The Tequesta lived in the southeast coast of Florida. They hunted in the everglades for bear, deer, and wild boar. They fished and gathered plants such as palmetto berries, coco plums, and sea grapes. In the 1500’s, Europeans began arriving in Florida. At first they were enemies but then the Europeans won their friendship by gifts. The language the Tequesta spoke was Tequestan. The Tequesta lived in log-like cabins with no walls called chickees.
The Tequesta men hunted and fished while the women and children gathered clams, oysters, and turtle eggs. The type of clothing that they wore was deer skin. The Tequesta had a chief. The sea cow or manatee was considered a delicacy and severed mainly to the chief.