Shawnee

The Shawnee or Shawnee nation (Shaawanwaki, Ša˙wano˙ki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki) are an Algonquian-speaking tribe indigenous to North America. In colonial times they were a semi-migratory Native American nation, primarily inhabiting areas of the Ohio Valley, extending from Ohio and Kentucky eastward to West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Western Maryland; south to Alabama and South Carolina; and westward to Indiana, and Illinois in the United States.

Pushed west by European-American pressure, the Shawnee migrated to Missouri and Kansas, with some removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. Other Shawnee did not remove to Oklahoma until after the Civil War. Made up of different historical and kinship groups, today there are three federally recognized Shawnee tribes, all headquartered in Oklahoma: the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and Shawnee Tribe.

History

Prehistory

Some scholars believe that the Shawnee are descendants of the people of the precontact Fort Ancient culture of the Ohio region, although this is not universally accepted. Fort Ancient culture flourished from 1000 to 1650 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited lands along the Ohio River in areas of southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and western West Virginia. They were mound builders. Fort Ancient culture was once thought to have been an extension of the Mississippian culture. But, scholars now believe Fort Ancient culture developed independently and was descended from the Hopewell culture (100 BCE—500 CE), also a mound builder people.

Shawnee language

The Shawnee language is a Central Algonquian language spoken in parts of central and northeastern Oklahoma by the Shawnee people. It was originally spoken in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. It is closely related to other Algonquian languages, such as Mesquakie-Sauk (Sac and Fox) and Kickapoo.

Status

Shawnee is severely threatened, with speakers shifting to English. The approximately 200 remaining speakers are older adults. The decline in usage of Shawnee is largely the result of reform schools for Native American children that forced an education in English, causing some Native Americans to cease teaching their languages to children.

Of the 2,000 members of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe around Shawnee town, more than 100 are speakers; of the 1,500 members of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe in Ottawa County, there are only a few elderly speakers; of the 8,000 members of the Loyal Shawnee in the Cherokee region of Oklahoma around Whiteoak there are fewer than 12 speakers. All of these low figures, in addition to the fact that most speakers are older adults, make Shawnee an endangered language. Additionally, development outside of the home is limited; apart from a dictionary and portions of the Bible from 1842 to 1929, it appears that there is little literature or technology support for Shawnee.

List of Hollyoaks characters (2012)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared or will appear in the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks in 2012, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the series' producer, Emma Smithwick. The first character to be announced was Ally Gorman; soon followed by Phoebe Jackson. While interviewed by Inside Soap, Smithwick announced that she planned to introduce more characters to expand the Kane family. The first to arrive was Martha Kane; soon followed by Lacey Kane - while Amy Downham joined the serial playing the role of Jen Gilmore. Later introductions include "bad boy" character Walker and deaf teenager Dylan Shaw; while Maddie Morrison's father Ed and mother Elizabeth arrived. June saw the arrival of Walt played by former EastEnders actor Cliff Parisi. Liam Gilmore (James Farrar) began appearing from August, while Oscar Osborne arrived prematurely in October. Maxine Minniver, played by Nikki Sanderson, began appearing in November, as did Patrick and Sienna Blake, played by Jeremy Sheffield and Anna Passey respectively as well as Jim McGinn played by Dan Tetsell and Brendan & Cheryl Brady's father, Seamus shortly followed.