Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians represent Southeastern Kentucky's early multiracial settlers, of Native American heritage, who migrated to the central Appalachian region in the late 18th to mid 19th centuries [1]. The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians are the only Tribal entity in the Commonwealth of Kentucky's history to have been recognized and honored by a body of the Kentucky General Assembly. In 2009, and confirmed in 2010, the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians were recognized by the State House of the Kentucky General Assembly recognizing their historical and cultural claims. [2][3] [4]
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In the late 18th to mid 19th centuries many multiracial families, of Native American, European and African American heritage, migrated to extreme Southeastern Kentucky, Southwestern Virgina and Northeastern Tennessee. [5]. The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians consist of the descendants from these families of Native American heritage located mainly in Harlan, Bell, Clay, Letcher, Leslie, Perry and Whitley Counties in Kentucky. [6]. Many of these families, which consisted of a large portion of the early population, had self-identified as Melungeon or Black Irish due to the extreme prejudice toward Native Americans in 19th century Kentucky. Since the advent of internet genealogy and DNA studies many of these families have discovered their Native American heritage. With the explosion in internet genealogical research over the last decade the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians have complied a comprehensive genealogical database called the Kentucky Native American Databank [7].
Members of the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians drafted, and lobbied for, local ordinances that prohibits digging, or artifact hunting, on county and city lands. One such ordinance was passed by the Harlan County, Kentucky fiscal court in 2006. This is the only ordinance of it's kind in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and has led to the decrease in illegal artifact hunting activities. Also, the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians were instrumental in the creation of the Harlan County Native American Site Protection Office in which the Tribe's Executive Tribal Manager was named Harlan County Native American Site Protection Officer [8] [9]. In 2009, and in 2010, the State House of the Kentucky General Assembly recognized and confirmed the historical claims of the Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians by passing, unopposed, House Joint Resolutions 15 or HJR-15 in 2009 and HJR-16 in 2010. [10] [11]. The Ridgetop Shawnee also actively work with state, city and county officials with regard to protecting Native American cultural resources in Eastern Kentucky [12]. The Ridgetop Shawnee Tribe of Indians are listed as a State Recognized Tribe [13].