To commemorate the day of Tecumseh’s death at the Battle of the Thames and honor his courageous life of service to the Shawnee people and Indian Country at large, the Shawnee Tribe leadership will officially declare October 5th “Tecumseh Memorial Day.”
Starting with Tecumseh Memorial Day 2021, Shawnee Tribe employees will receive one day of paid time off from work to observe the holiday. The holiday has specifically been set aside to perform acts of service to the local community or to the Shawnee Tribe. Beginning in 2022, the Tribe will facilitate formal options for group service projects.
Chief Ben Barnes encouraged Shawnee employees to spend this year’s holiday volunteering at a shelter, cooking a meal for the homeless or personal elder relatives, cleaning up the streets in the neighborhood, or giving time back to the Tribe to get ahead on a project at work, like donating a few hours at tribal headquarters to help process COVID-19 Relief Applications for tribal citizens.
Explore: 91.3 WYSO Article “Shawnee Tribe Declares October 5 Tecumseh Memorial Day“
Message From Chief Ben Barnes:
Proclamation of October 5th as “Tecumseh Memorial Day”
October 5th is an anniversary of the death of Tecumseh, but we will not celebrate his death, but rather his life. He has been attributed as to having said…
“Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.”
He also said that from his tribe he takes nothing, that he himself was the master of his own fortune and destiny. It is with this mindfulness and with full-remembrance of all of our former Shawnee leaders, chairmen and chairwomen, chiefs, and hokimaki & hokimawikwaki, boceli noki bocelikwe, men and women, that gave themselves to our people that we commemorate this day.
This October 5th and every hereafter shall be “Tecumseh Memorial Day” and be observed by the Shawnee Tribe’s elected officers and her staff as a day to give of ourselves to our communities.
Today, October 5th, all staff that give their day to a local community, non-profit, or service organization, the Shawnee Tribe will pay that employee as if it were a regularly, scheduled work day for they have truly performed service to the Tribal Nation.
Because we Shawnee believe that we are only as strong as our communities, we are committed to all of them, regardless of the dotted lines of borders and distance.
The Shawnee diaspora is vast and we remember all of it, especially on this “Tecumseh Memorial Day.”
niyaawe
The 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will be harvested from Monongahela National Forest, which is part of the Shawnee ancestral homeland. The tribe’s THPO is teaming up with National Forest staff to ensure the Capitol Tree includes representation of the Shawnee Tribe. On Friday, September 15 at our General Council dinner & stomp festivities in […]
Early voting by absentee ballot (vote-by-mail) is offered in 2023. All voted ballots must be received by the Election Committee by 5:00 PM (Central) on the Thursday before the election, September 14. Voters may return their ballots by mail or deliver the ballot in person to the Election Committee. Any citizen participating in early or […]
CHIEF BEN BARNES As the celebration of Independence Day fades into the background, this is the time of year that the Business Council begins to look toward the next fiscal year and plan programming for Shawnee families. We generally have two sorts of programs: those that come from federal funding sources and those that are […]
In February of 2023, the Shawnee Tribe Business Council approved a revision to Title 6, The Shawnee Tribe Elections Act. This amendment of…
MORRIS BLUEJACKET HOMETOWN: BLUEJACKET, OK CURRENT CITY: BLUEJACKET, OK OCCUPATION: RETIRED Born in Vinita raised in BlueJacket. Graduate of BlueJacket High School. I am married to Pattie (McLain) BlueJacket for 46 years. We have One son Tab & wife Tiffany, 5 Grandchildren. I have worked in state & county government for the past 34 years, […]
HEIDI BIGKNIFE RANKIN HOMETOWN: DENVER, CO CURRENT CITY: TULSA, OK OCCUPATION: ARTIST Hatito or hello friends and fellow citizens, I am Heidi BigKnife. My Shawnee roots stretch from Vinita, Oklahoma to our tribal lands in Kansas and Ohio. I am an artist and live and work in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Most of my art practice is […]
BEN BARNES (Incumbent) HOMETOWN: MIAMI, OK CURRENT CITY: MIAMI, OK OCCUPATION: CHIEF OF THE SHAWNEE TRIBE For over 25 years, I have served in leadership roles in Indian Country, professionally at director-level positions in Tribal Gaming. Since 2008, it has been a true honor and privilege to work for my own community, working to bring […]
Shawnee Tribe Behavioral and Mental Health invites you to join an upcoming trauma support group centered around the book The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.