The Shawnees And Their Neighbors Summary
The Shawnees and Their Neighbors in Review The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870 by Stephen Warren looks into the lives of Native Americans in the Old Northwest. This time was characterized by warfare and failed compromises between the Americans and Native Americans. Native Americans faced failure and removal much in part due to their inability to combine forces to fight against, or seek to gain rights from the American frontiersmen. Stephen Warren is speaking at the Wiping Away the Tears: The Battle of Tippecanoe in History and Memory, which is a symposium that marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Tippecanoe. Warren received his Ph.D at Indiana University and now is a professor at Augustana College, a small liberal arts school which has a strong history program that resides in Illinois right by the Mississippi
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River and Iowa border. Warren is very familiar with this area, much of which is included in the Old Northwest territory, where his book focuses its attention on. To show the importance of this time era in the Old Northwest, Warren discussed where the Shawnee are now as a culture and how the past has effected their society and way of life. Like many of Native American groups, the Shawnee are currently working to revive their language by teaching it to the next generation in order to salvage their culture. The majority of the book discussed how this important time in the Old Northwest shaped their future as a people. The book is divided up into six sections that are each dedicated to a specific period of time in chronological order. This allows readers a guide for the book and made it easy to look up information by time or by the chapter title. The first section is dedicated to tribal identity of Native Americans. Much of the information used here was gathered from archival research. The primary source is from the 1823 Governor of Michigan, General Lewis Cass, who ordered his secretary to document Native Americans of the Old Northwest (Warren 13). This documentation was focused on the language and customs of each specific tribal groups. It is easy to forget that Native Americans had a spectrum of different positions on what was to be done with the American frontiersman, especially with the looming threat of removal. Some had optimistic opinions about moving West, while others were adamant about staying in the Old Northwest and fighting for their way of life, and many opinions fell between these two extremes. Although the Shawnee varied on opinion, there was much that kept them together and strong as a people. Alliances were built during this time, much due to the threat Americans posed. Some of these were surprising, like the one in between Black HOof and Tenskwatawa, who were known to have a life long rivalry (Warren 15). They worked to convey to other Shawnee that “people were united more often by language and culture than by politics and leaders” (Warren 15). Meanwhile, American leaders worked to break up Native American villages in their fight for political centralization, or to be more frank, for control over Native Americans and their lands. Under Jefferson’s leadership, policies were created that increased the authority of tribal officials that cooperated with Americans (Warren 23). This helped encourage cooperation and assimilation. The second and third section, dedicated to understanding Native American resistance to removal, provides an in depth discussion of different groups within the Shawnee and how they struggled against removal. Warren does a good job of giving specific, accurate historical information through his intensive research for the book, and I believe it is best displayed in this portion. What had started out as small tribal alliances grew into very strong coalitions. These groups, which came around by the early 1820s, wanted something extremely difficult in such a stressful time. They wanted independence from the United States while working to collaborate with them (Warren 73). These desires are clearly not shared with the United States government, who wanted political centralization and control over Native Americans. It took time and many failures for the Native Americans to see the pattern in their interactions with Americans was not going to change, and that the United States was not going to listen to their demands. Violations of treaties and the taking of land seemed like an endless cycle that was beyond Native Americans ability to control (Warren 69). They were removed to a Indian Territory due to the Removal Act of 1830 in the face of American expansion and oppression (69). The forth section focuses on the Indiana Reservation, and how the Shawnee continued to have strength and adopted new faith after removal.
The Shawnee were spread across multiple states and therefore had a rich, diverse culture. Taking this whole group of people and placing them in one condensed reservation is naturally going to cause some discourse within the group. Complications only increased with the introduction of Christian Missionaries into the Indiana Reservation. They tried to divide people up in relation to their religious affiliation, which changes the traditional Shawnee social organization (Warren 99). Many Native American leaders began holding religious services twice a week, which helped them gain power within the reservation and with the missionaries and other Americans outside the reservation (Warren 101). Taking highly respected religious positions also became a way to gain power and respect, and religion began to function the dominant power on the reservation. The Shawnee Methodists proved to be the strongest faction among religious groups, and it was their ideology that controlled the reservation (Warren
126). The fifth section deals primarily with the economy and suffering of the reservation. It focused much on the major problems Shawnees face in 1845, due to a flood that ruined many homes and killed crops that were crucial to the economy (Warren 127). Two thirds of the Shawnee lost everything they owned, and many dead. This destruction came with disease. Cholera and malaria swept across the reservation, which did not help moral or reconstruction after the physical damage done on the land from the flooding (Warren 128). Along with these adversities, American settlements were growing rapidly in size, adding yet another threat on their homes (Warren127). Heavy alcoholism was also prevalent in reservations by this time, which cause more societal problems for the Shawnee (Warren 129). In reaction to these horrible events, a Shawnee national council was created that worked closely with federal officials. This council was often corrupt with bad Native American leaders, while it also received the typical mistreatment from U.S. officials, who did not always respect their sovereignty (Warren 130). Shawnees hoped that this would help them regain autonomy and have tribal leaders who were more aware of and took care of their needs (Warren 130). The sixth section closes the book, which summed up the trials and tribulations the Shawnee underwent in the Old Northwest and today. The Shawnee are still fighting for their rights and to revive their culture which has been somewhat lost due to all the oppression from the United States Government. Warren successfully tells the story of the Shawnee with historical accuracy and relevance in The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870. He does through his extensive research and primary archival sources, which give a close, in-depth look of what was really happening in the Old Northwest. The area has only recently become an area of great interest to archaeologists and historians, and I am interested to see what else can be uncovered about this chaotic time in Native American and American history.
Work Cited
Warren, Stephen. The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2005. Print.
River and Iowa border. Warren is very familiar with this area, much of which is included in the Old Northwest territory, where his book focuses its attention on. To show the importance of this time era in the Old Northwest, Warren discussed where the Shawnee are now as a culture and how the past has effected their society and way of life. Like many of Native American groups, the Shawnee are currently working to revive their language by teaching it to the next generation in order to salvage their culture. The majority of the book discussed how this important time in the Old Northwest shaped their future as a people. The book is divided up into six sections that are each dedicated to a specific period of time in chronological order. This allows readers a guide for the book and made it easy to look up information by time or by the chapter title. The first section is dedicated to tribal identity of Native Americans. Much of the information used here was gathered from archival research. The primary source is from the 1823 Governor of Michigan, General Lewis Cass, who ordered his secretary to document Native Americans of the Old Northwest (Warren 13). This documentation was focused on the language and customs of each specific tribal groups. It is easy to forget that Native Americans had a spectrum of different positions on what was to be done with the American frontiersman, especially with the looming threat of removal. Some had optimistic opinions about moving West, while others were adamant about staying in the Old Northwest and fighting for their way of life, and many opinions fell between these two extremes. Although the Shawnee varied on opinion, there was much that kept them together and strong as a people. Alliances were built during this time, much due to the threat Americans posed. Some of these were surprising, like the one in between Black HOof and Tenskwatawa, who were known to have a life long rivalry (Warren 15). They worked to convey to other Shawnee that “people were united more often by language and culture than by politics and leaders” (Warren 15). Meanwhile, American leaders worked to break up Native American villages in their fight for political centralization, or to be more frank, for control over Native Americans and their lands. Under Jefferson’s leadership, policies were created that increased the authority of tribal officials that cooperated with Americans (Warren 23). This helped encourage cooperation and assimilation. The second and third section, dedicated to understanding Native American resistance to removal, provides an in depth discussion of different groups within the Shawnee and how they struggled against removal. Warren does a good job of giving specific, accurate historical information through his intensive research for the book, and I believe it is best displayed in this portion. What had started out as small tribal alliances grew into very strong coalitions. These groups, which came around by the early 1820s, wanted something extremely difficult in such a stressful time. They wanted independence from the United States while working to collaborate with them (Warren 73). These desires are clearly not shared with the United States government, who wanted political centralization and control over Native Americans. It took time and many failures for the Native Americans to see the pattern in their interactions with Americans was not going to change, and that the United States was not going to listen to their demands. Violations of treaties and the taking of land seemed like an endless cycle that was beyond Native Americans ability to control (Warren 69). They were removed to a Indian Territory due to the Removal Act of 1830 in the face of American expansion and oppression (69). The forth section focuses on the Indiana Reservation, and how the Shawnee continued to have strength and adopted new faith after removal.
The Shawnee were spread across multiple states and therefore had a rich, diverse culture. Taking this whole group of people and placing them in one condensed reservation is naturally going to cause some discourse within the group. Complications only increased with the introduction of Christian Missionaries into the Indiana Reservation. They tried to divide people up in relation to their religious affiliation, which changes the traditional Shawnee social organization (Warren 99). Many Native American leaders began holding religious services twice a week, which helped them gain power within the reservation and with the missionaries and other Americans outside the reservation (Warren 101). Taking highly respected religious positions also became a way to gain power and respect, and religion began to function the dominant power on the reservation. The Shawnee Methodists proved to be the strongest faction among religious groups, and it was their ideology that controlled the reservation (Warren
126). The fifth section deals primarily with the economy and suffering of the reservation. It focused much on the major problems Shawnees face in 1845, due to a flood that ruined many homes and killed crops that were crucial to the economy (Warren 127). Two thirds of the Shawnee lost everything they owned, and many dead. This destruction came with disease. Cholera and malaria swept across the reservation, which did not help moral or reconstruction after the physical damage done on the land from the flooding (Warren 128). Along with these adversities, American settlements were growing rapidly in size, adding yet another threat on their homes (Warren127). Heavy alcoholism was also prevalent in reservations by this time, which cause more societal problems for the Shawnee (Warren 129). In reaction to these horrible events, a Shawnee national council was created that worked closely with federal officials. This council was often corrupt with bad Native American leaders, while it also received the typical mistreatment from U.S. officials, who did not always respect their sovereignty (Warren 130). Shawnees hoped that this would help them regain autonomy and have tribal leaders who were more aware of and took care of their needs (Warren 130). The sixth section closes the book, which summed up the trials and tribulations the Shawnee underwent in the Old Northwest and today. The Shawnee are still fighting for their rights and to revive their culture which has been somewhat lost due to all the oppression from the United States Government. Warren successfully tells the story of the Shawnee with historical accuracy and relevance in The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870. He does through his extensive research and primary archival sources, which give a close, in-depth look of what was really happening in the Old Northwest. The area has only recently become an area of great interest to archaeologists and historians, and I am interested to see what else can be uncovered about this chaotic time in Native American and American history.
Work Cited
Warren, Stephen. The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 2005. Print.