Piqua Shawnee
The Piqua are one of five divisions of the Shawnee people. The Piqua Shawnee speak an Algonquian language, which they share with 30 other tribes who live in areas ranging from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. Like their neighbors, the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Muskogees (Creek), archaeologists have found evidence of habitation by their ancestors as far back as the Paleoindian period (more than 10,500 years ago). The geographic range of ancestral Piqua covers much of what are now the states of Alabama and Georgia.
The name Piqua Shawnee means “people from the south who rose from the ashes.” They were also known as “the southern people who have ashes on their feet.” These designations are likely a reference to their use of fire to produce salt from seawater, salt licks, and cave minerals. Historical evidence shows that some 4,000 years ago, ancestors of the Piqua Shawnee obtained mineral salts from caves in northern Alabama. The names and locations of these caves are protected by historic preservation laws. Ancestral Piqua cave explorers left behind spent reed torches, gourd bowls, mussel shells, and slippers made of plant fibers in dry cave passageways containing mineral salts.
The importance of salt in intertribal commerce grew with the widespread economic shift from hunting and gathering to horticulture. Piqua Shawnee salt was exchanged for commodities throughout Alabama and beyond. Salt production continued into the nineteenth century until it was disrupted by warfare and often-coerced land cessions. Intertribal salt commerce has always been a crucial aspect of the Piqua Shawnee culture and livelihood. It relied on a long and well-established relationship with the Creek Nation. It was customary for members of an entire Piqua Shawnee village to visit a Creek town for weeks or months at a time. In addition to feasting, commodities, customs, and stories were exchanged. Reciprocal tribal visits strengthened their political relationships.
Piqua Shawnee towns and villages were clan based. A clan represents a family lineage based on a common totem ancestor. Historically, Piqua Shawnee clans were named for birds, fish, fur-bearing animals, plants, reptiles, and various aspects of nature (cloud, dirt, the Moon, night, stone, water, wind). Family residence was patrilocal, a social system in which a married couple lived in the cabin or village of the husband's parents. Families were industrious and men worked together with the women. Towns and villages were led by a clan chief and a clan mother. Everyone in the town or village were members of a single clan. Tribal councils were composed of a principal chief, a tribal mother, a peace chief, a war chief, and clan representatives.
The first European contact with the Piqua Shawnee likely occurred in 1540 when Francisco Maldonado, an officer of the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto, walked into the village of Ochuse (also spelled Achuse). This village site is located near what is now Gulf Shores, Baldwin County. The subsequent Spanish, French, and British colonial incursions resulted in chronic warfare and devastating epidemics. The Piqua Shawnee survived by adopting a semi-sedentary livelihood. This economic strategy included strengthening their long-time alliance with the Creeks and sharing their towns and villages. Piqua Shawnee villages and towns were located along the Savannah River in Georgia and the Chattahoochee River in Georgia and Alabama. They also resided in villages along the Alabama River in Montgomery County, the Coosa River in Talladega County, the Tallapoosa River in Elmore and Macon Counties, and around Mobile Bay in Mobile County.
During the eighteenth century, groups of Piqua Shawnee from the Ohio River valley traveled to Alabama at various times to seek refuge with their extended families. In 1748, Turtle Clan Chief Peter Chartier, Catecahassa (Black Hoof), and more than 400 Piqua Shawnee escaped the chronic warfare and epidemics in the north and moved to the Coosa River valley. Chartier founded the village of Chalakagay in Talladega County. At the time, there were tensions between the Piqua Shawnee and the Illinois Confederacy (Kickapoo,Mascouten,Piankeshaw). To keep peace between the tribes in French Louisiana (the Mississippi River valley, including Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota), the French colonial governor of Louisiana, Pierre de Rigaud, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, negotiated a treaty. On June 24, 1750, Chartier signed the peace treaty in Mobile.
In 1811, Shawnee leader Tekoomsē (Tecumseh) saw the Great Comet in the night sky and believed it was a good sign for the creation of a tribal alliance in Alabama. Although he was born in the Ohio River Valley, Tecumseh’s mother (Methoataaskee') was Piqua Shawnee and grew up in the Creek town of Tukabatchee on the Tallapoosa River in Elmore County. Thus, he considered Tukabatchee his home. Tecumseh arrived at the Creek town of Wetumpka, in present-day Elmore County, in the summer of 1811. In September, he traveled to Tukabatchee and spoke before Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek tribal leaders about intertribal unification, the sharing of cultural traditions, and divine protection in battle. Tecumseh’s words had a profound effect on a significant number of tribal members in Alabama, which led directly to the events of the Creek War of 1813-14.
After his election as U.S. president in 1828, Andrew Jackson declared the removal of Native Americans from the American South as a national priority for the expansion of White settlement. On May 28, 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act. To escape forced removal, the Piqua Shawnee hid themselves in the area east of the Coosa River around Kymulga (old Shawnee town) and Kymulga Cave in Childersburg. (Today, Kymulga Cave is known as Majestic Caverns, and formerly known as DeSoto Caverns.) By 1832, the tribe had concealed themselves from census takers. They did not distinguish between the Piqua Shawnee and the Creeks when they were taking censuses of Creek towns and villages. Also, many Piqua Shawnee had intermarried with the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Natchez, Yuchi, and settler colonists, which obfuscated their tribal identity. Consequently, historic population estimates of the Piqua Shawnee are impossible to calculate.
While many Piqua Shawnee remained in their homeland throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, economic hardships, intermarriages, and military service resulted in the movement of other tribal members out of Alabama. They maintained their cultural traditions and family connections with their homeland. The geographic dispersion of tribal members had a negative impact on the Piqua Shawnee language.
During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, stereotypes of who was and was not a Native American were used in the professional testimonies of the Indian Claims Commission. The sovereignty of more than 100 tribes across the country was eliminated and more than a million acres of tribal land was lost. The Piqua Shawnee were labeled as a non-federally recognized tribal entity. Despite this designation, the Piqua Shawnee were vocally active during the Native American civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They fought against the termination of tribes and for protecting burial grounds, religious freedom, and sacred sites. The activism of indigenous peoples, including the Piqua Shawnee, during the 1980s led to the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
In 1984, Alabama used the legal authority of 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to recognize tribes within its borders. Alabama passed the Davis-Strong Act, which established the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission (AIAC). It acknowledges and represents Alabama Native American tribes and their citizens. In 2001, Piqua Shawnee Ceremonial Chief Joseph Donnie Rankin submitted a petition to the AIAC requesting state recognition. On July 10, 2001, the Piqua Shawnee were officially recognized by the AIAC as one of nine tribes in Alabama. The tribe continues to struggle for federal recognition.
As of 2024, the Piqua Shawnee has some 560 tribal members. The governmental office, and the office of the AIAC, is located in Montgomery, Montgomery County. Tribal governance is outlined in their constitution and by-laws. These documents provide the framework for tribal leadership, decision-making processes, and the protection of tribal rights. The principal chief is the highest executive officer of the tribe. He or she is elected by the tribal citizens and is responsible for overseeing the implementation of tribal laws, policies, and programs. The principal chief represents the tribe in intergovernmental relations and ensures the welfare of the tribal community. In 2024, the Piqua Shawnee elected Duane Everhart as the tribe's principal chief and executive officer.
The tribal council is the legislative body of the Piqua Shawnee. It consists of 45 elected representatives from the tribal citizenry who play a crucial role in legislative processes and policymaking and speak for their constituents. The council enacts laws, resolutions, and ordinances that govern the tribe and works closely with the principal chief. The council also oversees the budget, allocates resources, and addresses issues concerning the tribe. Council members collaborate with the principal chief and other officials to develop and implement strategies that promote the tribe’s prosperity and cultural preservation. The tribal secretary is responsible for maintaining the official records of the Piqua Shawnee and ensures that there is transparency and accountability within the tribal government. The tribal treasurer manages the financial affairs of the Piqua Shawnee including overseeing budgets, financial reporting, and the allocation of funds for various programs and initiatives.
The tribal government also consists of 12 committees and boards of appointed or elected members who provide expertise and guidance on their respective areas. They address issues such as cultural preservation, economic development, education, health, the law, and civic engagement. These groups work to ensure that the tribe’s programs and initiatives align with the community’s needs and values. The tribal judicial system interprets and enforces tribal laws to make sure that justice is served within the tribe and that the rights of all members are protected. The tribal government is designed to foster a sense of community, preserve their heritage, and promote the well-being of all Piqua Shawnee citizens.
Additional Resources
- Brannon, Peter A. Handbook of the Alabama Anthropological Society. Montgomery: Alabama Anthropological Society, 1920.
- Cohen, Felix S. Handbook of Federal Indian Law. Washington D.C.: United States Department of the Interior, 1942.
- Morgan, Ruth, Janet Clinger, Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, and Barbara S. Lehmann. Piqua Shawnee: Cultural Survival in their Homeland. Berkley, Calif.: Community Works West, 2018.
- Pate, James P. The Annotated Pickett’s History of Alabama and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period. Montgomery: New South Books, 2018.
