The Shawnee

Originally the Shawnee were believed to be
located in Southern Ohio, West Virginia and
Western Pennsylvania. In the mid 1600s the Iroguois,
from the north, drove them from their homes
and they were scattered to the Carolinas,
Tennessee, Eastern Pennsylvania and
Southern Illinois. Later, just before the
mid 1700s, they manage to return to their homelands
only to be driven out again.
This time by the European invaders who were
bent on settling this new land and claiming
it as their own.
Shawnee comes from the Algonquin word "shawun,"
meaning "southerner." Shawnee usually call
themselves the Shawano or Shawanoe or Shawanese.
Currently there are more than 14,000 Shawnee
located on reservations in four distinct groups
The absentee Shawnee, the Eastern Shawnee
and the Cherokee Shawnee, with the Cherokee Nation,
all of which are in Oklahoma.
The largest of these groups is what is called
the Loyal Shawnee who were incorporated into the
Cherokee in the 1860s.
They received the name "Loyal" for having
served the union during the Civil War.
The fourth is called the Shawnee Nation Remnant Band
which is said to have descended from the Ohio Shawnee.
Although not recognized by the federal government
nor accepted by the other three groups of Shawnee,
they were officially recognized
by the State of Ohio in 1980 and purchased
close to 200 acres near Urbana and Chillicothe.
This group appears to have managed to avoid
removal during the 1830s.
The following is excerpted from
The Life of a Shawnee by W. L. Mundell:

"Shawnee children grew up as free as the animals
that roamed the forests around them.
Young boys were encouraged by elders to engage
in sports of running, swimming and jumping in order
to strengthen muscles and build stamina,
and to practice archery to develop their skills
as hunters and warriors…
The young girls busied themselves imitating
their mothers, making mud pies, and particularly
developing their skills in molding vessels of clay.

Shawnee men were hunters and warriors.
The women of the tribe did the domestic labor.
They built the lodges, dressed the game, cooked,
planted and cultivated the gardens, scraped and
tinned hides, made clothing and blankets,
wove baskets and made vessels of clay…
The women also cared for the ailments
within a tribe, and were extremely skillful
at mixing herbs and setting fractured bones.
The Shawnee believed in Moneto, a supreme
being who ruled the entire universe and
distributed blessings upon all who
earned his favor, and desperate sorrow upon
those who merited his disfavor.
The Great Spirit of the Shawnee was a
grandmother who ruled the destinies of her children.
She eternally wove a great net which,
when finished, would be dropped over the world.
She would then draw the net back up to the heavens.
Those who had proven themselves worthy would be
caught up in the net and taken to a better life,
those who fell back through the net would suffer
an unspeakable fate as the world came to an end.
Each Shawnee was judge of his own conduct
and was held accountable for it.
They lived by their own standards,
and shrugged off value judgments placed among
them by people outside of their tribe.
The "Golden Rule" of the Shawnees was:
"Do not kill or injure your neighbor,
for it is not him that you injure, you injure
yourself. But do good to him, therefore add
to his days of happiness as you add to your own.
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor,
for it is not him that you wrong,
you wrong yourself. But love him, for Moneto
loves him also as he loves you."
Training in history, codes of conduct,
and traditions were carried on by the elders,
who memorized the creeds and passed them on from
generation to generation. Additionally,
every father was a teacher of his sons;
every mother taught her daughters.
The men enjoyed communal hunts greatly.
These were usually followed by long and
friendly talks around the glowing embers of a
campfire. The talks covered everything
from national history and current events
to the light wit of bantering about someone's
umsoma, or a bad shot taken during a hunt.
The women and children sat quietly and
respectfully nearby, listening intently to
the conversation.
An Indian tribe consisted of the entire body
of a nation. A clan represented a group
within the tribe. The principal chief of
the Shawnee could be compared with the President
of the United States, with the clan chiefs as
governors. Of the original twelve clans of
the Shawnee tribe, history finds them with only
five clans left in existence: the Thawegila,
Peckuwe and Kispokotha, who generally
stood together on tribal matters;
and the Chalahgawtha and Maykujay,
who were likewise closely related
in their activities. Each clan had
its duties to the tribe. The Peckuwes
were responsible for warfare and the
training of warriors for battle.
The Maykujays answered for matters
pertaining to food, health and medicine.
The two most powerful clans,
the Thawegilas and Chalahgawthas,
were responsible for overall
tribal government and politics…"
Well known leaders in the Shawnee Nation
were Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa
(The Prophet), Cornstalk, Blackfish, Black Hoof,
and Bluejacket.

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