HJ0112 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0112 LRB101 11800 MST 58587 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois counts within its extraordinary history the American Indians, including the Vinyard Indian Settlement of Shawnee Indians (Vinyard Indian Settlement), who inhabited the lands that would become Illinois since time immemorial; and

WHEREAS, The Vinyard Indian Settlement, formerly known as part of Chief Sedowii's (Setteedown) Shawnees, is a political successor to the signatories of treaties between colonial and tribal entities under which large areas of land in the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were ceded to the United States; and

WHEREAS, The members of the Vinyard Indian Settlement continue to live in the State of Illinois, as their ancestors have since time immemorial, before colonial records were kept and after the removal of many tribal members to the Oklahoma Indian Territory; and

WHEREAS, The Vinyard Indian Settlement has continued to exist as a separate and distinct community as recorded in oral history and in Colonel William M. Cockrum's 1907 "Pioneer History of Indiana", in which he records the Wabash and Ohio River Shawnee community areas near Shawneetown 1807-1811; and

WHEREAS, Ancestral homelands of the Vinyard Indian Settlement significantly stretch from Saline Landing on the Ohio River south to Cave-In-Rock, including the bluff areas along the Ohio River and in a line northwest to the Eagle Mountains, including the Garden of the Gods; and

WHEREAS, Many of our rivers, streams, forests, trails, islands, towns, and landmarks bear important cultural ties to the Shawnee people; and

WHEREAS, The Vinyard Indian Settlement members currently reside in Hardin, Gallatin, Saline, White, and Pope Counties and hold numerous cultural ceremonies throughout the year; and

WHEREAS, The Shawnee people have, through their cultural heritage, historical influence, and participation in public life, helped to make the State of Illinois the great state that it is today and have contributed to the prosperity and freedom of our country; and

WHEREAS, Formal recognition will support the Vinyard Indian Settlement's efforts to provide for the well-being of its members and the surrounding communities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize the Vinyard Indian Settlement of Shawnee Indians as an Indian tribe; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Vinyard Indian Settlement of Shawnee Indians and its members be accorded all the rights and privileges that come with being recognized as an Indian tribe; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this resolution should not be interpreted as creating any specific rights to land, entitlements, or any special privileges related to gaming.