The Big Cypress Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

 of the Seminole Tribe of Florida

Seminole Tribe of Florida

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, it is one of three federally recognized Seminole entities...

. It is located in southeastern Hendry County

Hendry County, Florida

Hendry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 36,210. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 39,611 . Its county seat is La Belle. The county comprises the Clewiston, Florida, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Hendry County...

 and northwestern Broward County

Broward County, Florida

-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

 in southern Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The reservation lies south of Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee , locally referred to as The Lake or The Big O, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the lower 48 states...

 and just north of Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley is a section of Interstate 75 and State Road 84 extending from Naples on the west coast of Florida to Weston on the east...

. The reservation is governed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida's Tribal Council, and is the largest of the five Seminole reservations in the state. The land area is 81.972 sq mi (212.306 km²), and a resident population of 591 persons was reported in the 2010 census. The reservation lies adjacent to the north side of the largest section of the Miccosukee Indian Reservation

Miccosukee Indian Reservation

The Miccosukee Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Miccosukee tribe of Native Americans. It is divided into three sections in two counties of southern Florida, USA. Their total land area is 128.256 sq mi...

 in western Broward County.

Tourism and entertainment

The tribe owns two tourist attractions: Billie Swamp Safari, and The Big Cypress Entertainment Complex. The reservation is also called "Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation" or "Big Cypress Reservation".

The American rock band Phish

Phish

Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...

 held their millennium concert at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation from December 30, 1999 to January 1, 2000. With 85,000 people in attendance, it was the earliest and largest sold out millennium concert. Phish performed 3 sets of music on the 30th, an afternoon set on the 31st, and an unprecedented "Midnight To Dawn" set which ran from 11:50pm until sunrise on January 1, 2000.

Recent history

The Langerado

Langerado

Langerado Music Festival is an annual music festival, taking place in early spring in South Florida, first organized in 2003 by Ethan Schwartz and Mark Brown. In 2008 the festival was held at the Seminole Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades...

 Music Festival was held there March 6–9, 2008. Headlined by R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

, the festival was largely a success, but was marred by the death of a concertgoer leaving the show. Constance Leach, a 36-year-old Native American, was killed when a charter bus and pickup truck collided on Snake Road just north of Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley is a section of Interstate 75 and State Road 84 extending from Naples on the west coast of Florida to Weston on the east...

about 1:15 a.m. Traffic crawled along the dark, two-lane Snake Road for hours Sunday morning as officers investigated.