Source:Schutz, Noel. Shawnee Heritage

Synopsis

This series of books contains thousands of names of historical Shawnee figures both great and small, providing information on their lineages, clans, political divisions, treaties signed and battles fought. The entries are the result of many years of painstaking research in an area where birth, marriage and death certificates, wills and such are seldom available. An Appendix by Noel Schutz, a student of the eminent Shawnee linguist the late Charles F. Voegelin, provides a description of the Shawnee naming system and social organization (clans, phratries and divisions). In addition, endnotes offer an analysis of the meaning and clan affiliations of many Shawnee names. This work is a valuable resource for scholars and laymen alike. It is a must for those who have Native American roots it provides genealogical information on ancestors and their descendants. Second Edition.^[1]

Reviews

"There are enough demonstrably fictitious claims in this book to bring into question the accuracy of any and all of the data. It is definitely not a scholarly work, and doesn't even qualify as a marginally accurate reference for any of the lines I’m familiar with. I can't imagine why anyone who really cared about Shawnee heritage would publish a book that would mislead sincere researchers who want to know the truth about their heritage." ^[2]

"He includes fictional characters as though they were real (specifically Corn Blossom -- no Indian would name a child THAT -- as CORN HAS NO BLOSSOMS!), and has many well known Cherokees listed, whom he calls Shawnee. Some of his genealogies are CLEARLY wrong! I noticed MANY MANY errors. He speaks of fictional events in S Kentucky as tho they are real (specifically the Yahoo Falls massacre -- it never happened!), says Black Fox and Doublehead died in Kentucky when Black Fox died in North Alabama and Doublehed died in NE Georgia -- and were very well documented as such at the times of their deaths. Jesse Brock was a mostly WHITE MAN who lived near one of my ancestors in a WHITE community in Virginia in the 1790s -- and they have him listed as an Indian living in Kentucky and claim his name was "Red Bird". This is pure nonsense. If any parts of this are not well known, and he accidentially GOT IT RIGHT, the parts that are pure nonsense would make any serious researcher doubt those parts as well. That is unfortunate. If this author is a "Shawnee Professor" I'd like to see his credentials. A REAL "Professor" would cite his sources properly -- he cites NOTHING."^[3]

"Well without sources, it's just a bunch of conjectures about relationships. On my line, which is mentioned in the book, he has them with totaly different people than what our researchers have and have had for many years. So, take it with a big grain of salt and until he forks over sources, I wouldn't add any of this to my family tree."^[4]

References

1. ↑ Google Books Review. http://books.google.com/books?id=6OugaRN9E0EC&dq=Savannah+Tom+Carpenter&source=gbs_navlinks_s; accessed by BobC on 23 June 2009.
2. ↑ Google Books Review. http://books.google.com/books?id=6OugaRN9E0EC&dq=Savannah+Tom+Carpenter&source=gbs_navlinks_s; accessed by BobC on 23 June 2009.
3. ↑ Google Books Review. http://books.google.com/books?id=6OugaRN9E0EC&dq=Savannah+Tom+Carpenter&source=gbs_navlinks_s; accessed by BobC on 23 June 2009.
4. ↑ Google Books Review. http://books.google.com/books?id=6OugaRN9E0EC&dq=Savannah+Tom+Carpenter&source=gbs_navlinks_s; accessed by BobC on 23 June 2009.

Link to the Cherokee Heritage Project Page