Alabama Indian Affairs Commission

Rachel Naftel, Auburn University

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3970

 

The Alabama Indian Affairs Commission (AIAC), headquartered in Montgomery, Montgomery County, was established by the Alabama State Legislature in 1984 to serve as a liaison between Native Americans in the state and local, state, and federal agencies. Primarily, the AIAC aims to connect the Native American community in the state with local, state, and federal resources, including funding, for their social and economic development programs. In addition, it is tasked with developing criteria for recognition for Indian tribes, bands, or groups, and advocating for and promoting Indian rights.

The state government recognizes nine Native American tribes in Alabama: the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama, the Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe of Alabama, the Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks, the Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, the Piqua Shawnee Tribe, and the United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation. Of this group, only the Poarch Band of Creeks is officially recognized by the federal government.

 

Governance

The AIAC is comprised of 13 members consisting of one representative from each of the nine Indian tribes served by the AIAC as well as a member of the Alabama Senate appointed by the lieutenant governor, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives appointed by the speaker, an at-large member appointed by the governor, and a member appointed by the commission who is a member of a federally recognized tribe not a member of any tribe represented on the commission. Commissioners serve four-year terms and are eligible for reappointment. The commission selects officers every two years and these include a chair, vice chair, parliamentarian, and executive director. The chair presides over all meetings and exercises general supervision of the commission. Meetings take place at the headquarters in Montgomery and are open to the public and posted on the AIAC website. AIAC operations are funded by the state government. The executive director, chair, and vice chair have fiscal responsibility for the funds. Members of the commission receive no compensation for their services, other than reimbursements for travel and expenses incurred while performing their duties as commissioner.

 

Functions

The commission's primary purpose is to promote local, state, and federal government resources for Indian citizens in the state and actively seek government grants or funds available to eligible Native Americans. It has the authority to recognize Indian tribes as well as the authority to prescribe the rules for the recognition of Indian tribes, bands, groups, and associations, which is a complicated process. Its work also involves administrative and financial activities, particularly managing the agency and its finances, human resources, and facilities and providing information about legislation that affects Indians in Alabama.

 

One of the AIAC's continuing accomplishments is its scholarship program. The AIAC offers annual scholarships to Native American residents of Alabama pursuing a college degree within the state. To qualify, students must be enrolled in the federal/state recognized tribe for a minimum of three years and meet his or her tribe's internal qualifications. These scholarships give special considerations to students pursuing nursing, medical, veterinary, and pharmacy degrees. In addition to the scholarships, the AIAC sponsors the Ms. Indian Alabama Pageant, with the winner receiving a $5,000 scholarship.

 

Since its inception, the AIAC has sponsored economic development workshops and created the Alabama Indian Small Business Association; the commission maintains a list of Indian-operated businesses in the state. The Alabama Indian Community Loan Fund was created to help find organizations to invest in Indian businesses. (The casinos and hotels of the Poarch Band are perhaps the most visible projects undertaken in the state.) In addition, the commission has worked with historical organizations, including the Alabama Department of Archives and History for an ethnic studies program. The AIAC has raised warnings about the destruction of historic sites and collaborated with the Alabama Historical Commission on a statewide historic preservation plan.

 

Piqua Shawnee

Piqua Shawnee Tribe

"Piqua Shawnee"

The Piqua Shawnee Tribe

 

Visit the State of Alabama Indian Affairs Commission website for more information

http://aiac.state.al.us/tribes_piquaShawnee.aspx

Early History
The state of Alabama has long been the home of many Shawnee people. In fact, some historians state that perhaps the Shawnee people have inhabited Alabama for a longer period of time than any other geographic region. Some archaeologists set the date of 1685 as the first evidence of Shawnee settlement in Alabama. However, oral tradition states that we have been here much longer than that. Ancient burial sites that use burial methods common to the Shawnee have been located in several sections of the state. Early accounts can be confusing since what is now called Alabama was once a part of Georgia territory. Several early maps show Shawnee settlements in what is now called Alabama.

Early French and English maps show several Shawnee towns in what would be considered Upper Creek territory in Alabama. Some of the most notable were near modern Alabama towns. One village was near present day Talladega and was known in English as Shawnee Town. Another town was near Sylacauga. In 1750 the French took a census mentioning the Shawnee at Sylacauga as well as enumerating another Shawnee town called Cayomulgi, (currently spelled Kyamulga town) that was located nearby. Kiamulgatown was also listed in an 1832 census. A 1761 English census names Tallapoosa Town. This town was also named in a 1792 census by Marbury. There are French military records that mention a Shawnee presence at Wetumpka near Fort Toulouse. In most cases the traders called Alabama Indians “Creeks” because they lived on the numerous creeks and waterways in the area. Many of these “Creeks” were not of the same tribe or nation. Rather they went by a large number of names. Each group maintained their own unique heritage while living side by side with their neighbors.

Piqua Shawnee

Piqua Shawnee Tribe

The Shawnee Indians: Their Customs, Their Traditions and Folk-Lore

https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/indianpp/id/7857/filename/7858.pdf

The Shawnee Indians: Their Customs, Their Traditions and Folk-Lore

Written by: James R. Carselowey, Journalist
April 26, 1938
 Indian pioneer papers, 1860-1935. (Millwood, New York: Kraus Microform, 1989).

The University of Oklahoma: Digital Library

James R. Carselowey wrote several articles for the Indian Pioneer Papers.  The above referenced article written in 1938 focuses on stories, traditions learned for those who lived among the Shawnee after they made their move out of Kansas from 1868-1871.

"Some of the leaders, including three ex-chiefs of the Shawnee Tribe, together with a small band of others came down to the territory as early as 1868, selected their land and went back for a time.  The three chiefs: Charles Rogers, Johnson Blackfeather, Cyrus Cornatzer."


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The Indian-Pioneer Papers oral history collection spans from 1861 to 1936. It includes typescripts of interviews conducted during the 1930s by government workers (Works Progress Administration (WPA) writers' project grant) with thousands of Oklahomans regarding the settlement of Oklahoma and Indian territories, as well as the condition and conduct of life there. Consisting of approximately 80,000 entries, the index to this collection may be accessed via personal name, place name, or subject.

Carselowey Family History

Repositories

Family History Center	http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatal..
University of Oklahoma	http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/pioneer/

Powder Horn Tecumseh at the National Army Museum, London

National Army Museum - Chelsea London

Powder horn, 1812 (c).

 

Powder Horn is believed to have belonged to Tecumseh (1768-1813)

This powder horn is believed to have belonged to Tecumseh (1768-1813), a warrior chief of the Shawnee people, who were allied to the British in the American War of 1812. A powder horn was used to pour gunpowder into the barrel of a weapon.

NAM Accession Number

NAM. 1963-10-202-1

Copyright/Ownership

National Army Museum Copyright

Location

National Army Museum, Study collection

Object URL

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1963-10-202-1


Visit the Official Web Site of the Piqua Shawnee  www.piquashawnee.com

Genealogy: Indian Tribes of North America Shawnee Indians

https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/shawnee-indians.htm

 Shawnee Indians

 | Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Native American, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
Updated: October 18, 2013

Shawnee Tribe: Meaning “southerners,” the best-known variants of the name being the French form Chaouanons, and that which appears in the name of Savannah River. Also called:

• Ani’-Sawǎnu’gǐ, by the Cherokee.
• Ontwagana, “one who stutters,” “one whose speech is unintelligible,” applied by the Iroquois to this tribe and many others.
• Oshawanoag, by the Ottawa.
• Shawala, by the’ Teton Dakota.

The Shawnee belonged to the Algonquian linguistic stock, their closest relatives being the Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo.

There was scarcely a tribe that divided so often or moved so much as the Shawnee, but one of the earliest historic seats of the people as a whole was on Cumberland River. (See also Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia.)

Connection in which the Shawnee have become noted: Although prominent by virtue of its size, the Shawnee tribe is noteworthy rather on account of numerous migrations undertaken by its various branches and the number of contacts established by them, involving the history of three-quarters of our southern and eastern States. They constituted the most formidable opposition to the advance of settlements through the Ohio Valley, and under Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa attempted an extensive alliance of native tribes to oppose the Whites. The name Shawnee is preserved in various forms in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Kansas, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois, and most conspicuously of all, perhaps, in the name of the river Savannah and the city of Savannah, Georgia. There are places called Shawnee in Park County, Colorado; Johnson County, Kansas; Perry County, Ohio; Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma; and Converse County, Wyoming; Shawnee-on-Delaware in Monroe County, Pennsylvania; Shawanee in Claiborne County, Tennessee; Shawanese in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; Shawano in Shawano County, Wisconsin; Shawneetown in Gallatin County, Illinois, and Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.

Read more of Shawnee Indian Genealogy at https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/shawnee-indians.htm

Visit the official website of the Piqua Shawnee at  www.piquashawnee.com

The Piqua Shawnee Tribe - Today

The Piqua Shawnee Tribe - Alabama Today

State of Alabama Indian Affairs Commission
www.aiac.alabama.gov

State of Alabama Indian Affairs Commission Tribal Map

Today
Now, in the 21st century, there are many descendants who still call Alabama home. Many of their family stories are varied. Some avoided walking the Trail of Tears. Some families escaped into the Cumberland mountains, others hid in swamps or less traveled places. A careful study of southeastern history will reveal that not all settlers agreed with Andrew Jackson’s removal policy. While many people did not escape the removal, some did. After the turmoil subsided some families returned. Many families chose to live in outlying rural areas where there was little government scrutiny and their neighbors weren’t too curious. While a lot was lost, family histories and ways were passed down.

It is out of that background that current Piquas live and work to preserve their unique heritage. The tribe consists of several family groups that are interrelated and live in several states. We also have relatives who reside in Canada. Currently the majority of Piquas live in Alabama, with members also in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, Maryland, and South Carolina. Because we are so widely dispersed, we have at least four tribal gatherings per year in alternating geographic locations, thereby preventing any of our people from having to travel much farther than the others.

While we have a Principal chief, and second chief, our tribal government is maintained by a Tribal Council. The Council is composed of clan mothers and clan chiefs, with an advisory body known as the Council of Elders. Tribal Council is conducted in accordance with Clan protocol. All issues are debated and taken before the clans for consideration and deliberation. It is the function of the Council to debate and seek consensus on all tribal matters so that the people speak with one voice. Modern positions such as treasurer and secretary are determined by election for a set period of time. These positions do not have a vote on Council.

In 1991 the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky recognized the Piqua Sept of Ohio Shawnee as an Indian tribe. On July 10, 2001 the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission under the authority of the Davis-Strong Act recognized the Piqua Sept of Ohio Shawnee Tribe as an Indian tribe in the state of Alabama, thus making the Piqua Sept the first petitioning group to be recognized in 17 years.

Enrollment will be considered by the Tribal Council for applicants who can document their Shawnee ancestry. Those applicants who are of American Indian descent other than Shawnee must be descended from a tribe that was known to live with the Shawnee prior to the 1832 removal act. Potential applicants are encouraged to visit so that we may get to know you before any decisions are made regarding enrollment.


Visit the Official website of the Piqua Shawnee Tribe at www.piquashawnee.com