Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, or Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweki, originally inhabited the areas that are now Ohio, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. From their northeastern beginnings, the Shawnee moved into what is now Tennessee, and then into the Ohio River Valley.

In the mid-1700's Chief Tecumseh and his brother led the Shawnee people in resisting the movement of white settlers into the Ohio River Valley. After Tecumseh's death in 1813, the Shawnee divided into smaller groups. Some moved throughout the United States; others allied themselves with neighboring tribes. The Eastern Shawnee joined with the Seneca in Ohio. After the 1860's, they were moved to Ottawa County in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma.