“Identity” discusses how the Eastern Shawnee cultural identity has endured and changed as a result of external and internal forces.
Introduction: The Eastern Shawnees and the Repatriation of Their History
This introductory chapter discusses the Eastern Shawnee experience in solidarity with that of other aboriginal and indigenous groups who have fallen victim to the shadowy hand of colonialism. Essentially, “colonialism” is attaining political control over a group of people (or country) through occupation and economic exploitation. Throughout the book, Native identity is closely tied to the effects of colonialism. One such effect is the emergence of a “racial nationalism” which equates “whiteness” with power, wealth, and political control. Subsequently, full-blooded Indians were not viewed as competent (white) and therefore needed “guidance” by government agencies. The US government implemented policies based on these ideas which were contradictory and effectively stifled (if not destroyed) the cultural identity of the Eastern Shawnee for generations. This chapter touches on the difficultly in navigating through records and historic documents because many if not most of these were written by white people, for white purposes, and from a white perspective.
Chapter 4: ‘Each band knew their own country’: Land, Cooperation, and Community in Nineteenth-Century Eastern Shawnee Intertribal Interactions – Amy Dianne Bergseth, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, University of Oklahoma
This chapter examines intertribal relations and how the Eastern Shawnee identity has been retained though cultural autonomy. This cultural autonomy existed even though the Eastern Shawnee have been unified politically with other tribes throughout their history. The Eastern Shawnee have been viewed historically by many accounts to have had very amiable relationships with neighboring tribes. For example, at the 1875 General Council meeting, Modoc leader Bogus Charley said “The Shawnees…are all like brothers toward us.” “We feel like we are amongst good friends. We feel at home.” The strength of character which is evident throughout the documents is something that tribal citizens should be proud of.
Chapter 5: Shawnee Resilience: Eastern Shawnees and the Boarding School Experience – Robin Dushane, Eastern Shawnee Tribe Cultural Preservation Department, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
In this chapter, Robin Dushane examines the “historical context for discussions that families will have concerning their relatives that attended Mission/Boarding Schools and how their experiences affected families and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, as a whole.” Through the lens of white education, Dushane shows how these institutions sought to eradicate tribal traditions and language in an effort to hasten assimilation into white society. Though she provides many examples of this, her analysis of Richard Pratt shows these intentions in microcosm. Pratt was a retired Civil War captain and founder of a large Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is well remembered for coining the phrase “Kill the Indian and save the man.” Dushane explains that his intention was to “separate children from their families and communities during critical development years to transform the Indian into the white man’s image.” Essentially, tribal citizens were set up for failure. Post-removal tribal people had to contend with extreme poverty where their only escape seemed to be attending the Mission/Boarding schools to survive.
Chapter 10: Eastern Shawnee Migration: Cultural Changes and Disconnection Following the Move to the Pacific Northwest – Cathleen M. Osborne-Gowery, Instructor at Utah State University and Oregon State University
In this chapter, Cat Osborne-Gowey explores the disconnection in tribal identity between the Eastern Shawnee in Oklahoma and those who relocated to the Pacific Northwest from the 1930s to the 1950s. She uses oral narratives from her family and other tribal community members, as well as her own research, to look at cultural identity changes from various viewpoints. From the historical/research perspective, Osborne-Gowey takes an in-depth look at the internal reasons and external methods of assimilation through the government sanctioned land allotment system and school institutions. From a personal perspective, she offers insight into the experience of the descendants of those who relocated to the Pacific Northwest and trying to reconnect with their own tribal identity.
Chapter 11: ‘As I Remember:’ An Oklahoma Memoir – Elsie May (Sis) Captain Hoevet, Introduced and transcribed by Chief Glenna Wallace
This chapter is a narrative memoir told by Elsie May (Sis) Captain Hoevet and introduced by Chief Glenna Wallace. In this, Sis recounts her childhood beginning at age of four and follows all the way though her school years at the “Mission School” (the Seneca Indian School in Wyandotte, Oklahoma) and the Haskell Institute. Like many Indian children at the time, Sis experienced extreme poverty during her childhood. When she began attending the Mission School, she says “it was like Heaven to me, at least, because we didn’t have to work so hard, had good food, electricity, indoor plumbing, and clean clothes.” Understanding that one goal of these institutions was to eradicate tribal traditions and language during the formative years, it is easy to see how a child’s identity was muddled on the white, red, and even black lines of borderland regions. One interesting account comes from when Sis was a bit older and attending the Haskell Institute. She says “Even at this age, I was still scared of Negroes.” She reflects on a day when she was walking in the park and a young black man was walking a ways in front of her. Sis recalls that he was singing and whistling to himself and “I think that was when I began to realize that they were people just like us, and so many of them were always so happy and enjoying themselves.” This and other stories give us insight into the struggle to understand identity during this period.
Chapter 13: Larry Kropp Oral History Interview – Interviewed by Stephen Warren and Eric Wensman
Larry Kropp is the grandson of Thomas A. Captain, the third Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. An Eastern Shawnee tribal citizen and member of the Business Committee of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Mr. Kropp reflects on his life and memories of growing up in Quapaw. In this interview, he discusses how border life shaped the Quapaw and Eastern Shawnee communities. This chapter/interview also contains insights into the effects of mining and farming in this region.