More than 300 people attended the Great Council State Park Heritage Festival on Saturday, June 6, including leaders and citizens of historic Ohio tribes who gathered to share their heritage with Ohioans.
It's been two years since the opening of Great Council State Park in Xenia — the only state park in Ohio dedicated to Ohio's native peoples. It was built in consultation with the three federally recognized Shawnee tribal nations: Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and the Shawnee Tribe.
Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Glenna Wallace opened the festival with remarks. Wallace talked about her early life, which was removed from Eastern Shawnee tribal members. She didn’t begin actively working in her tribe until her 40s. In sharing this, she wanted to dispel preconceptions of what a chief’s life looks like.
“I was never raised in a tribal atmosphere whatsoever. I do have the traditional knowledge, I may have it now, but I certainly did not in the beginning,” she said.
Now, at 87, she’s spent nearly two decades dedicated to rekindling connections to Ohio, such as coordinating regular trips for Eastern Shawnee citizens to visit their homelands, fostering state-tribal relations among their governments, and regularly speaking at events statewide to invigorate interest in Shawnee history and culture.
The festival was one of several events the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is holding this year for America 250, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Ohio wasn’t part of the United States at that time; Native American tribes like the Shawnee, Seneca and Wyandot actively lived, hunted and traded in the region.
When the Indian Removal Act was being considered in the 19th century, Wallace said the majority of Ohio congressmen opposed it. So she’s not coming to criticize.
“I am an old woman, no doubt about it. But I was not here then. And you weren’t either,” Wallace said. “But I do say, I am here today, and you are here today. And we do have some responsibility with our governments and what happens.”
Carol Butler, historic preservation director for the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, also presented at the event.
Since she started that role in late 2019, Butler said she’s spoken with Ohio communities in similar settings twice.
“One of the big things I try to portray to them is that we're not gone. We weren't swallowed by history. We're still thriving in our environment and still carrying on our traditions and cultures,” Butler said.
But it’s not easy to make the time; through her work, she also consults with agencies and museums in over 20 states for federal mandates such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the National Historic Preservation Act.
But it’s something she hopes to do more in the future.
“Whether it is working with schools, colleges, land acknowledgments across the board. But yes, basically, I would love to be able to teach more about who we are as people and get it out there,” she said.
