Ridgetop Shawnee
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 Seal of the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians | |
| Nickname | Ridgetop Shawnee, Ridgetop Band of Shawnee Indians |
|---|---|
| Named after | Shawnee people |
| Founder | William Hayes Shackleford[1] |
| Location | |
Official language | English |
| Website | ridgetopshawnee |
The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians is a limited liability company, nonprofit organization, and unrecognized tribe in Kentucky. They are Americans who identify as being of Shawnee and Cherokee ancestry that migrated to Southeastern Kentucky, Southwestern Virginia and Northeastern Tennessee in the late 18th to the mid 19th centuries.
Nonprofit organization
William Hayes Shackleford founded the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians, LLC, as a limited liability company and nonprofit organization, based in Hazard, Kentucky, in 2009.[1] The organization went inactive but became active again in 2021, with Jeffery R. Morgan serving as its registered agent.[1]
Politics
Since the late 20th century, the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe contributed to the passage of local ordinances that prohibit digging, or artifact hunting, on county and city lands. One such ordinance was passed by the Harlan County, Kentucky fiscal court in 2006. The only such ordinance in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, it has decreased illegal artifact hunting and helped preserve prehistoric sites. The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians were instrumental in the creation of the Harlan County Native American Site Protection Office.[3] They gained agreement from the city of Ashland, Kentucky, to put a protective fence around prehistoric earthworks in a park; the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Indian Mounds in Central Park.[4]
In 2009 and 2010, the State House of the Kentucky General Assembly recognized the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians by passing, unopposed, House Joint Resolutions 15 or HJR-15 in 2009 and HJR-16 in 2010.[5][6] These acknowledged the civic contributions of the group.
Language
The tribe is seeking to preserve the Shawnee language, a Central Algonquian language that was traditional for many members' ancestors.[citation needed]
Membership
The Ridgetop Shawnee require that prospective members prove documented descent from multiracial settlers in the region from 1790 to 1870, and also have Y-DNA or MtDNA showing direct-line Native American ancestry. Y-DNA and or MtDNA may be used only to show descent from individuals who are documented as eligible for enrollment.[7] In 2012 the Ridgetop Shawnee began the Express Enrollment program for descendants of several family lines of mixed-Native American heritage, who have been well-documented as migrating to Southeastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Southwestern Virginia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These families and lines are: Sizemore (KY); Fields (KY, VA); descendants of Hawkins Bowman (KY, VA); descendants of Ezekiel Bennett (KY, TN); descendants of John Cole (KY, VA); and descendants of Porter Jackson (KY, VA).[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians L.L.C." OpenCorporates. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Pine Mountain Indian Community, Kentucky LLC". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ William Shackleford (4 July 2009). "Ridgetop Shawnee History". Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Carrie Stambaugh (4 July 2009). "Mounds will be fenced off from public". Daily Independent (Ashland, KY). Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Kentucky General Assembly 2010 Regular Session HJR-16". kentucky.gov, updated 9-2-2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
- ^ "Kentucky General Assembly 2009 Regular Session HJR-15". kentucky.gov, updated 5-2-2009. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
- ^ a b "ridgetopshawnee.net". www.ridgetopshawnee.net. Retrieved 2024-06-01.