Loyal Shawnee

Shawnee Tribe

Shawnee Tribal flag
Total population
(2,226)
Regions with significant populations
United States ( Oklahoma)
Languages
Shawnee, English
Religion
Christianity, Native American Church, traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
other Shawnee tribes and Sac and Fox

The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma. Also known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. The others are the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.

The headquarters of the Shawnee Tribe is Miami, Oklahoma. Currently, there are 2,226 enrolled tribal members, with 1,070 of them living within the state of Oklahoma.

Ron Sparkman is the elected chairman, currently serving a four-year term.

The Shawnee Tribe issues its own tribal vehicle tags. They operate their own housing authority as well as a tribal smoke shop, the Shawnee Trails Gift Shop and Gallery, Shawnee Development LLC, and Shawnee Heritage Government Solutions. Their annual economic impact is estimated by the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissions to be $3 million. Shawnee Development LLC is an economic development corporation established in 2001, owned by the tribe but conducting business separately from the general government functions.The Shawnee Journal is a newspaper published by the tribe and distributed at no cost to all tribal members.

Some traditional ceremonies, such as the Spring and Fall Bread Dance, the Green Corn ceremony, and stomp dances are still held. These take place in White Oak, Oklahoma. Some Shawnees are also members of the Native American Church peyote ceremonies, with most attending in the winter outside of the traditional Shawnee ceremonial cycle.

The Shawnee Tribe is an Eastern Woodland tribe. They originally came from Ohio and Pennsylvania, and were the last of the Shawnee to leave their traditional homelands there. 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 relocated to Indian Territory in the July 1831. The final band, who would become the Shawnee Tribe, relocated to Kansas in August 1831. Their Kansas lands were drastically reduced in 1854 and broken up into individual allotments in 1858.