The Apalachees have been around since around A.D 1000. They were know to have been fierce warriors and were greatly respected by other tribes. Not only because of their fierceness but because they were well organized, had an advanced Indian civilization, and they were wealthy with abundant mounts of gold. The men, like most Indian tribes of the time, were in charge of setting the fields for crops and for hunting. On the other hand, women were in charge of tending the crops and picking nuts and berries. The men dressed in deersking loincloths while the women wore moss skirts. When men went to battle, they painted their bodies with red ochre and put feathers in their hair.
The Apalachees also participated in games against challenging tribes. It was a religous excecise as well as a sport. It is amazing how there were about 100 players on each tribe's team. With a clay ball covered in buckskin the size of a golf ball, the players kicked the ball around trying to get it into a nest with a stuffed eagle on a pole. This game was played dedicated to the gods of rain and thunder to ask for rain for their crops.
Lake Jackson was the capital of the Apalachee civilization. Ceremonial mounds were used for worshipping their gods. It was not until 1528 that the Apalachee made contact with the Europeans. Unlike the Tainos, the Apalachee fought the Spaniards and kept the explorers under constant attacks. The deadly diseases of the Europeans weakened the Apalachees and in between 1633 and 1635, 5,000 Apalachees converted to Catholicism because of the epidemics and the threat of foreign attackes. Most of the Apalachee moved westward while others traveled to present day Louisiana. To this day, there are about 250 to 300 Apalachee descendants in Florida.
http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/apalach/apalach1.htm
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