Original Keetoowah Society - Keetoowah Society Deterioration

Keetoowah Society Deterioration

John Smith, the most influential Nighthawk leader among Redbird Smith's sons, had lost virtually all credibility among Keetoowahs by the 1930s due to his support of Chester Polk Cornelius, an Oneida who developed speculative schemes. Cornelius nearly destroyed the Nighthawk organization with failed development schemes that resulted in many members being left landless and destitute. Some Nighthawk spokesmen and leaders now claim the UKB is a splinter of their religious cult. The Nighthawks officially withdrew from all political activity after 1901, and barred its members from affiliating with any other groups or entities, including Christian churches. As the number of tribal towns associated with the Nighthawks dwindled from 21 in about 1900 to 3 in 1937, the remnants of the non-political Nighthawk faction eventually collapsed into a variety of factions. Factions included two groups of Redbird Smith's family, who ran ceremonies at Redbird's and at Stokes Smith's grounds, as well as the Goingsnake "Seven Clans" fire, the Medicine Springs Fire or Medicine Society, and the Four Mothers Nation.