Friday, April 1, 2011

Shawnee Prophet

Shawnee Prophet
Am I part Indian?  Do I qualify as a tribal member, so I can receive a share of my local Casino profits?  Many people have these questions.  We decedents of June Evans Overhiser had always believed we were part Native American.  The Evans-Indian link has been researched by Blanche Evans Wilkinson and others.

Here is what we currently know.  Chief Tecumseh's brother Tensquatawa (1775-1836) was a Shawnee warrior and prophet.  Google him for details.  He had three wives and 20 children.  Priscilla Perkins and Tensquatawa had a child, Marsha Bates (1/2 Native Am).  Marsha had a daughter Juliette Cummings (1849-1925) (1/4thNA).  Juliette and William Misel had a daughter Dora Ida Misel (1870-1961) (1/8thNA).  Dora and Adelbert King had a daughter Pearl Mae King (1888-1971) (1/16thNA).  Pearl and Homer Evans had a daughter June Pearl Evans (1917-1997) (1/32thNA).  June and Albert Overhiser had three sons (1/64thNA).  These son's children would be 1/128th NA and the son's grand children would be 1/256th (0.39%) Native American from the Tensquatawa line.  Conclusion: us living descendants of Tensquatawa should not pursue Casino profit sharing unless you can prove more NA blood from other lines.

If you are a descendant of this line, check yourself for Native American characteristics.  The photos in this blog show the prophet, Dora, Pearl and June.  Do you see Indian facial features?  Below is more information to help you determine if you have Native American features.  Happy hunting.

The Native Americans originally came to North America by way of the Bering Strait land bridge that formed during the last ice age. These people were from Eastern Asia and Siberia and display Asian physical features.  Most have very dark brown or black shiny hair and an olive or darker skin tone with yellow undertones.  People of Asian decent like the Native Americans have projected cheek bones. So usually their cheek bones tend to be very high and quite pronounced, giving them a wide looking face. They also have a wide, almost half-circle shaped palate, which lends to the physical feature of very broad straight teeth, whereas Caucasians have narrower, more crowded teeth in general. Most have a fold of skin near the eyes by the bridge of the nose. This is what gives Asians and Native Americans the look of slanted, narrow, or small eyes, as well as a broader, flatter nose bridge.  Not all Native Americans will display these characteristics, but most do.  North American Indians comparatively look like the Inuit or Eskimos, while South American Indians may appear more Hispanic.

For more information about Native Genealogy see this Laurie Beth Duffy article   http://imblackeagle.tripod.com/looks1.htm

At the Farm April 1, 2011
Sixteen year old Wes Leonard, a Fennville basketball player, died after scoring the winning basket in the last game of a perfect season.  His death has impacted the students and the whole community.  Aaron is best friends with Wes's younger brother.  Just another reminder that life is fragile and should be lived and cherished while we are here.  There will be time to rest when life is done.

The next big visible event at the farm will be blossom time.  Keep tract of the blooming of your trees and do a drive by the farm.  Cherry blossoms are blooming in DC and Lucy and Martin are there taking it all in.  On the 27th of March 1912, President Taft's wife and the wife of the ambassador from Japan planted the first of Washington D.C.'s cherry trees.