The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and inactive

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

based in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. It is not a federally or state recognized tribe. The organization was founded in 2009, and its members identify as being of

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and Cherokee descent.

Nonprofit organization

William Hayes Shackleford founded the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians, LLC, as a

and

, based in

Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the ...

, in 2009. The organization went inactive but became active again in 2021, with Jeffery R. Morgan serving as its

registered agent In United States business law, a registered agent (also known as a resident agent, statutory agent, or agent for service of process) is a business or individual designated to receive service of process (SOP) when a business entity is a party ...

. Shackleford organized the Pine Mountain Indian Community, Kentucky LLC in 2013, another nonprofit limited liability company in Hazard, Kentucky. This organization dissolved in September 2015. Morgan also served as this organization's registered agent. In June 2013, the Pine Mountain Indian Community LLC announced that the Ridgetop group would be renamed as the Ridgetop Shawnee, to serve as the heritage arm of this nonprofit organization. Within this new management structure, the Ridgetop Shawnee would concentrate on the preservation and protection of the heritage of the region. The Pine Mountain Indian Community would focus on economic development and community development in Southeastern Kentucky.

Status, recognition, and identity

In March 2023, the Cultural Preservation Department of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe described ""a concerning phenomenon we are witnessing in our ancestral settlement areas in our ancestral settlement areas including but not limited to Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, ndAlabama", commenting that "In these areas, there are a number of people who claim Shawnee ancestry; this is not so much the concern as the fact that of these individuals or groups use this claim to exploit Shawnee culture as a means of gaining opportunities for themselves from a public that is largely unaware of the vast divide that separates our tribal community politically and culturally from those of alleged Shawnee ancestry", and went on to name the Ridgetop Shawnee as one of the ten similar groups they "have identified that have recently organized as alleged Shawnee bands/tribes and promote themselves as the voice of the Shawnee." While the State of Kentucky has a Native American Heritage Commission, Kentucky has no state-recognized tribes and "the state doesn’t have a process for them to apply for formal recognition". The

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

passed Joint Resolution 15 in 2009 and Joint Resolution 16 in 2010 as

congratulatory resolutions Courtesy resolution is a non- controversial resolution in the nature of congratulations on the birth of a child, celebration of a wedding anniversary, congratulations of an outstanding citizen achievement or a similar event. It is "a resolution exp ...

to "Commend the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians for their efforts to help their elderly and their youth; recognize their work to preserve their native language and heritage."

References

External links

Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians

Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission
{{authority control Cultural organizations based in Kentucky 2009 establishments in Kentucky 2011 disestablishments in Kentucky Unrecognized tribes in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Kentucky Harlan County, Kentucky Shawnee heritage groups

Nonprofit organization

Status, recognition, and identity

See also

References

External links