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 Tribe

The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma. Also known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. The others are the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.

Government

The headquarters of the Shawnee Tribe is Miami, Oklahoma. Currently, there are 2,226 enrolled tribal members, with 1,070 of them living within the state of Oklahoma.

Ron Sparkman is the elected chairman, currently 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.