Everything about Shawnees totally explained
The
Shawnee, or
Shaawanwaki,
Shaawanooki and
Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people
native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of
Ohio,
West Virginia,
Western Maryland,
Kentucky, and
Pennsylvania.
History
Early history
The prehistoric origins of the Shawnees are quite uncertain. The other Algonquian nations regarded the Shawnee as their southernmost branch, and other
Algonquian languages have words similar to the archaic "shawano" (now:
shaawanwa) meaning "south". However, the stem
shaawa- doesn't mean "south" in Shawnee, but "moderate, warm (of weather)". In one Shawnee tale, Shaawaki is the deity of the south. Some scholars have speculated that the Shawnee are descendants of the people of the prehistoric
Fort Ancient culture of the Ohio country, although other scholars disagree, and no definitive proof has been established.
Sometime before 1670, a group of Shawnee had migrated to the
Savannah River area. The English of
Province of Carolina based in
Charles Town were first contacted by these Shawnees in 1674, after which a long lasting alliance was forged. The Savannah River Shawnee were known to the Carolina English as "Savannah Indians". Around the same time other Shawnee groups migrated to
Florida,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and other regions south and east of the Ohio country. Historian Alan Gallay speculates that this Shawnee diaspora of the middle to late 17th century was probably driven by the
Iroquois Wars that began in the 1640s. The Shawnee became known for their widespread settlements and migrations and their frequent long-distance visits to other Indian groups. Their language became a
lingua franca among numerous tribes, which along with their experience helped make them leaders in initiating and sustaining pan-Indian resistance to European and Euro-American expansion.
Prior to 1752, they'd a headquarters at Shawnee Springs near
Winchester, Virginia, where the father of the later Chief
Cornstalk had his court. At some point, they'd settled in the
Ohio country, the area that's now West Virginia, southern Ohio, and northern Kentucky.
The
Iroquois later claimed the Ohio Country region by right of conquest, regarding the Shawnee and
Delaware who resettled there as dependent tribes. Many Iroquois also migrated westward at this time and became known as the
Mingo. These three tribes—the Shawnee, the Delaware, and the Mingo—became closely associated in the Ohio country.
Sixty Years' War
After the
Battle of the Monongahela in 1755, many Shawnees 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, many Shawnee joined
Pontiac's Rebellion against the British, which failed a year later.
The
Royal Proclamation of 1763, which was issued during Pontiac's Rebellion, drew a boundary line between the British colonies in the east and the Ohio Country, which was west of the
Appalachian Mountains. The
Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, however, extended that line westwards, giving the British a claim to what is now West Virginia and Kentucky. Shawnees didn't agree to this treaty: it was negotiated between British officials and the Iroquois, who claimed sovereignty over the land although Shawnees and other Native Americans hunted there.
After the Stanwix treaty, Anglo-Americans began pouring into the Ohio River Valley. Violent incidents between settlers and Indians escalated into
Dunmore's War in 1774. British diplomats managed to isolate the Shawnees during the conflict: the Iroquois and the Delawares stayed neutral, while the Shawnees faced the British colony of Virginia with only a few Mingo allies.
Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, launched a two-prong invasion into the Ohio Country. Shawnee Chief Cornstalk attacked one wing but fought to a draw in the only major battle of the war, the
Battle of Point Pleasant. In the
Treaty of Camp Charlotte, Cornstalk and the Shawnee were compelled to recognize the Ohio River boundary established by the 1768 Stanwix treaty.
Many other Shawnee leaders refused to recognize this boundary, however, and when the
American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, several Shawnees advocated joining the war as British allies in an effort to drive the colonists back across the mountains. The Shawnees were divided: Cornstalk led those who wished to remain neutral, while war leaders such as
Chief Blackfish and
Blue Jacket fought as British allies.
In the
Northwest Indian War between the
United States and a confederation of Native American tribes, the Shawnee combined with the
Miami 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, a minority of 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 of the Shawnee nation to defend the Ohio country from American expansion.
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, Oklahoma, 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
Lima) and
Lewistown (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 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
Kansas (Kaw) River in
Monticello near
Gum Springs.
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 expelled and moved to northeastern Oklahoma—whereupon the Shawnee part of the former Lewistown group became known as the
Eastern Shawnee and the former Kansas Shawnee became known as the
Loyal Shawnee (some say this is because of their allegiance with the
Union during the war, others say this is because they were the last group to leave their Ohio homelands). The latter group was regarded as part of the
Cherokee Nation by the United States because they were also known as the
Cherokee Shawnee. The "Loyal" or "Cherokee" Shawnee received federal recognition, independent of the Cherokee Nation, in 2000 and are now known as the "Shawnee Tribe".
Today, the largest part of the Shawnee nation still resides in Oklahoma.
Groups
Before contact with Europeans, the Shawnee tribe consisted of a loose confederacy of five divisions which shared a common language and culture. These division names have been spelled in a variety of ways, but the phonetic spelling is added after each following the work of C. F. Voegelin
Membership in a division was inherited from the father. Each division had a primary village where the chief of the division lived; this village was usually named after the division. By tradition, each Shawnee division had certain roles it performed on behalf of the entire tribe, although these customs were fading by the time they were recorded in writing by European-Americans and are now poorly understood.
This arrangement gradually changed because of the scattering of the Shawnee tribe from the 17th century through the 19th century. Today there are three federally recognized tribes in the United States:
The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, consisting mainly of Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and Pekuwe, living in Oklahoma
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma mostly of the Mekoche Division living in Oklahoma
The Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma formerly an official part of the Cherokee nation mostly of the Chaalakatha and Mekoche Divisions living in Oklahoma
There are presently about 14,000 Shawnee, most in Oklahoma. At least five bands of Shawnee (the Old Town Band, the Bird Creek Band, the East Of The River Shawnee, the Piqua Sept of Ohio Shawnee and the United Remnant Band of the Shawnee Nation reside in Ohio but are not federally recognized nor are they accepted by any of the three federally recognized Shawnee Tribes residing in Oklahoma.
Villages
In their frequent movements over the centuries, Shawnees established villages in numerous locations, from Illinois to New York and as far south as Georgia.
Articles on historic Shawnee towns include:
Chalahgawtha (Ohio)
Kittanning (Pennsylvania)
Logstown (Pennsylvania)
Shamokin (Pennsylvania)
Sonnioto (Lower Shawnee Town) (Ohio)
Wakatomika (Ohio)
Other historic Shawnee towns were located in the following places:
Ohio
Allen
Blue Jacket's Town
Captain Johnny's
Cornstalk's Town
Coshachkink
Girty's Town
Grenadier Squaw's Town
Hog Creek
Kagoughsage
Lewistown
Lick Town
Maguck
Mequachake
Moluntha Town
Old Town
Pequea
Pigeon Town
Scoutash's Town
Snake's Town
Wakatawicks
Wapatomica
Mackachak Towns
Wapakoneta Towns
Wapaughkonetta
Missouri
Black Bob's
Pennsylvania
Chartierstown
Conedogwinit
Nutimy's Town
Paxtang
Peixtan
Sawcunk
Sewickley
Venango
Wyoming
Maryland
Cumberland
Will's Town
Kansas
Gum Springs
Long Tail's Settlement
Olathe
Shawnee Methodist Mission
Wakarusa
Alabama
Kymulga
Sawanugi
Shawnee Town (near Talladega
Sylacauga
Tallapoosa
Illinois
Shawneetown
Indiana
Tippecanoe
West Virginia
Upper Shawnee Town
Bull Town
Famous Shawnee
Tecumseh, the outstanding Shawnee leader, and his brother Tenskwatawa attempted to unite the Eastern tribes against the expansion of white settlement. 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.
Nas'Naga, novelist and poet.
Black BobFurther Information
Get more info on 'Shawnees'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://shawnee.totallyexplained.com">Shawnee Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
