Our History

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three (3) federally-recognized Shawnee tribes: the Eastern Shawnee on the Oklahoma-Missouri border near Wyandotte, OK; the Absentee Shawnee near Shawnee, OK; and the Shawnee Tribe in Miami, OK. These three tribes were recognized as autonomous nations during the Indian removal era. Prior to that, most archaeologists and historians agree their original homeland was the middle Ohio Valley, between modern Louisville, Kentucky, and West Virginia. 

The Shawnees once lived throughout the region east of the Mississippi River. The areas of their occupation centered around today’s states of Alabama, the Carolinas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, & the Virginias. Their historic geographical territories were mountainous regions, dense forests, and scattered prairies. Because of their geographic location and the focus of the subsistence pursuits, the Shawnee People are generally known as Eastern Woodlands Indians. Their loss of their homeland has given the Shawnee the reputation of being wanderers, but this was by necessity, not choice.

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Serving Families

We will show compassion for all people. We will invest in the welfare of the elders, the future of the young ones, and the stability of the family.

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma’s Children and Family Services department’s purpose is to deliver high quality services with care and love in a safe and inspiring environment, so families can interact in an exciting place offering educational opportunities and assistance with personal family issues.

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Quotes

Eastern Shawnee people survived – that resilience in the face of adversity is a central characteristic of being Shawnee.
— Winter Gathering, January 11, 2014
 

If we fail in passing our history to our people, then we fail our ancestors and lose their stories rich in strife, struggle and triumph.

— Winter Gathering, January 11, 2014