View source for Shawnee Tribe

{{short description|Native American tribe in Oklahoma, United States}}

{{infobox Ethnic group
| caption          = Shawnee Tribal flag
| group            = Shawnee Tribe
| image            = 
| langs            = [[Shawnee language|Shawnee]], [[English language|English]]
| popplace         = {{Flag|United States}} ({{Flag|Oklahoma}})
| population       = 2,226<ref name=oia>[http://www.digitalprairie.ok.gov/cdm/ref/collection/stgovpub/id/5215 2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory.] ''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2011: 34. Retrieved 16 Jan 2016.</ref>
| related          = other [[Shawnee]] tribes and [[Sac and Fox Nation|Sac and Fox]]
| rels             = [[Christianity]], [[Native American Church]], traditional tribal religion
}}

The '''Shawnee Tribe''' is a [[Federally recognized tribes|federally recognized Native American tribe]] in [[Oklahoma]]. Formerly 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 the [[Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma]].

== Government ==

The headquarters of the Shawnee Tribe is [[Miami, Oklahoma]]. Currently, there are about 2,226 enrolled tribal members, with 1,070 of them living within the state of Oklahoma.<ref name=oia/>

Ben Barnes is the current elected Chief.<ref>{{cite web|url=<!--https://shawnee-tribe.org/who-we-are/message-from-the-chief-->https://shawnee-nsn.gov/address-forms/chief-ben-barnes|access-date=2 Feb 2021|title=Chief Ben Barnes - Shawnee Tribe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nativeamericacalling.com/thursday-august-1-2024-thursday-august-1-2024-doi-report-on-boarding-schools-acknowledge-apologize-repudiate|access-date=August 1, 2024|title=DOI report on boarding schools: "Acknowledge, Apologize, Repudiate"|date=August 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://boardingschoolhealing.org/about-us/board-and-staff/chief-ben-barnes|title=Chief Benjamin Barnes - The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition}}</ref> Previously, Ron Sparkman was the elected chairman, serving a four-year term.<ref name=oia/><ref>[http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/Government.html Government.] ''The Official Website of the Shawnee Tribe.'' (retrieved 16 Jan 2016)</ref>

== 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.<ref name="ohs">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Pamela A. |title=Shawnee Tribe (Loyal Shawnee) |journal=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SH019 |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref> Their annual economic impact is estimated by the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissions to be $3 million.<ref name="ohs"/> Shawnee Development LLC is an [[economic development corporation]] established in 2001, owned by the tribe but conducting business separately from the general government functions.<ref>[http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/development_corp.htm "Shawnee Tribal Development Corporation."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516221252/http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/development_corp.htm |date=2008-05-16 }} ''The Shawnee Tribe''. (retrieved 6 February 2009)</ref> ''The Shawnee Journal'' is a newspaper published by the tribe and distributed at no cost to all tribal members.<ref>[http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/journal.htm "The Shawnee Journal"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516210011/http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/journal.htm |date=2008-05-16 }}, ''The Shawnee Tribe''. (retrieved 6 February 2009)</ref>

==Culture==
Some traditional ceremonies, such as the Spring and Fall Bread Dance, the [[Green Corn ceremony]], and [[stomp dance]]s are still held. These take place in [[White Oak, Oklahoma]]. Some Shawnees are also members of the [[Native American Church]] peyote ceremonies, with most attending in the winter outside of the traditional Shawnee ceremonial cycle.

==History==
[[File: Blouse, Shawnee, Oklahoma, probably late 19th century - Native American collection - Peabody Museum, Harvard University - DSC05503.JPG|thumb|Shawnee woman's blouse with silver medallions, circa 19th century, [[Indian Territory]] ([[Oklahoma]]), collection of the [[Peabody Museum, Harvard]] ]]
The Shawnee Tribe is an [[Eastern Woodlands tribes|Eastern Woodland tribe]]. They originally came from [[Ohio]] and Pennsylvania, and were the last of the Shawnee to leave their traditional homelands there.<ref name="ohs"/> 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.<ref name="ohs"/> Three reservations were granted to the Shawnee in Ohio by the 1817 [[Treaty of Fort Meigs]]: Wapakoneta, Lewistown, and Hog Creek.<ref name="history">[http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/history.htm The Shawnee in History.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516221142/http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/history.htm |date=2008-05-16 }} ''The Official Website of the Shawnee Tribe.'' (retrieved 6 Feb 2009)</ref> After the [[Indian Removal Act]] of 1830 passed, another Shawnee band, which would become the [[Eastern Shawnee Tribe]] relocated to [[Indian Territory]] in July 1831. The final band, who would become the Shawnee Tribe, relocated to [[Kansas]] in August 1831. Their Kansas lands were drastically reduced in 1854 and broken up into individual allotments in 1858.<ref name="ohs"/>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] 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 [[Homestead Act|homesteaders]]. Settlers were granted {{convert|130000|acre|km2}} of Shawnee land, while {{convert|70000|acre|km2}} remained to for the tribe, of which {{convert|20000|acre|km2}} were granted to the Absentee Shawnee.<ref name="ohs"/>

In 1861 Kansas became a state, and the White people of Kansas demanded that all Indian tribes must be removed from the state.<ref name="ohs"/> The Loyal Shawnee made an agreement with the [[Cherokee Nation (19th century)|Cherokee Nation]] 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 County, Oklahoma|Craig]] and [[Rogers County, Oklahoma]]. They became known as the "Cherokee Shawnee,"<ref name="ohs"/> primarily settling in the areas of Bird Creek (now known as [[Sperry, Oklahoma|Sperry]]); Hudson Creek (now known as [[Fairland, Oklahoma|Fairland]]); and [[White Oak, Oklahoma|White Oak]]. The Shawnee Reservation in Kansas was never legally dissolved and some Shawnee families still hold their allotment lands in Kansas.<ref name="history"/>

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]], jeweler, silversmith
* [[Ruthe Blalock Jones]], painter, printmaker, and arts educator
* [[Yvonne Chouteau]], prima ballerina.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vincent |first1=Melissa |title=Chouteau, Myra Yvonne (1929–2016 ). |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CH059 |website=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |access-date=10 May 2021}}</ref>
* Timmy Lee Jr, Texas Blues Rock guitarist.

==See also==
*[[Black Bob (Shawnee chief)|Black Bob]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/ Shawnee Tribe], official website
* [https://www.shawnee-tribe.org/fileadmin/user_upload/files/AMD.-CONSTITUTION-OF-THE-SHAWNEE-TRIBE-amended-2018.pdf Constitution of the Shawnee Tribe]

{{Native American Tribes in Oklahoma}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Shawnee Tribe| ]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States]]