Shawnee
Encyclopedia : S : SH : SHA : Shawnee
- For other meanings, see Shawnee (disambiguation).
History
Origins
It is suspected that the Shawnee, like other Algonquian speaking tribes, originated from the area around Lake Winnipeg and were one of the first tribes to move South. Supposedly this migration was parallel to the one of the Delaware and Nanticoke during the 13th Century. Eventually the Shawnee people settled into the area that is now known as their homeland-- West Virginia, southern Ohio and northern Kentucky.The White Colonization
During the French and Iroquois Wars of the 1660s, the Iroquois drove the Shawnee south and west into areas of southern Illinois and Indiana, the Tennessee River basin, and even as far south as North Carolina. Due to the pressure of the surrounding tribes most of the Shawnee bands returned to their original Ohio homeland by 1750.After the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755, the Shawnee fought with the French during the early years of the French and Indian War until they signed the Treaty of Easton in 1758. When the French were defeated in 1763 the Shawnee joined Pontiac’s Rebellion against the British, which failed a year later.
The Shawnee people continued to fight against white settlers that entered, without authorization by their own government (¹) , into the Shawnee homeland. During Dunmore's War in 1774 an Anglo-American force defeated the Shawnee under Chief Cornstalk at the Battle of Point Pleasant. Between 1774 and 1779 large groups of Shawnee relocated to Missouri due to the increasing pressure of white settlers. In 1780 Captain Henry Bird led a mixed force of British and Native Americans against Kentucky settlers at Ruddells and Martins Stations [link]; in retaliation George Rogers Clark attacked Pequea (near present Springfield, Ohio [link].
In 1782 the Ohio Shawnee fought with the British and other Native American tribes from the Ohio valley at the Battle of Blue Licks, and defeated an American force under the command of John Todd.
In the Northwest Indian War (Little Turtle's War) between the United States and a confederation of Native American tribes, the Shawnee combined with the Miamis into a great fighting force. After the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, most of the Shawnee bands signed the Treaty of Greenville a year later, in which large parts of their homeland were turned over to the United States. Other Shawnee groups rejected this treaty and joined their brothers and sisters in Missouri and settled near Cape Girardeau. By 1800 only the Chillicothe and Mequachake tribes remained in Ohio while the Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and Piqua had migrated to Missouri.
From 1805 on many Shawnees joined the pan-tribal movement of Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, which led to Tecumseh's War and his death at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. This was the last attempt (in vain) of the Shawnee nation to fight off the white man.
After the War
Several hundred Missouri Shawnee left the United States in 1815 together with some Delaware people and settled in Texas, which was at that time controlled by Spain. This tribe became known as the Absentee Shawnee; they were once again expelled in 1839 after Texas had gained its independence three years earlier. These people settled in Oklahoma, close to present-day Shawnee and were joined in 1845 by Shawnee from Kansas that shared their traditionalist views and beliefs.In 1817 the Ohio Shawnee signed the Treaty of Fort Meigs, ceding their remaining lands in exchange for three reservations in Wapaughkonetta, Hog Creek (near Ada) and Lewistown (here together with the Seneca).
Missouri joined the Union in 1821 and after the Treaty of St. Louis in 1825 the 1,400 Missouri Shawnees were forcibly relocated from Cape Girardeau (boot heel) to southeastern Kansas, close to the Neosho River.
During 1833, only the Black Bob's band of Shawnee resisted. They settled in northeastern Kansas near Olathe and along the Kaw River near Shawnee, Kansas.
About 200 of the Ohio Shawnee followed the Prophet Tenskwatawa and joined their Kansas brothers and sisters in 1826, but the main body followed Black Hoof, who fought every effort to give up the Ohio homeland. In 1831 the Lewistown group of Seneca-Shawnee left for the Indian territory (present-day Oklahoma). After the death of Black Hoof the remaining 400 Ohio Shawnee in Wapaughkonetta and Hog Creek surrendered their land and moved to the Shawnee Reserve in Kansas.
During the American Civil War the Black Bob's band fled from Kansas and joined the Absentee Shawnee in Oklahoma to escape the war. After the Civil War the Shawnee in Kansas were once again dispelled and moved to Oklahoma—whereupon the Shawnee part of the former Lewistown group became known as the Eastern Shawnee and the former Missouri Shawnee became known as the Loyal Shawnee (due to their allegiance with the Union during the war). The latter group was regarded as part of the Cherokee nation by the United States because they were also known as the Cherokee Shawnee.
Today the largest part of the Shawnee Nation still resides in Oklahoma.
Tribes
Originally the Shawnees consisted of five bands, each associated with different ritual functions:
- Chillicothe
- Hathawekela
- Kispokotha
- Mequachake
- Pekuwe
- Absentee Shawnee, consisting mainly of Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and Pekuwe
- Eastern Shawnee
- Loyal Shawnee, or Cherokee Shawnee, formerly an official part of the Cherokee nation
Shawnees Today
There are presently about 14,000 Shawnee, most in Oklahoma, although some are scattered throughout Alabama; at least four bands of Shawnee (the Old Town Band, the Blue Creek Band, the Piqua Sept of Ohio Shawnee and the Shawnee Nation, United Remnant Band) reside in Ohio, while other descendents of non-affiliated Shawnee, some from historical remnant pocket communities, are scattered throughout the old homelands and elsewhere.Villages and Places
Though considered a migratory culture, the Shawnee had villages scattered from Illinois to New York and as far south as Georgia. These villages included:
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Language
For the main article, see Shawnee languageThe Shawnee language is part of the Algonquian family and is closely related to Mesquakie-Sauk (Sac and Fox) and Kickapoo.
Famous Shawnee Individuals
- Tecumseh, the outstanding Shawnee leader, and his brother Tenskwatawa attempted to unite the Eastern tribes against the expansion of white settlement; see also Tecumseh's War. This alliance was broken up by the Americans, leading to the Shawnee's expulsion to Oklahoma.
- Blue Jacket, also known as Weyapiersenwah, was an important predecessor to Tecumseh, and a leader in the Northwest Indian War. Blue Jacket surrendered to General "Mad" Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and signed the Treaty of Greenville, ceding much of Ohio to the United States.
- Cornstalk, Blue Jacket's most prominent predecessor, led the Shawnee in Dunmore's War, and attempted to keep the Shawnee neutral in the American Revolutionary War.
- Black Hoof, also known as Catecahassa, was a respected Shawnee chief and one of Tecumseh's adversaries. He thought the Shawnee had to adapt culturally to the ways of the whites in order to prevent decimation of the tribe through warfare.
See also
- Proclamation of 1763
- Treaty of Easton 1758
- Battle of Fallen Timbers 1794
- Treaty of Greenville 1795
- Indian Removal Act 1830
External links
- [Absentee Shawnee Tribe]
- [Shawnee History]
- [Shawnee Indian Mission]
- ["Shawnee Indian Tribe" at Access Genealogy]
- [Treaty of Fort Meigs, 1817]
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