Big Bear's Den 
Image of Shawnee Warrior from Osprey Men-At-Arms "American Woodland Indians" By M.G. Johnson Color Plates by R.Hook
How To
Portray An Indian
of the
Eastern Woodlands
-I-
"Shawnee" by David Wright
@ www.davidwrightart.com
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WISDOM of the ELDERS 
WARRIORS of the RAINBOW ALL ABOUT THE SHAWNEE 
TURTLE ISLAND SPIRTUAL COUNSELING
REENACTING MADE SIMPLE PORTRAYING INDIANS THE CAPTIVE CORPS
SHAWNEE DICTIONARY WIKTIONARY WIKIPEDIA SHAWNEE LINKS
**********for a complete listing of all pages & connections to them, click SITEMAP**********
Being Indian today has become very popular. For more thoughts on this subject CLICK HERE.
Their are many, but most definitely not all, in the Native community that find REENACTING "Indians" to be offensive. 
Their are many that even find the use of the term "Indian" offensive. While I don't agree with their point of view,
on an intellectual level, I can understand it. Like the object of many impersonators, I feel that impersonation is
the highest form of flattery if that impersonation is done well .
If you have read the Interesting Facts on the Home page, you already know my feelings on the term "Indian." In the course of your studies,portrayals, participation in dance or Scout ceremonies, should you encounter individuals that are offended by your actions, please do not argue with them!
Politely state that it is not your intention to offend anyone and remove yourself from the situation.
Everyone is claiming some connection to an Indian in their ancestry,
yet very few understand what it means to be Indian.
Being Indian and Portraying an Indian are two very different things.
Portraying Indians is what I am addressing here.
Hopefully, if you’ve gotten to this page, you've already read my Reenacting Made Simple page, especially if you are planning on doing Indian reenacting. (If you haven’t, please do so before making any decisions.)
If you are seriously considering Indian reenacting, congrats. You are quite possibly taking on the most difficult hobby imaginable (& may want to have your head examined).
Doing 18th Century Indian interpretations will, require shaving your head oddly, shaving your body, being willing to run around in very little clothing, piercing your ears (maybe your nose) and staining your body with skin darkening pigments and paint, all for a hobby that you will probably participate in no more than 20 - 30 days per year. Particularly when portraying an Indian or any other minority you must look the part. If you have fair skin and light hair, do not try to pass yourself off as 100% Indian. Learn at least some of the language of the tribe you wish to represent. Again, it is a sign of respect as well as adding authenticity to your portrayal. This accuracy of look must extend to all aspects of your portrayal. Do the research. Find out how people dressed. Either purchase or produce everything you use in your portrayal with complete accuracy in materials and construction. If wanting to do Indian or anything else with THE CAPTIVE CORPS, Contact me before purchasing or making any clothing or accroutrements.
Especially when doing an Indian interpretation, by the early 19th Century many styles of hair and clothing were changing radically and rapidly. When doing your research be very sure of the time you are portraying versus the time you are researching. From the 16th to the 19th Centuries hair styles go from heavily shaved heads to no shaving at all. Clothing goes from near naked in the south to all feathers, hide, and fur as you move north to totally manufactured clothing in the east near white society.
As to looking the part, one of the most important visible signs of ethnicity is skin tone. Not all Indians were real dark skinned. While the Indians were often called "Red Men" they were also described by Europeans as yellow or well tanned. Some of the Southeastern tribes are even shown in some period paintings of the 17th Century and earlier as very pale. The point is, do your research and know what you should look like. If you can't make your skin look right, don't claim a pure ancestry. Almost from 1492 on, Whites and, a little later, Africans intermarried with the natives and produced multi-racial offspring.
One other very visible sign of ethnic and tribal affiliation is hair. I have never found a reference to any colors of hair other than medium brown (and very little of that), to very dark brown or black. Of course the one big exception is "old" people with gray or white hair. Remember, in the 18th century old could mean anybody over forty. If you've passed that age and still want to run around in the woods playing warrior, you should be able to pass yourself off as being much younger. There were older warriors, but they were rare. Again do the research and be willing to dye your hair to an appropriate color. Also part of the hair equation is style. Hair styles did vary from tribe to tribe and from individual to individual, but not substantially. The most common among the Eastern Woodland Tribes was a shaved head except for a knot of hair on the top of the head or to the back of the crown which was cut just long enough to secure a roach or a few feathers. Again, older individuals may have deviated from the norm, not shaving and wearing their hair longer. Again, do the research and adapt or come up with a likely story for you being the exception.
By the early 19th century many styles of hair and clothing were changing radically and rapidly. When doing your research be very sure of the time you are portraying versus the time you are researching. From the 16th to the 19th Centuries hair styles go from heavily shaved heads to no shaving at all. Clothing goes from near naked in the south and all feathers, hide, and fur as you move north to totally manufactured clothing, especially in the east near white society.
Your accoutrements would have changed over time as well. In the 16th Century bow and arrows, stone and wood clubs, flint knives, and the like would be abundant. By the mid 17th Century metal blades and even a few firearms could be found in any tribe close to white society. By the time of the American Revolution, virtually every tribe east of the Mississippi and more than a few to the west had just about anything that could be found in the rural communities of the White Man. The big difference comes in how the item is used. Indians tended to use an item in whatever form it was received. They would use a blanket as a cape with the only change to it in the decorations they put on it. They had no use for coins at first so they made jewelry of them. They were very fond of the white mans clothing but only their shirts and westkits (vests). Not until the missionaries began converting them did they give up their breechclouts and leggings.
Interesting Fact - When George Washington took command of the Virginia Militia during the French and Indian War and the Continental Army during the Revolution he gave orders that the frontier troops "should quit the practice of going about naked, give up the Indian practice of covering themselves, and wear proper breeches." Most troops on the frontier adopted the breechclout and leggings.
If you are up for the commitment and to the challenge, I can think of no Indian reenactment group ( or any other reenactment group for that matter) that would turn you away. You will probably find them bugging the heck out of you to give you more help and lend you more pieces for your kit than you will ever be able to use.
As to picking your group, go back to my reenacting page. Once the group has been picked, I will assume that the era, tribe, location and other such issues have already been addressed. “So what’s next?” you ask. How about your character, as in the part you’ll play, what, in this hobby, is generally called your persona. I’ll examine all this from the idea that it is THE CAPTIVE CORPS you intend to join.
Just a few of the questions that will have to be answered include:
YOUR NAME, AGE,
ETHNICITY, SEX,
SOCIAL STATUS, BELIEFS,
LANGUAGE, WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE GROUP,
WHAT DID YOU DO PRIOR.
If not Indian
ARE YOU A CAPTIVE, AN ADOPTEE,
A TRADER doing business with the group?
The core of THE CORPS is Shawnee. Are you a member of that tribe or of some other tribe that has been pushed off your lands?
You’re age and in many instances, your ethnicity and sex have been determined by your birth. Don’t try to pass yourself off as much older or younger than you are in reality. Most people can’t and most won’t believe it anyway. Racially, it is hard for many people to hide their ethnic origins. Don’t claim to be something you’re not unless you can hide what you are very effectively. Some women can pass themselves off as men. It is preferred that if your body type doesn’t make that believable, don’t try. Also, if your voice gives you away as female, keep your mouth shut. Men, if you look like men and speak like men, be men!
If not Shawnee (Shaawanooki), which tribe do you wish to represent. There are numerous to choose from just within the Eastern Woodland region. A few to choose from include the Abenaki (known to themselves as Alnanbal), Cherokee (Tsalagi), Delaware (Lenapi), Huron (Wendat), Iroquois (Haudenosaunee), Kickapoo, Miami (Twatwa), Ottawa (Odawa), Potawatomi (Nishnabek), Sauk and Fox (Sauk & Mesquakie) and Winnebago (Hochungra). Each of these links take you to First Nations Histories. If you click on the underlined name of each tribe, you will be connected to further information on each tribe. As you will quickly see, there are many more tribes on their list than on mine. This is only an introduction.
We request that much of your persona be discussed with the group or at least with the group coordinator. Have a good idea of what you would like to do and be able to defend it. If at all possible, you are going to get to do what you want, however, we can’t use more than one or two Traders with the Corps at a time.
My own ancestry includes Shawnee, Cherokee, Scots, Irish, Scots-Irish, English, Welsh, French, German, and Dutch (& that's only what I'm sure of). Shawnee (3/16) and
Cherokee (1/16) make up 1/4 of my ancestry and the rest is evenly spread over the other origins, making me more Shawnee than anything else. Even with my abundance of Indian ancestors I still have trouble knowing what 'being Indian' is all about. I grew up in the white world; free from the prejudices and intolerance imposed on people whose ethnicity showed more clearly. In spite of that, I have learned first hand from Indian people all over the country. From Virginia to Arizona and Canada to Mexico, I have traveled, participated in the life and ceremony and listened to the stories of the people. I have read accounts of both the people of the past and present and have come to know my ancestors through their words, their deeds and how others perceived them. To portray an Indian of the 18th or early 19th Century it is important to understand their way of thinking. The same is true to understand Indian dance and ceremony for Scouting or any other purpose. Within this website I will try to introduce a few concepts to bring about some understanding. If there is any one thing I have learned in over half a century of living around the
world, it’s that people are people. All people, everywhere and (I can only surmise) in every time, are motivated by the same things; food, shelter, clothing, health, pleasure, pain, the need to create and the need to connect with a higher power. I cannot stress anything more than the last when speaking of the traditional American Indian. I have always been struck by the inherent spirituality of tribal life. Whether American Indian, Australian Aborigines or African Bushmen, tribal people seem to be drawn closer to their environment, families (& extended families), communities and God. In reading the words of Indian leaders throughout history, it is impossible to separate their view of the world, and their place in it, without understanding their relationship with the creator of it. If you wish to think and act like an Indian, this is where you must begin and end.Every action and reaction, every hunt and battle becomes a spiritual act. Playing ball games, cooking a meal, educating children, or any other act in life, is an extension of your spiritual life. The Earth is your Mother. In some cultures, God is Grandfather or Grandmother. In those cultures all elders are referred to as Grandfather or Grandmother. Respect and reverence for both the physical world and the spiritual world are not just concepts but are absolutes.
"When dew is on the grass in the morning, it will not rain during the day; when it is not there after darkness has fallen, it will rain before morning. When birds fly low and silently, a bad storm is coming, and when the pigeon sits close to the trunk of the sapling during daytime, a great wind will soon blow. When the leaves of the maples turn over to show their underside, thunder and lightning will soon come. If the blackbirds flock together and start to fly south when summer is still with us, there will be much snow during the winter. When the swamp muskrat builds a low house of reeds and mud, the winter will be mild, but the larger and higher the house he builds, the worse the winter will be; and when he builds no house at all, but instead burrows beneath the ground, prepare for severe cold, for the waters of swamps and ponds and smaller streams will freeze to the bottom and even the great Spaylaywitheepi (Ohio River in Shawnee) will freeze so that a horse may walk upon it." These are only a few of the truths you would have known at a very early age. You would grow up without a harsh word having ever been spoken to you. If you did something to disappoint a grown up you would most likely hear "How sad I am to know I have not taught my child better". If a woman needed wood for the fire she may say, "I wonder who has raised a child that would help a woman get fire wood?" and you would see children tripping over themselves to be the first ones back with an arm load of dried sticks.
Any kind of noise or a wrong movement could spoil a hunt or alert an enemy. Babies were fed before they began to cry for food. If they did begin to cry, they were picked up and cradled to make them stop. Infants were strapped to a cradle board from the age of one month until they could sit up by themselves, a custom that many tribes believed would make the child grow straight, strong and patient and they were bathed daily in cold water to make them hardy.
Older children learned by doing, with fathers, uncles or grandfathers instructing the boys and mothers, aunts or grandmothers instructing the girls. Girls and boys were rarely allowed to play together, but both played games to develop strength, skill, and resourcefulness. Children wrestled, fished, hunted, ran races, and played games similar to marbles and lacrosse. When boys were about nine or ten they began a special program of training to increase endurance and self-control. In some tribes, the boys would take early morning dips in the cold water of a pond or lake, breaking through the ice if necessary. As a boy entered manhood he would go out into nature to fast and seek a spirit guide what most people know as the Vision Quest. The spirit guide would usually come to the seeker in the form of an animal or bird and would give the seeker some kind of instruction that would protect them and help them in life.
A tribal elder of the Tohono O'odham (Papago) once told me "being Indian is not a condition of birth, but a state of mind." During the earliest periods of Indian-White contact it was not unusual for Whites. and especially Blacks, to be adopted into a tribe. Sometimes this would be the result of captivity. Sometimes it was the desire of the adoptee. Even among the captive adoptees, when given the opportunity to return to white society, many did not wish it. Both men and women stayed with their adopted families by choice because they had found a way of life that appealed to them. For those of you that adopt Indian customs as ritual, like Powwow or Order of the Arrow, please do 
so with understanding and reverence. If you are portraying an Indian of the past in an HISTORIC REENACTMENT do so with the same understanding, reverence and ACCURACY.
(There are many more Links on my LINKS page)
OYATE A Beginners Guide to
This site deals EASTERN WOODLAND
with modern issues- INDIAN REENACTING
has an excellent reading
and what not to read list
NATIVE LANGUAGES OF THE AMERICAS ALGONQUIAN NATION
on facebook
These are some trully knowledgeable people
that will probably be able to provide you with
more info than you will ever use.
If you wish to be a Native dancer, go to a Powwow. Go to many Powwows. For the person wanting to reenact, remember that a powwow is a modern event and has little to do with the 18th century. It does, however, have much to do with being Indian. A tremendous amount of knowledge can be gained if you obey some basic Powwow ETIQUETTE and ask lots of questions. The admonitions in the previous paragraph apply doubly at Powwows. Pay extremely close attention to people and what they say to you. Be very respectful of everyone, especially the elders. Remember that in spite of what you may have been taught, there IS such things as DUMB QUESTIONS. If you ask a question the wrong way, you could make someone very angry or at the very least, leave them with hurt feelings. POWOW POWER website also has a listing of many powwows by state.
Both Powwows and reenactments can be an excellent source of materials for your clothing. Many vendors come to the larger ones. Remember to be sure of what you are getting. For the serious reenacter PLASTIC BEADS ARE UNACCEPTABLE!
Just one more note on Powwows and etiquette. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police produced an excellent web page on the subject of "Native Spirituality" and how to deal with the special procedures involved in police work with the traditional community. It works just as well for anybody woking with the traditional community. Go to the link mentioned and read thoroughly. It is an excellent resource.
Interesting Fact- Until very recently in history it was common to refer to the Original People of the Americas as Savages. Let's examine this word.
From "Word Origins - An Exploration and History of Words and Language" Walter Funk, Random House (c) 1950.
"We move from the Latin Silva, "forest," and silvaticus, also salvaticus, "(man) of the forest," through the Old French sauvage to our word savage. The dwellers in towns looked upon the "men of the forest" as wild men and so the word savage gradually took on its present day meanings of brutality and cruelty."
Personally, if people want to call me a "man of the woods," I would take that as a great compliment.
If you are looking for a reenacting unit to join, consider
A unit of Eastern Woodland Indians, their Captives and Runaways, Adoptees and Slaves.
HOME ABOUT ME LINKS RECOMMENDED READING BEARTRACKS BLOG EMAIL BEST GUEST COMMENTS
WISDOM of the ELDERS WARRIORS of the RAINBOW ALL ABOUT THE SHAWNEE TURTLE ISLAND SPIRTUAL COUNSELING
REENACTING MADE SIMPLE PORTRAYING INDIANS THE CAPTIVE CORPS
SHAWNEE DICTIONARY WIKTIONARY WIKIPEDIA SHAWNEE LINKS
**********for a complete listing of all pages & connections to them, click SITEMAP**********
This is a wholesale company that does carry items that are adaptable to the subjects of this website paricularly among their blanket and rug stocks. They carry many items that can be used for reenacting in later periods and they do pay The Den a commission on all purchases made through this link.
Help The Den. Buy from SADDLEBLANKET.COM also known as El Paso Saddleblanket.
If for any reason the email links throughout this site do not work you may reach me by email at 
shemaqua@bigbearsden.org,
snail mail me @
Shemaqua
127 - A King Henry Way
Williamsburg, VA
23188-1903
call me at 757.253.6999
or send up a smoke signal, use a drum, or communicate telepathically.
(I wouldn't count on those last three.)
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