Night Bird: A Story of the Seminole Indians

In this story, Night Bird is a young Seminole Indian girl hiding from the white men in the Everglades swamp. After years of pressure, her tribes had been forced southward from Georgia into the murky wetness of the swamps. Seminoles from all over are gathering for the ceremony of the Green Corn. It is a harvest festival where thanks are given and forgiveness sought. However, in the middle of the ceremony, a new group arrives and it is revealed that they escaped from bondage and a white man was killed in the escape. All know that this means that the soldiers will be coming and they all will be at risk. They have hiding places prepared for the children and canoes ready for the escape. A canoe arrives and it contains a white man with a proposal that the Seminoles leave Florida and relocate to Oklahoma. After he leaves, the tribe engages in a furious debate as to whether they should move to Oklahoma. It splits families apart, as the decision seems to be one between two forms of slow death. The story ends with a heart-rending tale of Night Bird being separated from the part of her family that is going to Oklahoma. While this is a work of fiction, it is an example of the best kind; it could have been true. The only things that would be different are the names. The forced destruction of the Seminole nation is one of the worst examples of genocide in the entire history of the white destruction of the Native American societies. This book, written for the late elementary school child illustrates in an honest and yet non-bloody manner, what actually happened. While not pleasant to read, it is a side of the history of the United States that children need to be exposed to.