Shawnee - Groups

Groups

Before contact with Europeans, the Shawnee tribe consisted of a loose confederacy of five divisions which shared a common language and culture. The division names have been spelled in a variety of ways. The divisions are:

• Chillicothe (Principal Place), Chalahgawtha, Chalaka, Chalakatha;
• Hathawekela, Thawikila;
• Kispoko, Kispokotha, Kishpoko, Kishpokotha;
• Mekoche, Mequachake, Machachee, Maguck, Mackachack, etc.;
• Pekowi, Pekuwe, Piqua, Pekowitha.

In addition to the five divisions, the Shawnee can be divided into six clans or subdivisons. Each name group is common among each for the five divisions and each Shawnee belongs to a group. The six group names are:

• Pellewomhsoomi (Turkey name group)—represents bird life,
• Kkahkileewomhsoomi (Turtle name group)—represents aquatic life,
• Petekoθiteewomhsoomi (Rounded-feet name group)—represents carnivorous animals like the dog, wolf, or whose paws are ball-shaped or "rounded,"
• Mseewiwomhsoomi (Horse name group)—represents herbivorous animals as the horse and deer,
• θepatiiwomhsoomi (Raccoon name group)—represents animals having paws which can rip and tear like those of a raccoon and bear.
• Petakineeθiiwomhsoomi (Rabbit name group)—represents a gentle and peaceful nature.

Membership in a division was inherited from the father, unlike the matrilineal descent often associated with other tribes. Each division had a primary village where the chief of the division lived. This village was usually named after the division. By tradition, each Shawnee division had certain roles it performed on behalf of the entire tribe. By the time they were recorded in writing by European-Americans, these strong social traditions were fading. They remain poorly understood. Because of the scattering of the Shawnee people from the 17th century through the 19th century, the roles of the divisions changed.

Today there are three federally recognized tribes in the United States, all of which are located in Oklahoma:

• The Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, consisting mainly of Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and Pekuwe;
• The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, mostly of the Mekoche division; and
• The Shawnee Tribe, formerly an official part of the Cherokee Nation, mostly of the Chaalakatha and Mekoche divisions.

As of 2008, there were 7584 enrolled Shawnee, with most living in Oklahoma.