This is not mentioned in the program, but the name of the Miccosukee was forced down the throats of their leaders by the BIA. Until that time, they called themselves Mayas! Politicians in Florida and the National Capital feared that if the Federal government recognized a tribe, named the Maya, it would cause a tidal wave of Mayas immigrating into the United States.
Miccosukee is the Anglicization of the name of their principal town in Florida, Meko Sokee, which means “Leader of the Sokee (aka Soque or Zoque), The Sokee or Soque occupied much of Northeast Georgia, when Charleston, SC was founded in 1671. Their capital was in northwestern Habersham County, GA . . . now the village of Batesville. South Carolina officials described them as a “Mexican” tribe, who were the most advance indigenous people in North America. The Smallpox Epidemic of 1696 drastically reduced their population.
The main body of Soque or Zoque live in western Tabasco and Chiapas states, Mexico. They are considered to be the progenitors of the so-called “Olmec” Civilization. Ironically, there are today about 400,000 Mayas and members of related tribes living in Georgia, alone. The total number of recently immigrated Southern Mesoamericans in the United States may number in the millions.
The Americas Revealed 