The Long Way Home is located in Radford, VA. It is the story of Mary Draper Ingles who was captured by the Shawnee indians in 1755. The drama is really about her brave return back to her family. I have been involved in the show since 1990. During that time I have portrayed many characters, but the roles I learned the most from have been the Shawnee Chiefs!!!
The Shawnee considered the land free to be used by anyone who needed it, but the land was a gift and could not be owned.
The Shawnee people organized their tribes into bands:
War Chief - Held a lot of power because of the nature of their decisions. Peace Chief - Excercised less authority on their own because most decisions were made in tribal councils by group consensus.The Shawnee were a very collective group of people in the way they lived their lives. Each person was considered a gift and each person was valued. The elders were the teachers of the children. The young ones were taught to hunt and how to live on and respect the land from the grandfathers and the grandmothers. Women were highly respected among the Shawnee. The women were leaders and chiefs who made vital decisions for the well being of all the people. The Shawnee believed in making retribution to those who you had done wrong, but you had to pay double the amount for any transgression done against a woman because women were valued twice as much as a man. This is because women posses the ability to bring forth life.
Many whites were adopted into families; one was the great
Chief Blue
Jacket.
I would like to invite you to come see the "LONG WAY HOME"
and learn more about Mary Draper Ingles and the
"True South Wind People" the Shawnee.
This research was done from:
THE SHAWNEE by Jerry E. Clark
and
SHAWNESE TRADITIONS : C.C. Trowbridges account.
For more infomation about Native Americans check out:
