Vinyard Indian Settlement is an unrecognized group and nonprofit organization of people who claim to have Shawnee ancestry. The organization is based in Herod, Illinois.[1]
| Named after | Vinyard family,[2] American Indians |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2002 (nonprofit)[1] |
| Type | nonprofit organization,[1] unrecognized cultural heritage group |
| EIN 37-1387373[1] | |
| Purpose | Cultural, Ethnic Awareness (A23)[1] |
| Location | |
Official language | English |
Principal officer | Christine Wagner[1] |
Origin
editThe poet Barney Bush (1944–2021), who claimed to be of Shawnee and Cayuga ancestry, was a major organizer for this group.[3] He purchased a trailer that served as the group's headquarters and organized a council.[4] Bush said that about 1810 Shawnee refugees fled a militia in Ohio and hid out near Karbers Ridge, Illinois, where the German/Irish-American Vinyard family allowed them to settle on their land.[5] Bush said they assimilated into the local communities.[6] Other locals did not collaborate this story, and genealogists had "open objections to any connection with the Shawnee."[6]
Nonprofit organization
editIn 2002, the group formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Herod, Illinois. Christine Wagner is their principal officer.[1] In 2011, their revenue was $12,637 and their expenses were $22,254.[1]
In 2019, Mark Denzer served as executive director of the organization.[7]
Land
editThe group owns a 24-acre parcel of land outside of Herod, Illinois, and hope to purchase more surrounding land.[8]
Status
editThe Vinyard Indian Settlement is not federally recognized or state-recognized as a Native American tribe.[8] Illinois has no state-recognized tribes.[8]
In 2015, the Illinois state house of representatives passed HB 3127, Vinyard Indian Settlement of Shawnee Indians Recognition Act, which would have established them as the first state-recognized tribe in Illinois. However, upon hearing testimony from Shawnee tribes, the state senate did not vote on the bill.[8][9] Leaders from the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and Shawnee Tribe all traveled to Illinois to testify against the recognition of the Vinyard Indian Settlement.[10]
Activities
editThe organization hosts Reconnection Days, an annual gathering in September,[8] begun in 2010.[11] They hold two other annual public festivals.[8]
Ben Barnes, chief of the federally recognized Shawnee Tribe, based in Miami, Oklahoma, stated of Barney Bush and the Vinyard Indian Settlement: "These [ceremonial] activities he presents for people are minstrel shows. When they do those pantomimes, that is offensive and racist."[8]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Vinyard Indian Settlement". GuideStar. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Bigger, Reckoning at Eagle Creek, 64.
- ^ "Barney Bush". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Bigger, Reckoning at Eagle Creek, 63.
- ^ Bigger, Reckoning at Eagle Creek, 43–44.
- ^ a b Bigger, Reckoning at Eagle Creek, 44.
- ^ Mathis, Christi (30 October 2019). "SIU is recognizing November as Native American Heritage Month". Southern Illinois University News. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Ryan (November 22, 2017). "Are the Vinyard Indians the Rachel Dolezal of native tribes?". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Bill Status of HB3716". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Pember, Mary Annette (24 June 2015). "Indian Country All Too Familiar With Rachel Dolezals of the World". Tulalip News. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Vinyard Indian Settlement celebrates Reconnection Days". Harrisburg Register. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
References
edit- Biggers, Jeff (2010). Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland. New York: Nation Books. ISBN 9781568586182.