Chickee facts for kids

Mother and children at a camp on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, 1949

An Indian camp with a sleep chickee, cooking chickee, and eating chickee

A chickee (pronounced "CHICK-ee") is a special type of house. The word "chickee" means "house" in the languages spoken by the Seminole and Miccosukee people. These unique shelters are built on posts, with a raised floor and a roof made of thatch. They have open sides, which helps keep them cool.

Chickees are also known as chickee huts, stilt houses, or platform dwellings. They are perfect for warm, wet places like Florida.

History of Chickees

The Seminole people started building chickees during the Seminole Wars (from 1835 to 1858). Before these wars, the Seminoles lived in log cabins. But as U.S. troops pushed them deeper into the Everglades, they needed a new kind of home.

The Everglades is a swampy area. Log cabins were not good for this wet environment. So, the Seminoles began using chickees. These homes were made from palm tree leaves for the roof and cypress wood for the frame. This style of building was already known in south Florida. Other tribes had used similar structures long before.

Each chickee in a camp had a special job. Some chickees were for cooking meals. Others were for sleeping, and some were for eating. Together, these chickees formed a community camp.

Modern Use of Chickees

Chickees are still used today by Native American villages in the Everglades. The Miccosukee people continue to live in these traditional homes.

You might also see chickee-style buildings in other places. Some fancy homes in southern Florida have chickee-inspired structures in their gardens or by their swimming pools. A few restaurants in Florida even use this design to attract visitors.

Campers set up tents on a chickee in the Everglades National Park backcountry

Chickees are also very useful in wild areas like Everglades National Park. Along the Everglades Wilderness Waterway, it's hard to find dry land for camping. So, wooden chickees are built several feet above the water. These are mainly for campers who want to explore the backcountry.

These camping chickees can usually hold four to five campers. They even have portable restrooms. Some "double chickees" are connected by a walkway and can fit eight to ten people.

A village might have about eight to ten chickees. They are very helpful, especially when it rains. Similar structures exist further north in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. However, they are not called chickees there.

Partially built chickee showing thatching process, Big Cypress Indian Reservation.