History of the Piqua Shawnee Tribe

 

The Piqua Shawnee tribesmen were originally hunters and gathers that migrated to the Northeast and Southeast of the country more than two centuries ago. The tribe came from many areas and had interacted with Europeans in their course of moving. As a result, the clothing style of the Shawnee  was predominantly European style, with bandanas and turbans being preferred.

 

Original Homeland

 

The Piqua Shawnee at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shawnee-people were originally from present day Tennessee before they started migrating around the country. The tribe's original territories were Texas, Oklahoma, Kansa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.

 

As they migrated, the Shawnee adopted lifestyles based on the natural resources, geography and climate of the areas where they were in. Their semi-nomadic lifestyle made them meet various Native American tribes, and in the process adopting their culture. When the Civil War broke out and finally came to an end, most Shawnees in Kansas got assimilated into the Cherokee Nation, ending up as Cherokee Shawnees.

 

Shawnee Food

 

As the Shawnee moved, they adapted their lifestyle based on where they settled. This was reflected though their culture, food, and home. Be sure to check out this website at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/shawnees for more details about Shawnee tribes.

 

For the tribe that settled in the Great Plains region, the food was predominantly buffalo. However, wild turkey, bear and deer were also hunted. The protein diet was supplemented with vegetables, wild fruits and roots.

 

The Shawnee that settled in the woodlands mainly ate fish and small game such as beaver, bear, raccoon, deer, and squirrel. Beans, squash, pumpkin and maize were also available.

 

For the Shawnees that lived in the Southeast, the food mainly consisted of meat from animals such as deer, raccoons, opossums, eagles, turkeys, wild hogs and rabbits. Some of the tribesmen also farmed crops, including nuts, pumpkins, dried fruit, beans and maize.

 

Shawnee Homes

 

Most nomadic Shawnees lived in structures known as Wigwams (also called wikkums or wetus). These structures are popularly referred to a birchbark houses. The temporary structures were commonly used by the Native Indians who spoke Algonquian and lived in woodland regions.

 

The Wigwams are cone-shaped and have an arched wooden-framed roof. The frames are covered with birchbark sheets and woven mats. Strips of wood or ropes are used to hold the sheets and mats together. Buffalos were in plenty in the woodland areas where the Shawnee settled. Therefore, some of the wetus (or Wigwams) were covered in buffalo hides.

 

The above is an overview of the history of the Piqua Shawnee tribe at https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0803/ML080390525.pdf.