Shawnee Nation Case Study
How did many members of the Shawnee Nation, who previously lived in what is now Ohio, end up living in Oklahoma? These sources allow you to further investigate this story of American Indian removal.
Catahecassa�s Band was pressured to move from Wapakoneta in Ohio to eastern Kansas, where they remained until 1869. Additional pressures forced them to relinquish their lands and migrate to Indian Territory.
Be the Geographer
What does this map tell you about Shawnee removal?
- Where did the removal of the Shawnee Nation start and where did it end?
- How did the U.S. government�s slow organization of removal cause some Shawnees to suffer?
- How many miles did the Shawnee people have to travel from Wapakoneta to Kansas?
After the treaty was signed, the Shawnee Nation expected a quick departure. The government was slow in organizing the removal and distributing funds. Many Shawnees suffered after selling their possessions and not planting crops in the spring. Finally, in late September of 1832, the Shawnee people held ceremonies and left their homes and family graves to remove to Kansas on foot, horses, and wagons.
Gene Thorp/Cartographic Concepts, Inc. � Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian.
