Smoke shops, like the one opened in 1977 in Hollywood, became another brick shoring up the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s sovereign rights. This is a high cost area, we have a tribal government to run, and we have to survive” (Miami Herald, 12 August 1977). We paid taxes for so many years, but money never came back on the reservation. Tommie said “We feel we have a right to do this…The thing people don’t know is that these politicians never put any tax dollars back on the reservation. In an article for the Miami Herald in 1977, Tommie addressed criticisms that the Tribe shouldn’t operate tax free. Under Former Chairman Howard Tommie, these smoke shops were the first major business upholding tribal sovereignty. While they may seem simple, these smoke shops had a big impact on the future of the Tribe.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida opened its first tax-free, discount smoke shop in 1977.
