This website is from the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The tribe's history is recapped on the website in great depth. "The Seminole people are the descendents of the Creek people...The early history of the Creek people in Florida is not well understood...By 1823 the native population had increased. This population of about five thousand was thrown together and subjected to the fiercest of all the wars ever waged by the U.S. Government against native peoples, known as the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842."
This depth at which they delve into their history shows clearly that they are proud of their heritage and believe it is important to keep it alive and recognised, not just within themselves, but to the public. It also exemplifies that this particular tribe was fairly large, well-known and successful as their history is rich and dense, where as many tribes have faded away into history over the years with little recognition or knowledge. The identity of the Semiole isn't just shown through the site however, as it mentions "The recipient of a legend must do his or her best to retell the story as close to the original version as possible. It is a great responsibility and for this reason, the best storytellers are greatly respected among those in the tribe. One of the Seminole Tribe's noted story tellers is Betty Mae Jumper. She has written two books." This demonstrates the longevity of the tribe, contributing to its success in the context of the whole country.
The tribe's success is also heavily mentioned, primarily focusing on the financial gains of the tribe, stemming from the 20th Century and still going to this day. The majority of the business aspect of success comes from the gaming industry, so casinos, "gaming is, by far, the number one economic enterprise in all of Indian Country." However, the site also mentions a hotel, school and museum. This success originated from the 'smoke shop' franchise in 1977, exemplifying a gradual increase of income for the tribe, as well as their hard-work to ensure their culture is protected, whilst still managing to cope in a modernised world.
However, it is not just in enterprising that the tribe has been successful. In legal dealings, such as land settlements and constitutional affairs, the tribe has also been successful in winning the cases. They also have their own newspaper called the 'Seminole Tribune', again showing that the tribe likes to inform member of their current affairs, maintaining its identity.
Although, the tribe actually adapted in the mid 20th Century another way. In the 1940s, more Seminoles began to move to the reservations. A major catalyst for this was the conversion of many Seminole to Christianity, as evident in the slogan "In God we trust", a very white-American thing. This rejection of so called 'traditional' views, I believe, attributed to their current success as they found it easier to fit into the growing world around them. The Christianity they follow is an altered version of the dominant one in America, again showing creativity and subversions of the norm allowing a new culture to be born within the tribe.
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