Indian Tribes

EASTERN SHAWNEE TRIBE
OF OKLAHOMA

Glenna J. Wallace, Chief
P.O. Box 350
Seneca, MO 64865
918-666-2435
Fax: 918-666-2186
Website: www.easternshawnee.org
Tribal Enrollment: 2,581

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally-recognized Shawnee tribes that constitute the modern successor tribes of the historic Shawnee Nation. Shawnee people once lived throughout the region east of the Mississippi River. The areas of their occupation centered around today's states of Alabama, the Carolinas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and the Virginias. They were a highly mobile, wide-ranging, nomadic people who lived as hunters and planters organized into small bands. Their historic geographical territories were mountainous regions, dense forests, and scattered prairies. Because of their geographic location and the focus of the subsistence pursuits, the Shawnee people are generally known as Eastern Woodlands Indians.
Extended warfare with the European powers and the United States of America prevailed during the late 1700s. Divisions of Shawnee who remained in the Ohio valley region endured many battles involving the loss of lands and culture. Around 1813 the progenitor group of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe came into being. This group was known as the Lewistown Band of Shawnee, after the Band's leader, Quah-tah-wah-pee-yah. He was known by the Americans as Colonel Lewis. The Lewistown Band of Shawnee was granted a reserve in western Ohio in 1817. The Lewistown Reserve was shared with an independent band of Seneca Indians, also known as Mingos, who had previously split from the Six Nations of New York and Canada (Iroquois Confederation) and allied themselves with the Shawnee.
The Lewistown Band later became known as the Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee. The 1831 Treaty with the Seneca was an exchange of the Lewistown Reserve lands for a reservation in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In September of 1832 the United States Military led 258 Shawnee and Seneca Indians, of the Lewistown Reserve, out of Ohio. They traveled west into Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. By mid-December, 220 members arrived in Indian Territory where they existed as a Mixed Band for thirty-five years. In 1867 the two groups separated and each received its own lands independent of the other. At this time, the United States Government re-named the Shawnee of the Mixed Band the Eastern Shawnees, as they were the eastern-most tribe of Shawnees in Indian Territory.
Today the Eastern Shawnee Tribe is located in eastern Ottawa County near the Oklahoma-Missouri border. In addition to the Eastern Shawnee Housing Authority, the tribe operates two gaming facilities, the Bordertown Casino and Bingo and The Outpost; Eastern Shawnee Travel Center; Eastern Shawnee Print Shop; Stateline Cabinets; and People's Bank. Their Tribal Museum, located in West Seneca near Bordertown Casino, is open Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

Tom Gamble, Chief
P.O. Box 1326
Miami, OK 74355
918-542-1445
Fax: 918-542-7260
Website: www.miamination.com
Tribal Enrollment: 3,649

The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, or myaamiaki in their language, is a great lakes woodland Tribe whose aboriginal homelands include the modern states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, southern Michigan and southern Wisconsin. Following a treaty signed in 1840, the Miami were forcibly removed from their homelands in October of 1846 to a reserve near La Cygne, Kansas where they remained for approximately 25 years. Another treaty called for their second, and final, removal south to a reserve held for them in Indian Territory, in what would become Ottawa County, Oklahoma.
Thomas F. Richardville, a Miami tribal leader recognized today as a chief, was one of the "fathers" of Miami.
The Miami have been aggressive in business development in the City of Miami for the past decade. Their joint gaming venture with the Modoc Nation, "The Stables", was the first gaming establishment built within Miami city limits in 1998. The Miami have worked to use gaming revenues to create service programs designed to serve Tribal elders and youth, build a Tribal land base, promote economic development, and to revitalize Tribal culture and language. The Tribe owns and operates Leonard Learning Center, a child care facility, and is in the process of establishing an elder service complex on Tribal lands located west of the City on E. 65 Road. The nation's business entity, Miami Nation Enterprises, manages Miami Designs Screen Printing & Embroidery, Miami Business Services, Tribal Financial Services, and the Cineplex Movie Theatre located on Main Street.

Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

Bill Follis, Chief
151 G SE
Miami, OK 74354
918-542-1190
Fax: 918-542-5415
Website: www.modoctribe.net
Tribal Enrollment: 200

Once occupying lands that would today be along the California-Oregon border, members of the Modoc Tribe were removed to Indian Territory in 1873 after surrender to the U.S. government armed forces following a six-month war.
The Modoc Indians were the only Indians in American history to be tried by a military commission for war crimes.
In 1873, 155 men, women and children were loaded into four boxcars that were designed to transport cattle. These boxcars were coupled between two other railroad cars filled with soldiers. Men and boys who were capable of bearing arms were shackled. After a 2,000 mile winter trip they arrived at the railroad terminal in Baxter Springs, Kansas. They were then relocated to the Quapaw Agency in the northeast corner of Oklahoma.
Today, with about 200 members, the tribe is the smallest recognized in Oklahoma.
The Modoc Tribe operates a smoke shop, Red Cedar Recycling, a bison herd and meat processing business, and, in a joint venture with the Miami Nation, The Stables, a gaming facility and restaurant in Miami.

Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma

John Ballard, Chief
P.O. Box 110
Miami, OK 74355
918-540-1536
Fax: 918-542-3214
Website: www.ottawatribe.org
Tribal Enrollment: 2,200

When first encountered by Europeans in 1615, the Ottawa Tribe lived along the Canadian shore of Lake Huron where tribal members would eventually form the Lake Confederacy along with the Chippewa and the Pottawatomie tribes. In 1832, as the result of treaty negotiations with the U.S. government, part of the tribe moved to Kansas. Other tribal groups followed until 1839.
In 1867 the tribe purchased land from the Shawnee Tribe in what is now Ottawa County. Later, tribal members sold land that would become the City of Miami.
The Ottawa Tribe owns the Otter Stop, a convenience store and gas station in Miami; and High Winds Casino.

Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma

John P. Froman, Chief
P.O. Box 1527
Miami, OK 74355
918-540-2535
Fax: 918-540-2538
Website: www.peoriatribe.com
Tribal Enrollment: 2,800

The Peoria Tribe was once one of the principal tribes of the Illinois Nation and lived along the mouth of the Wisconsin River according to earliest known records. They were united with the Kaskaskia in their first treaty with the United States government in 1818. As a result of a second treaty with the U.S. government in 1832, five more tribes (Cahokia, Moingwena, Michigamea, Tamaroa, and Pepikokia) were united with the Peoria and they were removed to a reserved tract of 150 sections on the Osage River in southeastern Kansas. In 1854, the Peoria and remnants of six tribes of the old Illinois Confederacy joined the Wea and Piankashaw, who were already located in Kansas, to form a confederated tribe for mutual benefit and welfare. The U.S. Congress enacted a law in 1873 uniting the Miami of Kansas with the new confederated group, henceforth recognized as the Confederated Peoria, a confederation of nine tribes, which had formerly controlled most of the land area in the Upper Midwest. The Omnibus Treaty of 1867 provided that the Confederated Peoria sell all individual and confederated land holdings in Kansas and use the money for purchase of a reservation tract of 72,000 acres in northeastern Indian Territory.
The Peoria Cemetery, established as a burial ground in 1871 for Confederated Peoria tribal leaders, is the only documented cemetery in the United States set aside for such a purpose. The cemetery has been maintained for over 100 years. Its use is restricted to only tribal members and their immediate family.
The Peoria Indian School served as the only educational facility for the Confederated Peoria from 1872 to 1893 when by a special act of Congress the reservation land was divided among members in individual allotments of 200 acres each. Following Oklahoma statehood in 1907, the Peoria Indian School Building became a public school facility and continued in that role until 1951 when the school district was consolidated. The school property served as a community center and then a church before being purchased by the Peoria Tribe in 1986. The building is currently being restored.
The tribe owns and operates the Peoria Ridge Golf Course, Peoria Gaming Center, Buffalo Run Casino, Buffalo Run Hotel and a farming venture on tribal lands.

Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma

John Berrey, Chairman
P.O. Box 765
Quapaw, OK 74363
918-542-1853
Fax: 918-542-4694
Website: www.quapawtribe.com
Tribal Enrollment: 4,000

The Quapaw Tribe is indigenous to the region along what is now the Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas border. Tribal histories claim the tribe and related Sioux tribes once lived along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and gradually migrated inland over hundreds of years. In 1818, the Quapaw ceded about 30 million acres of land to the U.S. government and, in 1826 the tribe was removed from Arkansas to Louisiana. Nearly 25 percent of tribal members would die by 1832. In 1838 the tribe was resettled again; this time to Indian Territory.
Today the tribe owns the O-Gah-Pah Convenience Store, Quapaw Casino, Downstream Casino Resort, Quapaw Tribal Fire/EMS, Quapaw Information Systems in Tulsa, and Quapaw Counseling Services in Miami and Oklahoma City. The tribe also operates the O-Gah-Pah Learning Center in Quapaw.

Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma

Leroy Howard, Chief
P.O. Box 1283
Miami, OK 74355
918-542-6609
Fax: 918-542-3684
Website: www.sctribe.com
Tribal Enrollment: 4,000

The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma is a joint tribe of ancestral Seneca and Cayuga Nations who through treaties, removals and results of other governmental activity on the part of the United States, were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s from the Sandusky River Valley in Ohio. These two nations were the westernmost of the Six Nations Confederacy once located in the present day state of New York. More specifically, the Seneca and Cayuga Nations were located in the finger-lakes region of New York and their ancestral reservation areas are still marked in that area.
This group of Native Americans were known as the "Seneca's of Sandusky", but were also intermingled with some Cayugas. Later, around 1846, another group of Cayuga were removed from the Buffalo Creek area in New York.
In accordance with the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936, the tribes were incorporated into the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.
The creation of Grand Lake submerged much of the tribe's land, including the old ceremonial grounds and cemetery, which was moved to Basset Grove, where the cemetery and Longhouse now stand. The Community House, once a gathering place for tribal functions, social and ceremonial, remains today located on Hwy. 10 just south of Wyandotte.
Not all of the Seneca and Cayuga people relocated to this area and the Iroquois Confederacy continue to live on ancestral lands. Ties between the Seneca-Cayuga and the Confederacy have never been broken, even with such distance between them. The tribe's Longhouse ways have survived the years and many removals. The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe is unique to Oklahoma; those living elsewhere are either Seneca or Cayuga.
Today the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe owns and operates a gaming facility north of Grove and two smoke shops, including one at a tobacco factory on Oklahoma Highway 10, north of Grove.

Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

Ron Sparkman, Chairman
PO Box 189
Miami, OK 74355
918-542-2441
Fax: 918-542-2922
Website: www.shawnee-tribe.com
Tribal Enrollment: 2,000

The Shawnee Tribe traveled from the Atlantic coast to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and to Kansas. Their forced relocation to the Kansas City area was mandated by the Federal Government. The city names of Shawnee, Lenexa and Olathe, Kansas, are all words relating to the Shawnee Tribe.
In 1869 the Shawnee were forced to leave their homeland in Kansas. Upon arriving in Oklahoma most Tribal members settled in what are now Ottawa and Craig counties. The Shawnee along with the Kansas Delaware were made citizens of the Cherokee Nation; however, they continued to maintain their own culture, language and ceremonies. They also continued to have their own elected Tribal government.
In 1999 federal legislation was passed by Congress that dissolved the 1869 agreement and once again the Shawnee became a federally recognized tribe. The Shawnee were invited by the other Tribes in this area to join with them and become a part of the Inter-Tribal Council.
The Shawnee offices and Gift Shop are located just north of the Will Rogers Turnpike Miami exit on Highway 69A.

Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma

Leaford Bearskin, Chief
P.O. Box 250
Wyandotte, OK 74370
918-678-2297
Fax: 918-678-2944
Website: www.wyandot.org
Tribal Enrollment: 4,000

Originally occupying large portions of land around the Great Lakes and extending into what would now be the Middle Atlantic States, the Wyandotte Tribe came to settle in northeastern Kansas in the late 1850s due to a series of treaty negotiations with U.S. government officials. Members of the tribe began migrating, again at the insistence of the government, to northeastern Oklahoma in the late 1860s.
Members of the Wyandotte Nation reorganized their tribal government in northeastern Oklahoma in 1871.
Today the tribe operates a child care center; the Bearskin Healthcare and Wellness Center; the Turtle Stop, a convenience store and gas station; the Lucky Turtle Casino and the Wyandotte Nation Casino. The tribe also owns and operates Wyandotte Net-Tel and Bearskin Services, a providers of computer, network and integrated services.

Inter-Tribal Council

Shirlye Bass, Director
P.O. Box 1308
Miami, OK 74355
918-542-4486
Fax: 918-540-2500
Website:

The Inter-Tribal Council, Inc. was formed in 1966 by leaders of Northeastern Oklahoma tribes originally settled in Ottawa County, to represent the interests and to secure benefits and entitlements for all residents of American Indian descent in the seven county area of Northeastern Oklahoma.
Since 1966 the Inter-Tribal Council has provided service and secured funds in a variety of programs, including: Community Health, Indian Arts and Crafts, Manpower Services, Education, Family Services and Planning, Economic Planning, Vocational/Technical Training, Tribal Operations, Alcohol Rehabilitation, Rural Transit, Health Screening, and Administrative Services and Economic Tribal Development.
In 1971-72, 41.5 acres along Interstate 44, Miami exit, service area were acquired and by Oklahoma Senate Joint Resolution No. 61, April 8, 1976, the plot was identified as a State Indian Reservation and conveying responsibility for development to the Inter-Tribal Council. The conveyance is qualified only by the provision that the land be utilized particularly for the use and benefit of Indian tribes of Oklahoma. The Land Use Authority formed by the Inter-Tribal Council is entrusted with the responsibility of deciding what buildings, facilities, programs and operations shall be located on the 41.5-acre site.
At the northernmost area of the tract development is the Inter-Tribal Council headquarters. Also housed in this building is the Northeastern Tribal Health System's Wellness Center. Other facilities located on the site are tribal offices of the Ottawa Tribe, Shawnee Tribe, Peoria Tribe, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe and Miami Nation, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs Fire Protection Services, the Miami Nation's Leonard Learning Center, the Ottawa/Peoria Cultural Center which houses the ITC Food Distribution Center, and the Northeastern Tribal Health Center.