- Shawnee
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1. a member of an Algonquian-speaking tribe formerly in the east-central U.S., now in Oklahoma.2. the Algonquian language of the Shawnee tribe.3. a town in E Kansas. 29,653.4. a city in central Oklahoma. 26,506.[1720-30, Amer.; back formation from earlier Shawnese, Shawanese (construed as pl.), reshaping (with -ESE) of earlier Shawanoes (pl.) < Munsee Delaware šá·wano·w (sing.) < Shawnee ša·wano·ki Shawnees, lit., people of the south]
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Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people from the central Ohio River valley.(See Algonquian languages.) Closely related in language and culture to the Fox, Kickapoo, and Sauk, the Shawnee were also influenced by the Seneca and Delaware. In the summer the Shawnee lived in bark-covered houses grouped into large villages near cornfields. Women farmed, and the primary male occupation was hunting. In winter the village broke into small patrilineal family groups, which moved to hunting camps. In the 17th century the Shawnee were driven from their home by the Iroquois, scattering into widely separated areas. After 1725 the Shawnee reunited in Ohio. Following their defeat by Gen. Anthony Wayne (1794), they broke into three independent branches that eventually settled in Oklahoma. Today some 11,000 people claim Shawnee ancestry. See also Tecumseh.* * *
city, Johnson county, northeastern Kansas, U.S. It is a southwestern suburb of Kansas City. The Shawnee Indians made their headquarters there in 1828, when it was known as Gum Springs. The nearby Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School (1839) served twice during 1854–56 as the temporary territorial capital of Kansas and has been partially restored. The first newspaper in Kansas (1835), the Shawnee Sun, was printed in the Shawnee language at the Baptist Mission, 2 miles (3 km) east. The first jail in Kansas was built in Shawnee in 1843. In 1855 Shawnee was designated the county seat, but in 1858 it lost that distinction to Olathe. The city is mainly residential but is also a shipping point for the surrounding farming and dairying area. Inc. 1922. Pop. (1990) 37,993; (2000) 47,996.city, seat (1907) of Pottawatomie county, central Oklahoma, U.S., on the North Canadian River, east-southeast of Oklahoma City. The first buildings on the town site were a log house built in 1881 by a Louisiana trapper and a Quaker mission built in 1885 to serve the Shawnee people for whom the town was named. The town itself was founded in 1893, when the area was opened to white settlement. The railroad arrived in 1895, and the city prospered with the oil boom of the 1920s. Farming, stock raising, oil production, and small diversified industries are basic to the economy. Shawnee is the seat of Oklahoma Baptist University (1910) and St. Gregory's University (1875). It was the home in later life of Dr. Brewster Higley, who wrote the words to "Home on the Range," now the official song of Kansas. Jim Thorpe (Thorpe, Jim), the accomplished Indian athlete, was born nearby. The Santa Fe Depot Museum, built as a railroad depot in 1903, is a repository of local history. Inc. 1894. Pop. (1990) 26,017; (2000) 28,692.▪ peoplean Algonquian (Algonquian languages)-speaking North American Indian people who lived in what is now the central Ohio River Valley. Closely related in language and culture to the Fox, Kickapoo, and Sauk, the Shawnee were also influenced by a long association with the Seneca and Delaware.During the summer the Shawnee lived in bark-covered houses. Their large villages were located near the fields in which women cultivated corn (maize) and other vegetables. The primary male occupation was hunting. In winter village residents dispersed to family hunting camps. Each village had a large council house that was also used for such religious ceremonies as the ritual purification of warriors. Other important ceremonies included the spring Bread Dance, held when the fields were planted; the Green Corn Dance, marking the ripening of crops; and the autumn Bread Dance. The Shawnee comprised five major divisions, each further organized through a number of patrilineal clans. The position of civil chief was generally hereditary, while war chiefs were chosen for their bravery, skill, and experience.In the 17th century the Shawnee were driven from their home by the Iroquois, scattering into widely separated areas. Some settled in what is now Illinois and others in the Cumberland Valley, while one group moved to the southeast. After 1725 the tribe reunited in Ohio, where they formed the principal barrier to the advance of colonial settlers. Following their defeat by Gen. Anthony Wayne (Wayne, Anthony) at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794) and the failure of Tecumseh's alliance to prevent further colonial encroachment in the Ohio Valley, the Shawnee broke into three independent branches, the Absentee, Eastern, and Cherokee Shawnee, that eventually settled in different parts of Oklahoma.Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 12,000 individuals of Shawnee descent.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
