The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida finished a purchase for more than 20 acres of land in Walton County on January 5, Walton County Property Appraiser’s records show.
The Tribe, which made it’s mark on Florida history by holding out against the might of the US Army more than 150 years ago in the last of the Seminole Wars, now makes money through the construction and management of casinos and resorts in South Florida, to the west of Miami International Airport.
In 2025, Commissioner Donna Johns of the Walton County Commission floated the idea of visiting the Miccosukee as a type of exchange program. Commissioner Tony Anderson noted in a September meeting of the Board of Commissioners that rumors swirled around the county of the tribe attempting to purchase land for a casino in Walton County.
Talbert Cypress leads the Miccosukee tribe as of 2026. He has been the leader of the nation since 2017. According to the Miccosukee Website, Talbert says, “The world is changing every day. We must catch up with the world, not stand still and be left behind.”
More below. This is a developing story and we will update it as we get more information.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is registered as the owners of a 25-acre plot of land on the Western side of Highway 331 about 3.8 Miles south of DeFuniak Springs. The Tribe purchased it from Wallace Enterprises of Northwest Florida, Inc., for $2.25 million.
The last sale of the property occurred in January 2003 for $110,000. The Walton Property Appraiser lists the land’s value at $325,000.
At the end of the Seminole wars in the middle of the 19th century, several hundred members of the Miccosukee, which are cousins of the Seminole, survived in the inhospitable everglades areas that American settlers refused to encroach upon.
For about 100 years, the Seminoles were able to live independently of the Americans who gradually moved into the areas around south Florida.
According to the Nation’s website, By 1928, the Tamiami Trail Highway was constructed and assimilation of the Miccosukee into American culture began.
Still, some tribal leaders sought to retain their identity and fought hard to preserve it. Buffalo Tiger, the Miccosukee Chief in the middle of the century, took a retinue to Cuba to meet Fidel Castro after the Cuban revolution in 1959. During the trip the revolutionary government became the first to recognize the Miccosukee as an independent nation within the United States. Three years later, the Kennedy Administration followed suit and recognized the Miccosukee’s tribal existence and their sovereign rights.
By the 1970s, the Miccosukee Corporation had been founded and took over programs and services formerly administered by the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The tribe now operates a medical clinic, police force, court system, day care center, senior center, community agency, and an educational system for members of the tribe.
The nation comprises approximately 640 enrolled members of the tribe.
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