Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

Absentee-Shawnee Tribe
of Indians of Oklahoma

official tribal flag
Total population
3,050
Regions with significant populations
United States ( 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) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Shawnee people. Historically residing in the Eastern United States, the original Shawnees lived in areas known as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and other neighboring states. It is documented their people occupied and traveled through lands which spanned from Canada to Florida, from the Mississippi River to the eastern continental coast. In contemporary times, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe headquarters in Shawnee, Oklahoma; with its tribal jurisdiction area including land properties in both Cleveland County and Pottawatomie County.

There are approximately 3,050 enrolled Absentee Shawnee tribal members with 2,315 living in the state of Oklahoma. Tribal membership follows blood-quantum criteria, with applicants requiring a minimum of ¼ documented Absentee-Shawnee blood to be placed on its membership rolls, as set forth by the tribal constitution. Though not a formal division, there is a social separation within its current tribal membership between the traditionalist Big Jim Band (whom kept their cultural traditions and ceremonies with its primary populace in the Little Axe, Norman area) and the assimilationist White Turkey Band (whom adopted the societal ways of the European majority with much of these families based in the Shawnee area.) Regardless of historical viewpoints, both Bands are cooperative together for the holistic future of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe.

The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags. They own a gas station, two smoke shops, two casinos, and the AST Health Center and Plus Care, located in Norman, Oklahoma or Shawnee, Oklahoma. Their casinos, both called Thunderbird Casino, are located east of Norman, Oklahoma and near their tribal headquarters in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Their estimated annual economic impact is $6,353,722.

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe possesses all the inherent powers of sovereignty held prior to the Constitution of the United States. Some of these powers include the following: to adopt and operate a form of government of their choosing; to define the conditions of tribal membership; to regulate domestic relations of its members; to levy taxes; to regulate property within the jurisdiction of the Tribe; and to control the conduct of membership by legislation and to administer justice.