Buffalo Tiger

William Buffalo Tiger (Heenehatche; March 6, 1920 – January 6, 2015 in Kendall, Florida) was a political leader of the Miccosukee Nation based in the Everglades area of Florida. He served as the first elected tribal chairman from 1962 to 1985, and before that was head of the General Council from 1957 and a chief. His activism led to political organization of the Miccosukee and their gaining federal recognition in 1962 as an independent Native American tribe. They wrote a constitution to govern their people.

In 1959 Buffalo Tiger led a delegation to Cuba and secured formal diplomatic recognition from the government of Fidel Castro of the Miccosukee. In 1962 the US Government recognized the tribe. Under his leadership, the tribe in 1971 was the first to take over responsibility to operate its social and educational programs, as was later encouraged by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975. Buffalo Tiger and the tribe have used their sovereignty to preserve their culture and traditions in their homeland.

With historian Harry A. Kersey, he wrote an autobiography, Buffalo Tiger: A Life in the Everglades (2008). From the late 1980s he ran an airboat tour company in the Florida Everglades.

Early life and education William Buffalo Tiger

Chief of Miccosukee In the 1950s, the Seminole were faced with new challenges; in 1953 the federal government proposed to terminate them as a tribe, which meant a reduction in certain benefits and, more tragically, neglect from the United States to honor their sovereignty.

The majority of Seminole in Florida organized to gather their political power, and in 1957 were federally recognized as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The process of gaining such recognition had pointed up cultural differences between the groups. Another dividing issue was making claims in the 1950s for land taken by the federal government in the 19th century; the Seminole of Oklahoma and Florida wanted to gain compensation for lands lost, but the Miccosukee and Traditionals did not want to give up their claim to have the land returned.

At this time, the Seminole and Miccosukee formally separated. Led by Buffalo Tiger, the Miccosukee gained state recognition separately in 1957, and federal recognition in 1962. The Traditionals or Independents did not affiliate with either tribe.

The Miccosukee preserved their more traditional ways and kept some distance from the majority culture. As a young man working as a housepainter, Buffalo Tiger had learned English. He began to represent his tribe in dealings with the European Americans. The modern world encroached on the Miccosukee and the Everglades, areas of which were developed, and he became an energetic and outspoken leader of the community.

Buffalo Tiger was chief of the Miccosukee in 1957; he was elected as the first tribal chairman after its adoption of a constitution, and served as chairman for decades.

Chief Buffalo Tiger served on the Florida Governor's Council on Indian Affairs, established in 1974 as an advisory body to the state's chief executive. He and the chief of the Seminole served as co-chairs of the group, two-thirds of whose members were appointed by the two federally recognized tribes in the state.

Buffalo Tiger helped bring modernity to his people, including control of their programs, economic development, and improvements to medicine and education.

Later years Since the late 1980s, Buffalo Tiger developed a business to take tourists on airboats through the Everglades. He used these occasions to educate people about the total ecology of the area and build support for its preservation, such as a planned airport. He opposed the construction of I-75 through the Everglades, a major freeway which was completed in 1993. He had developed a tourist business, Buffalo Tiger's Airboat Tour, for the Everglades. One has worked as an engineer with General Motors in Detroit, and Stephen Tiger has led a rock group, Tiger Tiger, which has released several CDs.