Abiaka
| Ar-pi-uck-i | |
|---|---|
| Medicine chief and war chief, Miccosukee leader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1760, Georgia |
| Died | c. 1866, Florida |
| Spouse(s) | Itee (born c. 1790) |
| Children | Rebecca Jones (1817-1898), wife of Ephraim Miles Mitchell |
| Known for | Fought in Second Seminole War, resulting in the permanent Native American presence in Florida. |
| Nickname(s) | Sam Jones |
Ar-pi-uck-i, also known as Sam Jones, (ca. 1760, Georgia – ca. 1860, Florida) was a powerful spiritual alektca (medicine chief) and war chief of the Miccosukee, a Seminole-Muscogee Creek tribe of the Southeast United States. Ar-pi-uck-i successfully defied the U.S. government and refused to remove to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi and his influential leadership in the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) resulted in the permanent Native American presence in Florida.
The phonetic spelling of his name varies to include: Aripeka, Aripeika, Opoica, Arpeika, Abiaka, Apiaka, Apeiaka, Appiaca, Appiacca, Apayaka Hadjo (Crazy Rattlesnake). The name is derivative of the Muscogee word, Abihka, the name of an ancient Muscogee town near the upper Coosa River, meaning "pile at the base" or "heap at the root." The name was conferred on the town because "in the contest for supremacy its warriors heaped up a pile of scalps, covering the base of the war-pole."
The treaties with the U.S. to which Ar-pi-uck-i was a signatory were Treaty of Payne’s Landing (Treaty with the Seminole, 1832), May 9, 1832, and Treaty of Fort Gibson, On The Arkansas River With The Seminole (Treaty with the Seminole, 1833) March 28, 1833 signed by proxy through Tokose Mathla (aka John Hicks), the representative of Ar-pi-uck-i, who traveled to view the proposed relocation lands in the Indian Territory. Signatures were coerced by force of threat. Ar-pi-uck-i was opposed to the relocation.
Battle of Lake Okeechobee - Col. Zachary Taylor led 1032 troops against the Creek and Miccosukee, December 25, 1837, near the mouth of Taylor Creek and Lake Okeechobee and suffered a defeat. Taylor lost 26 killed and 112 wounded. Ar-pi-uck-i was the leading war chief for the Miccosukee and he carefully formulated and executed his battle plan wisely, entrenched on dry, treed ground, pressing the attack, and losing only 8 (11) and 14 wounded. Then he and his men retired into the swamp. Taylor chose to charge across open water. After the battle Col. Zachary Taylor and the U.S. claimed victory and then fell back a considerable distance towards Tampa. The Battle of Lake Okeechobee was Florida’s most significant and bloody battle of the Second Seminole war and a major victory for the Seminoles.
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