Tribal flag
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|
Total population | |
---|---|
2,801 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( Oklahoma) | |
Languages | |
Shawnee, English | |
Religion | |
Christianity, traditional tribal religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Shawnee Tribe, and Sac and Fox |
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are located in Oklahoma and Missouri.
The tribe holds an annual powwow every September at their tribal complex.
The headquarters of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe are Wyandotte, Oklahoma, and their tribal jurisdictional area is in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Currently, there are 2,801 enrolled tribal members, with 904 of them living within the state of Oklahoma.
Glenna J. Wallace is the elected chief, currently serving a four-year term. The Eastern Shawnee Tribe issues its own tribal vehicle tags.
Membership to the tribe is based on lineal descent, that is, the tribe has no minimum blood quantum requirements.
The Eastern Shawnee operate their own housing authority as well as the People's Bank of Seneca, Missouri; the Eastern Shawnee Print Shop; Four Feathers Recycling; Longhouse Management, as well as three casinos, a hotel, a bingo hall, a gas station, a truck stop, and an off-track wagering facility. Their annual economic impact is estimated by the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissions to be $164,000,000.
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is an Eastern Woodland tribe, who were once nomadic. They originally came from Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. 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. Three reservations were granted to the Shawnee in Ohio by the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs: Wapakoneta, Lewistown, and Hog Creek. After the Indian Removal Act of 1830 passed, another Shawnee band, who lived with Seneca allies near Lewiston, Ohio, relocated to Indian Territory in the July 1831. They would become the Eastern Shawnee Tribe. Another band, who would become the Shawnee Tribe, relocated to Kansas in August 1831.