HAMILTON -- In just a few carefully chosen hand movements Monday, Neeake welcomed the public to his telling of the history of the Shawnee Nation at Lane Public Library's Lindenwald branch.
Shawnee storyteller Neeake, whose English name is Fred Shaw, began simply: "I'll teach you how to talk. . . . In a nation of 600 languages of a traveling people, you learned to use the hands." He told of the significance of a Shawnee's name in his identity, his history and heritage.
Mr. Shaw explained that children are not considered born until they first see the sun after birth. Names are not given for 10 days. "Our names -- we do know what they mean," said Mr. Shaw, who is a United Methodist minister in Milford. "They are life experiences." His name, which means "he who flies with geese," was given to him by his grandfather. During the waiting period, geese had flown overhead each day making a noise and the infant responded. It wasn't until he was in the second grade that Mr. Shaw was told by his teacher -- who later became his mother-in-law -- that he was a Native American.
Mr. Shaw said his people were farmers in Central America before migrating to the United States, first to Florida and then moving northward. Because the Shawnees did not sign any peace treaties, they are not recognized by the federal government and not eligible for Bureau of Indian Affairs monies.
"Until 1934, a man could be put in prison if he taught his language to his son," Mr. Shaw said.
Through his telling of history, Mr. Shaw recounted the compromises Native Americans made to blend in.
For example, his tribe originally planted corn, beans and squash together in a circle.
But to better hide their ancestry, they learned to farm in rows with each plot a separate crop.
"The U.S. government and Hollywood all want us to look alike, but we don't. We are a people of two worlds," Mr. Shaw said.
"We are a people who can move quietly through the woods but can maneuver the orange barrels."
