From us, funds are distributed evenly among the three Shawnee Tribes (The Shawnee, The Absentee Shawnee, and The Eastern Shawnee).
From there, we’re thrilled that our funds contribute to buying back ancestral land, language and cultural programs for Shawnee youth, culturally appropriate burial of remains, and the other needs and programs of the Shawnee people. That said, displaced tribes weren’t given the opportunity to ask European colonists what they’d do with their stolen land. As such, we don’t require an explanation or report from the Shawnee on how the funds are used.

While all three Federally recognized Shawnee tribes trace their ancestry and lineage to this area-colonization, reservations, treaties, and migration contributed to separation in the last 400 years.
Because of this separation, the tribes were granted recognition separately and at different times. All three operate with different governance structures and members.

It’s true that many tribes and nations have called this land home over the past thousands of years. We used three criteria when narrowing the list of potential benefactors for the SHF:

• Who do we understand to be the most recently displaced? Whose displacement was most closely tied to European colonization of North America?

• Whose land was this area most central to? Meaning, while there’s evidence and claims that the Louisville area was on the fringe or edge of other tribal areas- it was quite central to the Shawnee geography.

• What do the most recent archaeological findings tell us?

With all this said- we’re very open to new information and new perspectives. If you have something to share or have further questions about these decisions, please reach out!

We understand the harms of racial and Indigenous injustice to be the responsibility of the perpetrators, not the victims. As such, locally this effort is led by non-native people.

To ensure accountability, right relationship, and proper representation we are governed by a majority Native board of directors. Check out the “People” section of the website to learn a bit more about them!

We’d love your help and we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at info@shawneehonorfund.org or fill out the form on our FAQ page. Your message will find us quickly there!

The answer is… yes. The colonial practices that displaced and killed Indigenous people was justified with the same mindset that established the trans-Atlantic slave trade and resulting chattel slavery. The foundation of the newly minted US treasury was enriched by the resale of stolen and swindled land and free labor from slavery.

We believe in Reparations to Black and Brown people and hope you do too. If you’re looking for a way to support local, Black-led work and/ or Black Reparations we highly recommend looking into:

BLACK

Russel Place of Promise

Rubbertown Emergency Action

West End Women’s Collaborative

You may still be on Shawnee land as it spread far from what’s currently called Louisville. Shoot us an email if you’re curious or dig in to do your own research! You may live on a different nation or tribe’s land that has their own honor fund or voluntary land tax.

Below are links to some Indigenous Honor & Land Taxes across the U.S. that we are aware of; we continue to educate ourselves about emerging opportunities to pay these taxes.

If you still can’t find the right match- think about starting your own! Reach out to us and learn about how we got started. We may be able to help you in your process.