The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Formerly known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized

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 ...

tribes. The others are the

Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (or Absentee Shawnee) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Shawnee people. Historically residing in what became organized as the upper part of the Eastern United States, the original Sh ...

and the

Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are located in Oklahoma and Missouri. The tribe holds an annual powwow every September at their powwow grounds. This is not a closed powwow and visit ...

Government

The headquarters of the Shawnee Tribe is

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capit ...

. Currently, there are about 2,226 enrolled tribal members, with 1,070 of them living within the state of Oklahoma. Ben Barnes is the current elected Chief. Previously, Ron Sparkman was the elected chairman, serving a four-year term.

Economic development

The Shawnee Tribe issues its own tribal vehicle tags. They operate their own housing authority as well as a tribal smoke shop, the Shawnee Trails Gift Shop and Gallery, Shawnee Development LLC, and Shawnee Heritage Government Solutions. Their annual economic impact is estimated by the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissions to be $3 million. Shawnee Development LLC is an economic development corporation established in 2001, owned by the tribe but conducting business separately from the general government functions. ''The Shawnee Journal'' is a newspaper published by the tribe and distributed at no cost to all tribal members.

Culture

Some traditional ceremonies, such as the Spring and Fall Bread Dance, the Green Corn ceremony, and stomp dances are still held. These take place in White Oak, Oklahoma. Some Shawnees are also members of the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Syncretism, syncretic Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native Americans in the United States, Native American beliefs and eleme ...

peyote ceremonies, with most attending in the winter outside of the traditional Shawnee ceremonial cycle.

History

The Shawnee Tribe is an Eastern Woodland tribe. They originally came from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and Pennsylvania, and were the last of the Shawnee to leave their traditional homelands there. In the late 18th century, European American encroachment crowded Shawnee lands in the East, and one band migrated to Missouri — eventually becoming the Absentee Shawnee. Three reservations were granted to the Shawnee in Ohio by the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs: Wapakoneta, Lewistown, and Hog Creek.The Shawnee in History.
''The Official Website of the Shawnee Tribe.'' (retrieved 6 Feb 2009) After the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

of 1830 passed, another Shawnee band, which would become the Eastern Shawnee Tribe relocated to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

in July 1831. The final band, who would become the Shawnee Tribe, relocated to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

in August 1831. Their Kansas lands were drastically reduced in 1854 and broken up into individual allotments in 1858. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

many of the Shawnee Tribe fought for the Union, which inspired the name, "Loyal Shawnee." Instead of receiving compensation or honors for their service, they returned to their Kansas lands, only to find much of it taken over by non-Indian homesteaders. Settlers were granted of Shawnee land, while remained to for the tribe, of which were granted to the Absentee Shawnee. In 1861 Kansas became a state, and the White people of Kansas demanded that all Indian tribes must be removed from the state. The Loyal Shawnee made an agreement with the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

in 1869, allowing 722 to gain citizenship within the Cherokee tribe and receive allotments of Cherokee land. They predominantly settled in what is now Craig and

Rogers County, Oklahoma Rogers County is a County (United States), county located in the Green Country, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 95,240, making it the sixth-most populous coun ...

. They became known as the "Cherokee Shawnee," primarily settling in the areas of Bird Creek (now known as Sperry); Hudson Creek (now known as Fairland); and

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

. The Shawnee Reservation in Kansas was never legally dissolved and some Shawnee families still hold their allotment lands in Kansas. Beginning in the 1980s, the Shawnee Tribe began an effort to regain their own tribal status, independent of the Cherokee Nation. Congress passed Public Law 106-568, the Shawnee Tribe Status Act of 2000, and the Shawnee Tribe was able to organize as their own autonomous, federally recognized tribe. James R. Squirrel was the initial Chairman and was recognized by the AARP in 2009, as being instrumental in the Shawnee Tribe being federally recognized.

Notable Loyal Shawnee

Heidi BigKnife Heidi BigKnife (born May 13, 1967, Shawnee Tribe) is a Native American artist living in Oklahoma. She is well known for her unique jewelry, a talent she developed at the Institute of American Indian Art. Early life Heidi BigKnife was born in E ...

, jeweler, silversmith * Ruthe Blalock Jones, painter, printmaker, and arts educator *

Yvonne Chouteau Myra Yvonne Chouteau () (March 7, 1929 – January 24, 2016) was an American ballerina and one of the "Five Moons" or Native Americans in the United States, Native ''prima ballerinas'' of Oklahoma. She was the only child of Corbett Edward and Luc ...

, prima ballerina. * Timmy Lee Jr, Texas Blues Rock guitarist.

References

External links

Shawnee Tribe
official website
Constitution of the Shawnee Tribe
{{authority control Native American tribes in Oklahoma Federally recognized tribes in the United States