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Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Parkwells (talk | contribs) at 19:01, 24 December 2020 (add to Lead about history - may need to explain more about distinction of tribe and digression to TX). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Absentee Shawnee Tribe
of Indians of Oklahoma
File:Bandera Absentee Shawnee.PNG
official tribal flag
Total population
4,343 (2018)[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States United States (Oklahoma Oklahoma)
Languages
Shawnee, English, Yuchi
Religion
Christianity, Native American Church,
traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Shawnee Tribe, and Sac and Fox

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (or Absentee Shawnee[2]) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Shawnee people.[3] Historically residing in what became organized as the upper part of the Eastern United States, the original Shawnee lived in the large territory now made up of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and neighboring states. In total, they occupied and traveled through lands ranging from Canada to Florida, and from the Mississippi River to the eastern continental coast.

After Indian Removal, most of the people settled in Indian Territory (now the state of Oklahoma). In contemporary times, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe headquarters is in Shawnee, Oklahoma; its tribal jurisdiction area includes land properties in Oklahoma in both Cleveland and Pottawatomie counties.

Membership

There are approximately 3,050 enrolled Absentee Shawnee tribal members, 2,315 of whom live in Oklahoma. Tribal membership follows blood quantum criteria, with applicants requiring a minimum of one eighth (1/8) documented Absentee-Shawnee blood to be accepted as members, as established by the tribal constitution. Though it is not a formal division, there is a social separation within current tribal membership between the traditionalist Big Jim Band, which kept cultural traditions and ceremonies and has its primary populace in the Little Axe, Norman area; and the assimilationist White Turkey Band. It adopted cultural ways of the European-American majority,and many families are based in the Shawnee area. Regardless of historical viewpoints, the bands cooperate for the future of the tribe.

Locations and properties

The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags. It owns a gas station, two smoke shops, two casinos, and the AST Health Center and Plus Care, in Norman or Shawnee, Oklahoma.[1] Its casinos, both called Thunderbird Casino, are east of Norman, near the tribal headquarters in Shawnee.[4] The tribe's estimated annual economic impact is $6,353,722.[1]

Government

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe has all the inherent powers of sovereignty held prior to the Constitution of the United States. Some of the powers include adopting and operating a form of government of its choosing, defining the conditions of its tribal membership, regulating domestic relations of its members, levying taxes, regulating property within its jurisdiction, and controlling the conduct of membership by legislation and justice.

Its chosen form of government evolved over the first half of the 20th century. In 1938, the current government was formalized under a constitution written to provide statutory authority. The current constitution was ratified on December 5, 1938, and it was last amended on August 13, 1988.

The tribal government is composed of two separate branches: the judicial branch and the legislative/executive branch (also referred to as Executive Committee). In addition, an independent body, the 'Election Committee,' conducts annual elections.

The legislative/executive branch has five members, all elected: Governor, Lieutenant, Secretary, Treasurer, and Representative. Terms are four years. It is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to set policy, administer government programs, and execute the will of the tribal membership.

The current administration includes the following:

  • Governor: John R. Johnson
  • Lieutenant Governor: Kenneth Blanchard
  • Secretary: Ezra Delodge
  • Treasurer: Joseph Blanchard
  • Representative: Alicia Edwards Miller [5]

History

Absentee Shawnee enrolled member, artist Benjamin Harjo, Jr. sketching

The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking people, and at the time of European encounter, they had bands living in present-day Eastern United States and parts of the Southeastern United States.

During the American Revolutionary War, many Shawnee moved from the area later defined as the Northwest Territory of the Upper Midwest to Cape Girardeau, Missouri; some later moved into Spanish Louisiana. These bands were later joined by other Shawnee groups from Alabama. Some relocated southward into Arkansas Territory, Spanish Texas, and French Louisiana after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase by the United States of former French-controlled lands west of the Mississippi River. Due to encroaching European-American settlement, the Shawnee in Missouri negotiated an 1825 treaty, ceding their Missouri lands for reservation lands in Kansas.

However, prior to the treaty, a group of Shawnees (later known as the Big Jim band) had already left the region on a journey to Texas Territory, then controlled by Spain. Collectively, the band would become known as Absentee Shawnee, as they were referred to as such i the provisional clause in an 1854 treaty regarding Kansas reservation lands.[6] Later, the Texas-Mexico War compelled numerous Absentee Shawnees to leave Texas Territory and to relocate into Indian Territory of Oklahoma. Historians believe that other Shawnee bands once in Kansas had already resettled in Indian Territory beginning around 1839, the year that the Cherokee were removed from the Southeast to this territory.

In the late 1800s, an Indian Agent of the US government brought soldiers from Fort Reno, Oklahoma to force the traditionalist Big Jim band of Absentee Shawnees out of the Deep Fork River area, southward to Hog Creek and Little River area near present-day Lake Thunderbird, Norman. Their descendants, federally recognized since 1936 as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, continued to live here, in communities now called Little Axe, Oklahoma, and in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

In 1872, the US Congress gave the Absentee Shawnee title to shared lands occupied on the Citizen Potawatomi Nation-Absentee Shawnee Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area (OTSA).[6][7]

In 1936, the tribe reorganized and gained federal recognition under the new Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, with the current constitution ratified on December 5, 1938.[8]

Language

The tribe created the Cultural Preservation Department to support cultural and language preservation. They offer a Shawnee language class.[9] According to the Intertribal Wordpath Society, 200 to 800 people still spoke the Shawnee language in Oklahoma as of 2006.[10] Pauline Wahpepah, a fluent native speaker, teaches Shawnee for the tribe.[11]

George Blanchard, Sr, Governor of the Absentee Shawnee from 2009-2013, has also been working on language programs. He grew up speaking Shawnee and did not learn English until he was five years old.[12]

Flag and emblem

The official emblem was designed by Leroy White (1926-2009), a great-grandson of Big Jim and direct descendant of Chief Tecumseh. His work was selected in a 1974 contest sponsored by the Absentee Shawnee for a tribal logo.

White said about his design:

  • The yellow moon in the background represents one of God's many creations, which were always admired by Indian people.
  • The two feathers symbolize two significant leaders of Shawnee people, Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatawa, the Prophet.
  • The facial profile represents Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader revered for his strength of character and military accomplishments. Much of his adult life was dedicated to uniting the eastern tribes into an Indian confederacy to assert and defend their right to live in their native lands under their own laws and leaders. While he did not get to realize his dream, his spirit was never broken.
  • The two stars denote the rank of brigadier general held by Tecumseh in the British Army. He died in action at the Battle of Thames in 1813.
  • Lastly, 'Li Si Wi Nwi' was the chosen name of the Little Axe community of Absentee Shawnees, and its English translation is 'Among the Shawnee.'[citation needed]

Leroy White was born and raised in Little Axe, Oklahoma, on land allotted to his family in 1886, in the break-up of communal lands. White was immersed from birth in the Shawnee language and traditions.[citation needed] In 1976 he was selected to succeed his uncle, Webster Little Jim, as the traditional chief of the Big Jim band of Absentee Shawnee Tribe. His interests included painting. In 1974, with the encouragement of his family, White had entered the contest sponsored by the Absentee Shawnee Tribe for design of a tribal logo. He included what he believed are the most important symbols to the Absentee Shawnee people. White won the contest, and his design was adopted as the official emblem of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe.[citation needed]

Notable Absentee Shawnee

Preceded by Absentee Shawnee Tribal Governor
2013–Present 		Succeeded by

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c [1] Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. 2011: 3. Retrieved 2 Jan 2012.
  2. ^ Article I of the Constitution of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 20 Feb 2010) states, "The name of this federally recognized Indian tribe shall be the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma," but the rest of the document (including its title) uses "Absentee Shawnee."
  3. ^ "Contact Us." Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Retrieved 31 Dec 2009.
  4. ^ Thunderbird Casino. 500 Nations. 2009 (retrieved 10 Mar 2009)
  5. ^ "Executive Committee." Absentee Shawnee Tribe, (retrieved 6 Dec 2013)
  6. ^ a b Smith, Pamela A. "Shawnee, Absentee." Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. (retrieved 31 Dec 2009)
  7. ^ Marilyn K. Nicely, Law/Tech Librarian (1999). "The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma - Legal Codes". University of Oklahoma Law Center. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
  8. ^ "Constitution and By-Laws of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma." University of Oklahoma Law Center. (retrieved 31 Dec 2009)
  9. ^ "Cultural Preservation." Archived 2007-04-10 at the Wayback Machine Absentee Shawnee Tribe. (retrieved 31 Dec 2009)
  10. ^ Anderton, Dr. Alice. "Status of Indian Languages in Oklahoma." Archived 2010-09-17 at the Wayback Machine Intertribal Wordpath Society. (retrieved 31 Dec 2009)
  11. ^ "Board of Directors." Intertribal Wordpath Society. (retrieved 31 Dec 2009)
  12. ^ Hansen, Rose (23 October 2018). "Meet the Man Who Hopes to Save the Shawnee Language". Missouri Life Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
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