Mekoche

Catecahassa, Mekoche Shawnee head civil chief in the Ohio Country

Mekoche (or Mequachake, Shawnee: mecoce) was the name of one of the five divisions (or bands) of the Shawnee, a Native American people, during the 18th century. The other four divisions were the Chalahgawtha, Kispoko, Pekowi, and Hathawekela. (All five division names have been spelled in a great variety of ways.) Together these divisions formed the loose confederacy that was the Shawnee tribe.

Traditionally, Shawnee healers came from the Mekoche patrilineal division.^[1]

The Lower Eastern Ohio Mekoce Shawnee is an unrecognized tribe in Southern Ohio and West Virginia. The tribe, which filed a Letter of Intent to Petition on 3/5/2001, founded The Inter Tribal Learning Circle in 1991, which holds cultural events at Fort Ancient in Lebanon, Ohio.^[2][3][4]

Macochee Creek, a small stream that meets the Mad River at West Liberty, has its headwaters located around Pickrelltown, Ohio.^[5]

Pigeon Town, a town of the Shawnee Mekoche division, was located on Mad River, 3 miles northwest of West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio.^[6]

Notable Mekoche

• Black Hoof
• Chief Russell "Logan" Sharp (1953-2010), a Lower Eastern Ohio Mekoce Shawnee from Wilmington, Ohio conducted a Peace Tree Ceremony at West Virginia University in 2009, and lectured on “The Struggle of Non-federally Recognized Natives.”^[7][8]

References

1. John E. Kleber (18 May 1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. p. 815. ISBN 978-0-8131-2883-2. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
2. "Ohio Indian Tribes". AAANativeArts.com. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
3. "Lower Eastern Ohio Mekoce Shawnee in Wilmington, Ohio (OH)". faqs.org, Tax-Exempt Organizations. 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
4. "The Inter Tribal Learning Circle". Fort Ancient. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
5. DeLorme. Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. 7th ed. Yarmouth: DeLorme, 2004, p. 56. ISBN 0-89933-281-1.
6. "Shawnee Indian Tribe History". Access Genealogy. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
7. "Native American Peace Tree Ceremony guest is former Shawnee Chief". Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. West Virginia University. 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
8. "Russell "Logan" Sharp". Wilmington News Journal. Wilmington, Ohio. 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2013-02-18.