Shawnee

The Shawnee originally lived in the Ohio River Valley and spoke Algonquian. They lived in wigwams, or domed shaped houses made out of wood poles and covered in bark or grass. They had several dances dedicated to growing crops during each season: the spring Bread Dance, the Green Corn Dance, and the autumn Bread Dance. They celebrated the planting, ripening, and cultivation of crops respectively.

Around 1630, the Iroquois pushed the Shawnee out if the Ohio territory, moving them south. Around 100 years later the Shawnee moved back into the Ohio territory as the Iroquois’ power lessened. Trade with the settlers was being pushed during this time. However, in exchange for furs, the settlers gave the Shawnee brandy or rum which led to problems involving alcohol abuse.

During the French and Indian war, the Shawnee originally sided with the French until 1758 when they switched sides to support the British. After several agreements, the “Treaty of Easton” and the “Proclamation of 1763”, established the Shawnee’s ownership of land and promoted limits to English colonization. However, the colonists continued to approach and cross the border onto Shawnee land. As a result of encroachments by settlers in the Ohio Valley, the Native Americans attacked the settlers. In May, 1774, the Governor of Virginia declared war on the Natives. Virginia won the war; the land previously deemed as “hunting grounds” was given to the British.

During the Revolutionary War, hoping to stop the settlers from taking more land, the Shawnee fought on the side of the British. They continued resisting further settlements after the British lost the war, but were forced to give up most of their land in Ohio after the “Treaty of Greenville” in 1795. They hoped to gain back their land, however, by fighting in the War of 1812. After the “Treaty of Fort Meigs of 1817”, the Shawnee were forced to give up all their land and were placed on three reservations in Ohio. In the 1830’s, the United States

Government forced the Shawnee to give up their Ohio reservations, forcing them to move to Oklahoma and then Kansas. By 1869, the Shawnee living in Kansas were forced to move once again back to Oklahoma where they were placed with the Cherokee tribe already relocated and living there.

The Loyal Shawnee, which we are descended from, were given that title due to serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. While these Shawnee were aiding with the war, White settlers took 130,000 acres of the Shawnee’s land. So, after the war, believing they would be compensated for their service, they returned to decimated land. The Cherokee Nation and the Loyal Shawnee established an agreement in 1869 giving Cherokee citizenship to the Loyal Shawnee. Because the Loyal Shawnee had no political organization, they became the Cherokee Shawnee, losing their own culture and identity. They became federally recognized as solely Shawnee in the 2000’s.

The Shawnee’s creationist story tells how the Shawnee were created by a being known as “Our Grandmother.” According to the story, every day Our Grandmother weaves a basket, and at night her son and his dog come and unravel the work she has done. The Shawnee believe that when Our Grandmother finishes the basket, the world will end. She is the beginning of their beliefs, and they say during ceremonial dances and songs, sometimes you can hear her voice singing along.

Shawnee Wigwam