The Three Shawnee Tribes

The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their
language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.

Today, Shawnee people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes, the Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and
Shawnee Tribe, all headquartered in Oklahoma.

“The Absentee Shawnee Tribe gained their “absentee” distinction because their groups
were not present at the signing of the 1854 treaty for a Kansas Reservation. Instead of
settling on surplus lands in Kansas, these Absentee Shawnees had opted to migrate
into Indian Territory (Oklahoma) or Mexico territory (Texas).”

Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
Shawnee Tribe