Their diet was anywhere between 80% and 90% vegetables. They weren't that successful, but they were healthy. Cornstalk, the principal chief of the Shawnee, lived to be well over 100 years old and was still quite healthy when he was murdered.

A lot of their traditions varied greatly from tribe to tribe. Once the late 1700's rolled around, many warriors in the eastern tribesdidn't even carry a bow for hunting or war. Tecumseh was often laughed at as a boy because he preferred to hunt with his bow (although they quit laughing when he brought back more game than anyone else) and Blue Jacket was one of the only warriors on Point Pleasant (his first battle and the battle where Tecumseh's father was killed) to use a bow.