendants for necklaces. This tribe was considered very important in the regards that they achieved a remarkable level of complexity without benefits of agriculture. Along with their great abilities to sail came the great craftmanship of intricately designed canoes from hollowed out cypress logs. It has been believed that they have reached Cuba and maybe even Mexico in the vessels. The Calusa tribe is now extinct. Their existence was merely from the 1500s to the 1800s. As soon as the Europeans made contact with the Calusa, they attempted fighting them for control. Unfortunalty as strong and mighty as the Calusa were, by the 1700s their population began to die. The Europeans has brought with them diseases like smallpox and a great number of Calusas were wiped out. The estimated numbers of Calusas totaling 20,000 came down to a few hundred. It was reported that the few survivors followed the Spanish to Cuba.

REFERENCED
Calusa Indians on the Islands
http://www.hartford-archives.com