Chipco dies peacefully in his Lake Pierce village

Chipco, also known as Echo Emathla Chopco (Deer Leader) was a Muscogee speaking Seminole leader in the 1800s. His family were Red Sticks forced to flee to Florida after the War of 1812 when he was young. His father was killed by Andrew Jackson's troops in 1818 in the First Seminole War. Along with Osceola and Abiaka, Chipco grew to be a leader of Seminole resistance to forced removal from Florida, especially during the Second and Third Seminole Wars. He lead resistance fighters in the successful Dade Battle in 1835, and a succesful raid on Fort Cummings in 1839. During the Third Seminole War he and his band went on the offensive using guerilla warfare tactics against the US Army and hostile white settlers before moving his band to the Everglades, where the successfully evaded capture until the end of the war. While we generally don't include deaths in this project, Chipco's death is truly a celebration of his life and resistance as he and his band left the Everglades after the war and returned to central Florida where they built a beautiful and successful community near Lake Pierce. Ultimately Chipco's band were the only Seminole Tribe to remain in the central Florida area. In 1879 US Army Officer Pratt visited his village and noted how fertile the soil was and the abundance of crops and livestock his community had. Pratt told Chipco that he had come to see what kind of help the government could give to his people, but Chipco dismissed any offers for help from the government, saying that he did not want to hear any "Washington talk".