Pekowi 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 , Mekoche , Kispoko , and Hathawekela . Together these divisions formed the loose confederacy that was the Shawnee tribe.
138-525: Tecumseh ( / t ɪ ˈ k ʌ m s ə , - s i / tih- KUM -sə, -see ; c. 1768 – October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and promoting intertribal unity. Even though his efforts to unite Native Americans ended with his death in
276-744: A 1614 Dutch map showing some Sawwanew located just east of the Delaware River . Later 17th-century Dutch sources also place them in this general location. Accounts by French explorers in the same century usually located the Shawnee along the Ohio River, where the French encountered them on forays from eastern Canada and the Illinois Country . Based on historical accounts and later archaeology, John E. Kleber describes Shawnee towns by
414-700: A French commission and left Pennsylvania, leading some 400 members of the Pekowi to Lower Shawneetown . They moved on to modern Kentucky, where they founded the community of Eskippakithiki . Pekowi warriors led by Chartier fought on the side of the French against the English at the Battle of Fort Necessity in 1754 during the French and Indian War . The Peckuwe and Kispoko divisions of the Shawnee Tribe lived in
552-587: A band of Cherokee along the lower Tennessee River and Chickamauga Creek against the colonists in that area. Some colonists called this group of Cherokee the Chickamauga , because they lived along that river at the time of what became known as the Cherokee–American wars , during and after the American Revolution . But they were never a separate tribe, as some accounts suggested. After
690-647: A chief, in 1714 they asked Carondawana, an Oneida war chief, to represent them to the Pennsylvania provincial council. About 1727, Carondawana and his wife, a prominent interpreter known as Madame Montour , settled at Otstonwakin , on the west bank at the confluence of Loyalsock Creek and the West Branch Susquehanna River . By 1730, European American settlers began to arrive in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where
828-407: A daughter. Chartier opposed the sale of rum in Shawnee communities in Pennsylvania, and this brought him into conflict with other traders and the provincial governor, Patrick Gordon . Shawnee and other Native American chiefs had long complained about the sale of alcohol, and had given the colonial government a list of traders they wanted banned because of their actions. In 1745 Chartier accepted
966-523: A different soldier had fired the fatal shot. The matter became controversial in the 1830s when Johnson was a candidate for Vice President of the United States to Martin Van Buren . Johnson's supporters promoted him as Tecumseh's killer, employing slogans such as "Rumpsey dumpsey, rumpsey dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh." Johnson's opponents collected testimony contradicting this claim; numerous other possibilities were named. Sugden (1985) presented
1104-461: A girdle round them with a piece of cloth drawn through their legs and turned over the girdle, and appears like a short apron before and behind. All the hair is pulled from their eyebrows and eyelashes and their faces painted in different parts with Vermilion. They walk remarkably straight and cut a grotesque appearance in this mixed dress." — from the Journal of Nicholas Cresswell Ever since
1242-589: A group of Shawnee migrated to the Savannah River area. The English based in Charles Town , South Carolina, were contacted by these Shawnee in 1674. They forged a long-lasting alliance. The Savannah River Shawnee were known to the Carolina English as "Savannah Indians". Around the same time, other Shawnee groups migrated to Florida, Maryland , Pennsylvania, and other regions south and east of
1380-491: A major Indian victory ( St. Clair's defeat ) on November 4 because he was hunting or scouting at the time. The following year he participated in other skirmishes before rejoining Cheeseekau in Tennessee. Tecumseh was with Cheeseekau when he was killed in an unsuccessful attack on Buchanan's Station near Nashville in 1792. Tecumseh probably sought revenge for his brother's death, but the details are unknown. During this time, he
1518-520: A misfit with little promise. In 1805, he began preaching, drawing upon ideas espoused by earlier prophets, particularly the Delaware prophet Neolin . Lalawéthika urged listeners to reject European influences, stop drinking alcohol, and discard their traditional medicine bags . Tecumseh followed his brother's teachings by eating only Native food, wearing traditional Shawnee clothing, and not drinking alcohol. In 1806, Tecumseh and Lalawéthika, now known as
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#17327653586561656-553: A mock battle within earshot of the fort, hoping the Americans would ride out to assist. The ruse failed and the second siege of Fort Meigs was lifted. Procter then led a detachment to attack Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky River , while Tecumseh went west to intercept potential American advances. Procter's attack failed and the expedition returned to Amherstburg. Tecumseh hoped further offensives were forthcoming, but after
1794-472: A most favorable opportunity for breaking up his Confederacy." In September 1811, Harrison marched toward Prophetstown with about 1,000 men. In the pre-dawn hours on November 7, warriors from Prophetstown launched a surprise attack on Harrison's camp, initiating the Battle of Tippecanoe . Harrison's men held their ground, after which the Prophet's warriors withdrew and evacuated Prophetstown. The Americans burned
1932-419: A new name, Tenskwatawa ("The Open Door"), meaning he was the door through which followers could reach salvation. Like Greenville, Prophetstown attracted numerous followers, comprising Shawnees, Potawatomis , Kickapoos , Winnebagos , Sauks , Ottawas , Wyandots , and Iowas , an unprecedented variety of Natives living together. Perhaps 6,000 people settled in the area, making it larger than any American city in
2070-562: A prominent figure as he built an intertribal confederacy to counter U.S. expansion. In August 1810, Tecumseh met with William Henry Harrison at Vincennes , capital of the Indiana Territory, a standoff that became legendary. Tecumseh demanded that Harrison rescind the Fort Wayne cession, and said he would oppose American settlement on the disputed lands. He said the chiefs who had signed the treaty would be punished, and that he
2208-568: A region the Shawnee and other tribes used for hunting. Shawnees attempted to organize further resistance against colonial occupation of the region, culminating in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant , in which Puckeshinwau was killed. After the battle, Shawnees ceded Kentucky to the colonists. When the American Revolutionary War between the British and their American colonies began in 1775, many Shawnees allied themselves with
2346-540: A small American post on the Sandusky River . After they were repulsed with serious losses, the British and Tecumseh ended their Ohio campaign. On Lake Erie, the American commander Captain Oliver Hazard Perry fought the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. His decisive victory against the British ensured American control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats, and compelled
2484-509: A son, Paukeesaa, born about 1796. Their marriage did not last, and Tecumapease raised Paukeesaa from the age of seven or eight. Tecumseh's band moved to various locations before settling in 1798 close to Delaware Indians , along the White River near present-day Anderson, Indiana , where he lived for the next eight years. He married twice more during this time. His third marriage, to White Wing, lasted until 1807. While Tecumseh lived along
2622-520: A stand at Chatham , along the Thames River . Tecumseh reluctantly agreed. The British burned Fort Malden and public buildings in Amherstburg, then began the retreat, with William Henry Harrison's army in pursuit. Tecumseh arrived at Chatham to find that Procter had retreated even further upriver. Procter sent word that he had chosen to make a stand near Moraviantown . Tecumseh was angered by
2760-514: A thighbone in a riding accident as a youth and thereafter walked with a limp, but neither thigh of this skeleton had been broken. Nevertheless, in 1941 the remains were buried on nearby Walpole Island in a ceremony honoring Tecumseh. St-Denis (2005), in a book-length investigation of the topic, concluded that Tecumseh was likely buried on the battlefield and his remains have been lost. Initial published accounts identified Richard Mentor Johnson as having killed Tecumseh. In 1816, another account claimed
2898-592: A two-pronged invasion into the Ohio Country. The Shawnee chief Cornstalk attacked one wing but fought to a draw in the only major battle of the war, the Battle of Point Pleasant . In the Treaty of Camp Charlotte ending the war (1774), Cornstalk and the Shawnee were compelled by the British to recognize the Ohio River as their southern border, which had been established by the Fort Stanwix treaty. By this treaty,
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#17327653586563036-482: Is a gap in the archaeological record between the most recent Fort Ancient sites and the oldest sites of the historic Shawnee. The latter were recorded by European (French and English) archaeologists as occupying this area at the time of encounter. Scholars generally accept that similarities in material culture, art, mythology , and Shawnee oral history linking them to the Fort Ancient peoples, can be used to support
3174-520: Is a man!" Tecumseh and Brock "formed an immediate friendship that served to cement the alliance." Brock's high esteem for Tecumseh likely contributed to a popular belief that Tecumseh was appointed a brigadier general in the British Army, though this is a myth. Tecumseh led about 530 warriors in the Siege of Detroit . According to one account, Tecumseh had his men repeatedly pass through an opening in
3312-584: Is fragmentary, and was exaggerated in folklore, but he probably met with Chickasaws , Choctaws , Muscogee, Osages , western Shawnees and Delawares, Iowas, Sauks, Foxes, Sioux , Kickapoos, and Potawatomis. He was aided in his efforts by two extraordinary events: the Great Comet of 1811 and the New Madrid earthquake , which he and other Native Americans interpreted as omens that his confederacy should be supported. Many rejected his overtures, especially in
3450-419: Is now Sylacauga, Alabama , Chalahgawtha at the site of present-day Chillicothe, Ohio , Old Shawneetown, Illinois , and Suwanee, Georgia . Their language became a lingua franca for trade among numerous tribes. They became leaders among the tribes, initiating and sustaining intertribal resistance to European and Euro-American expansion. Some Shawnee occupied areas in central Pennsylvania. Long without
3588-473: Is present-day Indiana and Illinois. Although many Indian leaders signed the treaty, others who used the land were deliberately excluded from the negotiations. The treaty created widespread outrage among Indians, and, according to historian John Sugden, "put Tecumseh on the road to war" with the United States. Before the Treaty of Fort Wayne, Tecumseh was relatively unknown to outsiders, who usually referred to him as "the Prophet's brother." Afterwards he emerged as
3726-517: Is unknown. The earliest account stated that his body had been taken by Canadians and buried at Sandwich . Later stories said he was buried at the battlefield, or that his body was secretly removed and buried elsewhere. According to another tradition, an Ojibwe named Oshahwahnoo, who had fought at Moraviantown, exhumed Tecumseh's body in the 1860s and buried him on St. Anne Island on the St. Clair River . In 1931, these bones were examined. Tecumseh had broken
3864-460: The Battle of Maguaga , successfully thwarting Hull's attempt to reopen his line of communications. Two days later, Hull pulled the last of his men from Amherstburg, ending his attempt to invade Canada. On August 14, Major-General Isaac Brock , British commander of Upper Canada, arrived at Fort Malden and began preparations for attacking Hull at Fort Detroit . Tecumseh, upon hearing of Brock's plans, reportedly turned to his companions and said, "This
4002-739: The Beaver Wars , the Haudenosaunee Confederacy had claimed the Ohio Country as their hunting ground by right of conquest, and treated the Shawnee and Lenape who resettled there as dependent tribes. Some independent Iroquois bands from various tribes also migrated westward, where they became known in Ohio as the Mingo . These three tribes—the Shawnee, the Delaware (Lenape), and the Mingo—became closely associated with one another, despite
4140-600: The Beaver Wars , which began in the 1640s. Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy invaded from the east to secure the Ohio Valley for hunting grounds. The Shawnee became known for their widespread settlements, extending from Pennsylvania to Illinois and to Georgia . Among their known villages were Eskippakithiki in Kentucky, Sonnionto (also known as Lower Shawneetown ) in Ohio, Chalakagay near what
4278-534: The Chickamauga Cherokees near Lookout Mountain in what is now Tennessee . Some Shawnees already lived among the Chickamaugas, who were fierce opponents of U.S. expansion. Cheeseekau led about forty Shawnees in raids against colonists; Tecumseh was presumably among them. During his nearly two years among the Chickamaugas, Tecumseh probably had a daughter with a Cherokee woman; the relationship
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4416-685: The French and Indian War . That year, Cheeseekau took part in Pontiac's War , a pan-tribal effort to counter British control of the region. Tecumseh was born in the peaceful decade after Pontiac's War, a time when Puckeshinwau likely became the chief of the Kispoko town on the Scioto. In a 1768 treaty , the Iroquois ceded land south of the Ohio River (including present-day Kentucky ) to the British,
4554-619: The Indiana Territory , invited Potawatomi , Lenape, Eel River people , and Miami representatives to a meeting at Fort Wayne . In the negotiations, Harrison promised large subsidies to the tribes if they would cede lands to the United States. After two weeks of negotiating, the Potawatomi leaders convinced the Miami to accept the treaty as reciprocity, because the Potawatomi had earlier accepted treaties less advantageous to them at
4692-533: The Mekoche Shawnee division, signed the Treaty of Fort Finney , surrendering most of Ohio to the Americans. Later that year, Moluntha was murdered by a Kentucky militiaman, initiating a new border war. Tecumseh, now about eighteen years old, became a warrior under the tutelage of his older brother Cheeseekau , who emerged as a noted war chief. Tecumseh participated in attacks on flatboats traveling down
4830-652: The Powhatan Confederacy of 1618–1644, to settle in the Shenandoah Valley . The party was led by his son, Sheewa-a-nee. Edward Bland, an explorer who accompanied Abraham Wood 's expedition in 1650, wrote that in Opechancanough's day, there had been a falling-out between the Chawan chief and the weroance of the Powhatan (also a relative of Opechancanough's family). He said the latter had murdered
4968-577: The Scioto River valley, near present-day Chillicothe, Ohio , or in a nearby Kispoko village. Tecumseh's father, Puckeshinwau, was a Shawnee war chief of the Kispoko division. Tecumseh's mother, Methoataaskee, probably belonged to the Pekowi division and the Turtle clan, although some traditions maintain that she was Muscogee . His mother may have been a blood relative of William Weatherford . Tecumseh
5106-629: The Shawnee Tribe to create a historically accurate depiction of Tecumseh in the video game Civilization VII . Shawnee The Shawnee ( / ʃ ɔː ˈ n i / shaw- NEE ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands . Their language, Shawnee , is an Algonquian language . Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio . In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohio, Illinois , Maryland , Delaware , and Pennsylvania . In
5244-562: The Shawnee language include "I Cross the Way", and "Shooting Star", references to a meteor associated with the Panther clan. Later stories claimed that Tecumseh was named after a shooting star that appeared at his birth, although his father and most of his siblings, as members of the Panther clan, were named after the same meteor. Tecumseh was likely born in the Shawnee town of Chillicothe, in
5382-542: The War of 1812 , he became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian popular history. Tecumseh was born in what is now Ohio at a time when the far-flung Shawnees were reuniting in their Ohio Country homeland. During his childhood, the Shawnees lost territory to the expanding American colonies in a series of border conflicts. Tecumseh's father was killed in battle against American colonists in 1774. Tecumseh
5520-446: The "principal chief" of the Shawnees. Black Hoof and other leaders around the Shawnee town of Wapakoneta urged Shawnees to accommodate the United States by adopting some American customs, with the goal of creating a Shawnee homeland with secure borders in northern Ohio. The Prophet's movement represented a challenge to the Shawnee chiefs who sat on the tribal council at Wapakoneta. Most Ohio Shawnees followed Black Hoof's path and rejected
5658-538: The 1839 Cherokee War. Texas achieved independence from Mexico under American leaders. It decided to force removal of the Shawnee from the new republic. But in appreciation of their earlier neutrality, Texan President Mirabeau Lamar fully compensated the Shawnee for their improvements and crops. They were forced out to Arkansas Territory . The Shawnee settled close to present-day Shawnee, Oklahoma . They were joined by Shawnee pushed out of Kansas (see below), who shared their traditionalist views and beliefs. In 1817,
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5796-510: The American naval victory in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, Procter decided to retreat from Amherstburg. Tecumseh pleaded with Procter to stay and fight: "Our lives are in the hands of the Great Spirit. We are determined to defend our lands, and if it is his will, we wish to leave our bones upon them." Procter insisted the defense of Amherstburg was untenable now that the Americans controlled Lake Erie, but he promised to make
5934-470: The American rebel cause. Cornstalk led the minority who wished to remain neutral. The Shawnee north of the Ohio River were unhappy about the American settlement of Kentucky. Colin Calloway reports that most Shawnees allied with the British against the Americans, hoping to be able to expel the settlers from west of the mountains. War leaders such as Blackfish and Blue Jacket joined Dragging Canoe and
6072-401: The Americans. Tecumseh did not attend the signing of the Treaty of Greenville (1795), in which about two-thirds of Ohio and portions of present-day Indiana were ceded to the United States. By 1796, Tecumseh was both the civil and war chief of a Kispoko band of about 50 warriors and 250 people. His sister Tecumapease was the band's principal female chief. Tecumseh took a wife, Mamate, and had
6210-569: The Americans. The left, commanded by Procter, collapsed almost immediately, and Procter fled the battlefield. Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson led the American charge against the Indians. Tecumseh was killed in the fierce fighting, and the Indians dispersed. The Americans had won a decisive victory. After the battle, American soldiers stripped and scalped Tecumseh's body. The next day, when Tecumseh's body had been positively identified, others peeled off some skin as souvenirs. The location of his remains
6348-509: The British into Upper Canada , where American forces engaged them at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed. His death caused his confederacy to collapse. The lands he had fought to defend were eventually ceded to the U.S. government. His legacy as one of the most celebrated Native Americans in history grew in the years after his death, although details of his life have often been obscured by mythology. Tecumseh
6486-578: The British to fall back from Detroit. General Harrison launched another invasion of Upper Canada (Ontario), which culminated in the U.S. victory at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. Tecumseh was killed there, and his death effectively ended the Indigenous alliance with the British in the Detroit region. American control of Lake Erie meant the British could no longer provide essential military supplies to their Native allies, who dropped out of
6624-488: The British unless the treaty was nullified. In March, the Great Comet of 1811 appeared. During the next year, tensions between American colonists and Native Americans rose quickly. Four settlers were murdered along the Missouri River and, in another incident, Natives seized a boatload of supplies from a group of traders. Harrison summoned Tecumseh to Vincennes to explain the actions of his allies. In August 1811,
6762-574: The British, raiding into Kentucky with the aim of driving out American settlers. Tecumseh, too young to fight, was among those forced to relocate in the face of American counterraids. In 1777, his family moved from the Scioto River to a Kispoko town on the Mad River , near present-day Springfield, Ohio . General George Rogers Clark , commander of the Kentucky militia, led a major expedition into Shawnee territory in 1780. Tecumseh may have witnessed
6900-742: The Lower Creek, and the bands became involved in civil war, known as the Creek War . This became part of the War of 1812 when open conflict broke out between American soldiers and the Red Sticks of the Creek. After William Hull 's surrender of Detroit to the British during the War of 1812, General William Henry Harrison was given command of the U.S. Army of the Northwest . He set out to retake
7038-652: The Mississippi River in North America. Later that year, the Crown issued the Proclamation of 1763 , legally confirming the 1758 border as the limits of British colonization. They reserved the land beyond for Native Americans. But the Crown had difficulty enforcing the boundary, as Anglo-European colonists continued to move westward. The Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 extended the colonial boundary to
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#17327653586567176-443: The Mississippi River. Tecumseh was widely admired in his lifetime, even by Americans who had fought against him. His primary American foe, William Henry Harrison, described Tecumseh as "one of those uncommon geniuses, which spring up occasionally to produce revolutions and overturn the established order of things." After his death, he became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian history. For many Native Americans in
7314-641: The Nazi elements. An East German film, Tecumseh , was released in 1972. In the United States, Tecumseh became a legendary figure, the historical details of his life shrouded in mythology. According to Edmunds (2007) , "the real Tecumseh has been overshadowed by a folk hero whose exploits combine the best of fact and fiction." Only in the late 20th century did academic historians begin to unravel fact from fiction. The fictional Tecumseh has been featured in poems, plays, and novels, movies, and outdoor dramas . Examples include George Jones 's Tecumseh; or, The Prophet of
7452-559: The Ohio River Valley for settlement, frequently traveling by boats and barges along the Ohio River. Violent incidents between settlers and Indians escalated into Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. British diplomats managed to isolate the Shawnee during the conflict: the Iroquois and the Lenape stayed neutral. The Shawnee faced the British colony of Virginia with only a few Mingo allies. Lord Dunmore , royal governor of Virginia, launched
7590-500: The Ohio River increased to around 1,200 people by 1750. "[I] saw four Indian Chiefs of the Shawnee Nation, who have been at War with the Virginians this summer (i.e. 1774), but have made peace with them, and they are sending these people to Williamsburg as hostages. They are tall, manly, well-shaped men, of a Copper colour with black hair, quick piercing eyes, and good features. They have rings of silver in their nose and bobs to them which hang over their upper lip. Their ears are cut from
7728-575: The Ohio River, carrying waves of immigrants into lands the Shawnees had lost. He was disturbed by the sight of prisoners being cruelly treated by the Shawnees, an early indication of his lifelong aversion to torture and cruelty, for which he would later be celebrated. In 1788, Tecumseh, Cheeseekau and their family moved westward, relocating near Cape Girardeau, Missouri . They hoped to be free of American settlers, only to find colonists moving there as well, so they did not stay long. In late 1789 or early 1790, Tecumseh traveled south with Cheeseekau to live with
7866-422: The Ohio Shawnee had signed the Treaty of Fort Meigs , ceding their remaining lands in exchange for three reservations in Wapaughkonetta , Hog Creek (near Lima ), and Lewistown , Ohio. They shared these lands with some Seneca people who had migrated west from New York. In a series of treaties, including the Treaty of Lewistown of 1825, Shawnee and Seneca people agreed to exchange land in western Ohio with
8004-441: The Ohio country. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville , founder of New Orleans and the French colony of La Louisiane , writing in his journal in 1699, describes the Shawnee (or as he spells them, Chaouenons ) as "the single nation to fear, being spread out over Carolina and Virginia in the direction of the Mississippi." Historian Alan Gallay speculates that the Shawnee migrations of the middle to late 17th century were probably driven by
8142-482: The Oneida people, becoming the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy; they declared their migration finished in 1722. Also at this time, Seneca (an Iroquois nation) and Lenape war parties from the north often fought pitched battles with pursuing bands of Catawba from Virginia, who would overtake them in the Shawnee-inhabited regions of the Valley. By the late 1730s, pressure from colonial expansion produced repeated conflicts. Shawnee communities were also impacted by
8280-446: The Pekowi patrilineal division. From 1737 to about 1750 the Pekowi were led by Peter Chartier (born Pierre Chartier), a fur trader of Pekowi and French colonial parentage. He was recognized as a leader and rose to be chief of the band. Through his mother's line, Chartier was the grandson of chief Straight Tail Meaurroway Opessa . In 1710 he married his cousin, Blanceneige-Wapakonee Opessa and they had three children: two sons and
8418-447: The Prophet's movement. Important converts who joined the movement at Greenville were Blue Jacket, the famed Shawnee war leader, and Roundhead , who became Tecumseh's close friend and ally. American settlers grew uneasy as Indians flocked to Greenville. In 1806 and 1807, Tecumseh and Blue Jacket traveled to Chillicothe, the capital of the new U.S. state of Ohio, to reassure the governor that Greenville posed no threat. Rumors of war between
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#17327653586568556-404: The Revolution and during the Northwest Indian War , the Shawnee collaborated with the Miami to form a great fighting force in the Ohio Valley. They led a confederation of warriors of Native American tribes in an effort to expel U.S. settlers from that territory. After being defeated by U.S. forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, most of the Shawnee bands signed the Treaty of Greenville
8694-404: The Shawnee Prophet, established a new town near the ruins of Fort Greenville (present-day Greenville, Ohio ), where the 1795 Treaty of Greenville had been signed. The Prophet's message spread widely, attracting visitors and converts from multiple tribes. The brothers hoped to reunite the scattered Shawnees at Greenville, but they were opposed by Black Hoof , a Mekoche chief regarded by Americans as
8832-632: The Shawnee Prophet, founded a religious movement that called upon Native Americans to reject European influences and return to a more traditional lifestyle. In 1808, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa established Prophetstown , a village in present-day Indiana , that grew into a large, multi-tribal community. Tecumseh traveled constantly, spreading the Prophet's message and eclipsing his brother in prominence. Tecumseh proclaimed that Native Americans owned their lands in common and urged tribes not to cede more territory unless all agreed. His message alarmed American leaders as well as Native leaders who sought accommodation with
8970-508: The Shawnee Reserve in Kansas. This movement was largely under terms negotiated by Joseph Parks (1793–1859). He had been raised in the household of Lewis Cass and had been a leading interpreter for the Shawnee. Pekowi All five Shawnee division names have been spelled in a great variety of ways. Variations of the name "Pekowi" are reflected in many place names in the United States, including Piqua , Pickawillany , Pickaway , and Pequea . Traditionally, Shawnee ritual leaders came from
9108-434: The Shawnee ceded all claims to the "hunting grounds" of West Virginia and Kentucky south of the Ohio River. But many other Shawnee leaders refused to recognize this boundary. The Shawnee and most other tribes were highly decentralized, and bands and towns typically made their own decisions about alliances. When the United States declared independence from the British crown in 1776, the Shawnee were divided. They did not support
9246-426: The Shawnee leader Blue Jacket and the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant . In response, Tecumseh began to expand on the teachings of his brother Tenskwatawa , a spiritual leader known as The Prophet who called for the tribes to return to their ancestral ways. He began to associate these teachings with the idea of an intertribal alliance. Tecumseh traveled widely, urging warriors to abandon accommodationist chiefs and to join
9384-426: The Shawnee predominated in the northern part of the valley. They were claimed as tributaries by the Haudenosaunee or Six Nations of the Iroquois to the north. The Iroquois had helped some of the Tuscarora people from North Carolina, who were also Iroquoian speaking and distant relations, to resettle in the vicinity of what is now Martinsburg, West Virginia . Most of the Tuscarora migrated to New York and settled near
9522-404: The Shawnee village of Peckuwe, which was located at 39°54.5′N 83°54.68′W / 39.9083°N 83.91133°W / 39.9083; -83.91133 near modern Springfield, Ohio , until the Battle of Piqua , August 8, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War . The Piqua Sept of the Ohio Shawnee Tribe have placed a traditional cedar pole in commemoration of their history here. It
9660-444: The Shawnees, Wyandots, and Senecas . After returning to Prophetstown, he sent a delegation to the Iroquois in New York. In July 1811, Tecumseh again met Harrison at Vincennes. He told the governor he had amassed a confederacy of northern tribes and was heading south to do the same. For the next six months, Tecumseh traveled some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) in the south and west to recruit allies. The documentary evidence of this journey
9798-455: The United States and First Nations people in Canada , he became a hero who transcends tribal identity. Tecumseh's stature grew over the decades after his death, often at the expense of Tenskwatawa, whose religious views white writers found alien and unappealing. White writers tended to turn Tecumseh into a "secular" leader who only used his brother's religious movement for political reasons. For many Europeans and white North Americans, he became
9936-480: The United States and Great Britain followed the Chesapeake incident of June 1807. To escape the rising tensions, Tecumseh and the Prophet decided to move west to a more secure location, farther from American forts and closer to potential western Indian allies. In 1808, Tecumseh and the Prophet established a village Americans would call Prophetstown , north of present-day Lafayette, Indiana . The Prophet adopted
10074-732: The United States for land west of the Mississippi River in what became Indian Territory . In July 1831, the Lewistown group of Seneca–Shawnee departed for the Indian Territory (in present-day Kansas and Oklahoma). The main body of Shawnee in Ohio followed Black Hoof , who fought every effort to force his people to give up their homeland. After the death of Black Hoof, the remaining 400 Ohio Shawnee in Wapaughkonetta and Hog Creek surrendered their land and moved to
10212-463: The United States without the consent of all the tribes. This idea made a strong impression on Tecumseh, who was just fifteen years old when he attended the conference. As an adult, he would become such a well-known advocate of this policy that some mistakenly thought it had originated with him. The United States, however, insisted on dealing with the tribes individually, getting each to sign separate land treaties. In January 1786, Moluntha , civil chief of
10350-547: The United States. A more sagacious or a more gallant warrior does not I believe exist. He was the admiration of every one who conversed with him. Brock likely assured Tecumseh that the British would support Native American land claims. He wrote his superiors that restoration of land "fraudulently usurped" from the Native Americans should be considered in any peace treaty. News of Detroit's capture revived British discussion of creating of an Indian barrier state to ensure
10488-625: The United States. In 1811, when Tecumseh was in the South recruiting allies, Americans under William Henry Harrison defeated Tenskwatawa at the Battle of Tippecanoe and destroyed Prophetstown. In the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined his cause with the British, recruited warriors, and helped capture Detroit in August 1812. The following year he led an unsuccessful campaign against the United States in Ohio and Indiana. When U.S. naval forces took control of Lake Erie in 1813, Tecumseh reluctantly retreated with
10626-611: The West (1844 play), Mary Catherine Crowley 's Love Thrives in War (1903 novel), Brave Warrior (1952 film), and Allan W. Eckert 's A Sorrow in Our Hearts: The Life of Tecumseh (1992 novel). James Alexander Thom 's 1989 novel Panther in the Sky was made into a TV movie, Tecumseh: The Last Warrior (1995). The outdoor drama Tecumseh! has been performed near Chillicothe, Ohio , since 1973. Written by Allan Eckert ,
10764-523: The White River, Native Americans in the region were troubled by sickness, alcoholism, poverty, the loss of land, depopulation, and the decline of their traditional way of life. Several religious prophets emerged, each offering explanations and remedies for the crisis. Among these was Tecumseh's younger brother Lalawéthika, a healer in Tecumseh's village. Until this time, Lalawéthika had been regarded as
10902-530: The age of 50. The language is written in the Latin script , but attempts at creating a unified spelling system have been unsuccessful. The Shawnee language has a dictionary, and portions of the Bible have been translated into Shawnee. Some scholars believe that the Shawnee descend from the precontact Fort Ancient culture of the Ohio region, although this is not universally accepted. The Shawnee may have entered
11040-407: The archaic shawano (now: shaawanwa ) meaning "south". However, the stem šawa- does not mean "south" in Shawnee, but "moderate, warm (of weather)": See Charles F. Voegelin , "šawa (plus -ni, -te) Moderate, Warm. Cp. šawani 'it is moderating...". In one Shawnee tale, "Sawage" (šaawaki) is the deity of the south wind. Jeremiah Curtin translates Sawage as 'it thaws', referring to the warm weather of
11178-539: The area at a later time and occupied the Fort Ancient sites. Fort Ancient culture flourished from c. 1000 to c. 1650 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited lands on both sides of the Ohio River in areas of present-day southern Ohio , northern Kentucky and western West Virginia . Like the Mississippian culture peoples of this period, they built earthwork mounds as part of their expression of their religious and political structure. Fort Ancient culture
11316-468: The battle was a setback for Tenskwatawa, but he continued to serve as the confederacy's spiritual leader, with Tecumseh as its diplomat and military leader. Harrison hoped his preemptive strike would subdue Tecumseh's confederacy, but a wave of frontier violence erupted after the battle. Native Americans, many who had fought at Tippecanoe, sought revenge, killing as many as 46 Americans. Tecumseh sought to restrain warriors from premature action while preparing
11454-412: The battle, so Procter was compelled to lift the siege. One of the most famous incidents in Tecumseh's life occurred after the battle. American prisoners had been taken to the nearby ruins of Fort Miami . When a group of Indians began killing prisoners, Tecumseh rushed in and stopped the slaughter. According to Sugden (1997), "Tecumseh's defense of the American prisoners became a cornerstone of his legend,
11592-422: The change in plans, but he led a rearguard action at Chatham to slow the American advance, and was slightly wounded in the arm. Many of Tecumseh's despairing allies deserted during the retreat, leaving him 500 warriors. Procter and Tecumseh, outnumbered more than three-to-one, faced the Americans at the Battle of the Thames on October 5. Tecumseh positioned his men in a line of trees along the right, hoping to flank
11730-530: The city, which was defended by British Colonel Henry Procter , together with Tecumseh and his forces. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at Frenchtown along the River Raisin on January 22, 1813. Some prisoners were taken to Detroit, but Procter left those too injured to travel with an inadequate guard. His Native American allies attacked and killed perhaps as many as 60 wounded Americans, many of whom were Kentucky militiamen. The Americans called
11868-561: The comet of March 1811 had signaled his coming. He also said that the people would see a sign proving that the Great Spirit had sent him. As Tecumseh traveled, both sides readied for the Battle of Tippecanoe . Harrison assembled a small force of army regulars and militia to combat the Native forces. On November 6, 1811, Harrison led this army of about 1,000 men to Prophetstown, Indiana , hoping to disperse Tecumseh's confederacy. Early
12006-637: The confederacy for future hostilities. By the time the United States declared war on Great Britain in June 1812, as many as 800 warriors had gathered around the rebuilt Prophetstown. Tecumseh's Native American allies throughout the Northwest Territory numbered around 3,500 warriors. In June 1812, Tecumseh arrived at Fort Malden in Amherstburg to join his cause with the British in the War of 1812 . The British had few troops and scant resources in
12144-557: The confrontation with Harrison, Tecumseh traveled widely to build his confederacy. He went westward to recruit allies among the Potawatomis, Winnebagos, Sauks, Foxes , Kickapoos, and Missouri Shawnees. In November 1810, he visited Fort Malden in Upper Canada to ask British officials for assistance in the coming war, but the British were noncommittal, urging restraint. In May 1811, Tecumseh visited Ohio to recruit warriors among
12282-519: The connection from Fort Ancient society and development as the historical Shawnee society. But there is also evidence and oral history linking Siouan -speaking nations to the Ohio Valley. The Shawnee considered the Lenape (or Delaware) of the East Coast mid-Atlantic region, who were also Algonquian speaking, to be their "grandfathers". The Algonquian nations of present-day Canada, who extended to
12420-473: The creation of a Native American barrier state in the Old Northwest. The Americans refused and the matter was dropped. The Treaty of Ghent (1814) called for Native American lands to be restored to their 1811 boundaries, something the United States had no intention of doing. By the end of the 1830s, the U.S. government had compelled Shawnees still living in Ohio to sign removal treaties and move west of
12558-705: The differences in their languages. The first two spoke Algonquian languages and the third an Iroquoian language. After taking part in the first phase of the French and Indian War (also known as "Braddock's War") as allies of the French, the Shawnee switched sides in 1758. They made formal peace with the British colonies at the Treaty of Easton , which recognized the Allegheny Ridge (the Eastern Divide ) as their mutual border. This peace lasted only until Pontiac's War erupted in 1763, following Britain's defeat of France and takeover of its territory east of
12696-489: The early 18th century, they mostly concentrated in eastern Pennsylvania but dispersed again later that century across Pennsylvania, West Virginia , Kentucky , Ohio, Indiana , and Illinois, with a small group joining Muscogee people in Alabama . In the 19th century, the U.S. federal government forcibly removed them under the 1830 Indian Removal Act to areas west of the Mississippi River; these lands would eventually become
12834-682: The earth like a ground hog. Give me your answer. Tecumseh returned to Amherstburg in April 1813. Meanwhile, the Americans, having suffered defeat at the Battle of Frenchtown in January 1813, were pushing back toward Detroit under the command of William Henry Harrison. Tecumseh and Roundhead led about 1,200 warriors to Fort Meigs , a recently constructed American fort along the Maumee River in Ohio. The Indians initially saw little action while British forces under General Henry Procter laid siege to
12972-562: The ensuing Battle of Piqua on August 8. After the Shawnees retreated, Clark burned their villages and crops. The Shawnees relocated to the northwest, along the Great Miami River , but Clark returned in 1782 and destroyed those villages as well, forcing the Shawnees to retreat further north, near present-day Bellefontaine, Ohio . After the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the United States claimed
13110-450: The evidence and argued that Johnson's claim was the strongest, though not conclusive. Johnson became Vice President in 1837, his fame largely based on his claim to have killed Tecumseh. Tecumseh's death led to the collapse of his confederacy; except in the southern Creek War, most of his followers did little more fighting. In the negotiations that ended the War of 1812, the British attempted to honor promises made to Tecumseh by insisting upon
13248-524: The fate of the Fort Ancient people. Most likely their society, like the Mississippian culture to the south, was severely disrupted by waves of epidemics from new infectious diseases carried by the first Spanish explorers in the 16th century. After 1525 at Madisonville , the type site , the village's house sizes became smaller and fewer. Evidence shows that the people changed from their previously "horticulture-centered, sedentary way of life". There
13386-429: The first American fatalities of the war. Tecumseh turned his attention to cutting off Hull's supply and communication lines on the U.S. side of the border, south of Detroit . On August 5, he led 25 warriors in two successive ambushes , scattering a far superior force. Tecumseh captured Hull's outgoing mail, which revealed that the general was fearful of being cut off. On August 9, Tecumseh joined with British soldiers at
13524-400: The following: A Shawnee town might have from forty to one hundred bark-covered houses similar in construction to Iroquois longhouses . Each village usually had a meeting house or council house , perhaps sixty to ninety feet long, where public deliberations took place. According to one English colonial legend, some Shawnee were descended from a party sent by Chief Opechancanough , ruler of
13662-460: The foremost example of the " noble savage " stereotype. Tecumseh is honored in Canada as a hero who played a major role in Canada's defense in the War of 1812, joining Sir Isaac Brock and Laura Secord as the best-remembered people of that war. John Richardson , an important early Canadian novelist, had served with Tecumseh and idolized him. His 1828 epic poem "Tecumseh; or, The Warrior of the West"
13800-467: The former. The Shawnee were "driven from Kentucky in the 1670s by the Iroquois of Pennsylvania and New York, who claimed the Ohio valley as hunting ground to supply its fur trade . In 1671, the colonists Batts and Fallam reported that the Shawnee were contesting control of the Shenandoah Valley with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois) in that year and were losing. Sometime before 1670,
13938-461: The fort. Fighting outside the fort began on May 5 after the arrival of American reinforcements, who attacked the British gun batteries. Tecumseh led an attack on an American sortie from the fort, then crossed the river to help defeat a regiment of Kentucky militia. The British and Native Americans had inflicted heavy casualties on the Americans outside the fort, but failed to capture it. Procter's Canadian militia and many of Tecumseh's warriors left after
14076-455: The fur trade. While they gained arms and European goods, they also traded for rum or brandy, leading to serious social problems related to alcohol abuse by their members. Several Shawnee communities in the Province of Pennsylvania , led by Peter Chartier , a Métis trader, opposed the sale of alcohol in their communities. This resulted in a conflict with colonial Governor Patrick Gordon , who
14214-781: The incident the "River Raisin Massacre". The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans. In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh besieged Fort Meigs in northern Ohio. Native forces defeated the American reinforcements arriving during the siege, but the garrison in the fort held out. The Indians eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada. Their second offensive in July against Fort Meigs also failed. To improve Indian morale, Procter and Tecumseh attempted to storm Fort Stephenson ,
14352-651: The interior along the St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes from the Atlantic coast, regarded the Shawnee as their southernmost branch. Along the East Coast, the Algonquian-speaking tribes were historically located mostly in coastal areas, from Quebec to the Carolinas. Europeans reported encountering the Shawnee over a wide geographic area. One of the earliest mentions of the Shawnee may be
14490-515: The lands north of the Ohio River by right of conquest; Britain had renounced its claims to the area in the Treaty of Paris . In response, Indians convened a great intertribal conference at Lower Sandusky in the summer of 1783. Speakers, most notably Joseph Brant of the Mohawk , argued that Indians must unite to hold onto their lands. They put forth a doctrine that Indian lands were held in common by all tribes, and so no further land should be ceded to
14628-758: The many things named for Tecumseh in Canada are the naval reserve unit HMCS Tecumseh and the towns of Tecumseh in Southwestern Ontario and New Tecumseth in Central Ontario. In 1931, the Canadian government designated Tecumseh as a person of national historic significance . Tecumseh has long been admired in Germany, especially due to popular novels by Fritz Steuben , beginning with The Flying Arrow (1930). Steuben used Tecumseh to promote Nazism , though later editions of his novels removed
14766-655: The margin of the Arkansas river was broken into pieces; and most of the Indians thought that the Great Spirit, angry with the human race, was about to destroy the world. The Muscogee who joined Tecumseh's confederation were known as the Red Sticks . They were the more conservative and traditional part of the people, as their communities in the Upper Towns were more isolated from European-American settlements. They did not want to assimilate. The Red Sticks rose in resisting
14904-784: The next morning, forces under The Prophet prematurely attacked Harrison's army at the Tippecanoe River near the Wabash. Though outnumbered, Harrison repulsed the attack, forcing the Natives to retreat and abandon Prophetstown. Harrison's men burned the village and returned home. On December 11, 1811, the New Madrid earthquake shook the Muscogee lands and the Midwestern United States. While the interpretation of this event varied from tribe to tribe, they agreed that
15042-570: The next year. They were forced to cede large parts of their homeland to the new United States. Other Shawnee groups rejected this treaty, migrating independently to Missouri west of the Mississippi River , where they settled along Apple Creek. The French called their settlement Le Grand Village Sauvage . In the early 19th century, the Shawnee leader Tecumseh gained renown for organizing his namesake confederacy to oppose American expansion in Native American lands. The resulting conflict
15180-661: The northern Shenandoah Valley: at Moorefield, West Virginia , on the North River ; and on the Potomac at Cumberland, Maryland . In 1753, the Shawnee on the Scioto River in the Ohio Country sent messengers to those still in the Shenandoah Valley, suggesting that they cross the Alleghenies to join the people further west, which they did the following year. The community known as Shannoah ( Lower Shawneetown ) on
15318-409: The powerful earthquake had to have spiritual significance. The earthquake and its aftershocks helped the Tecumseh resistance movement as the Muscogee and other Native American tribes believed it was a sign that the Shawnee must be supported and that Tecumseh had prophesied such an event and sign. The Indians were filled with great terror ... the trees and wigwams shook exceedingly; the ice which skirted
15456-508: The region. Jortner (2011) argues that Prophetstown was effectively an independent city-state . At Prophetstown, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa initially worked to maintain a peaceful coexistence with the United States. A major turning point came in September 1809, when William Henry Harrison , governor of the Indiana Territory , negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne , purchasing 2.5 to 3 million acres (10,000 to 12,000 km) of land in what
15594-469: The request of the Miami. Finally, the tribes signed the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809, thereby selling the United States more than 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km ), chiefly along the Wabash River north of Vincennes, Indiana . Tecumseh was outraged by the Treaty of Fort Wayne, believing that American Indian land was owned in common by all tribes, an idea advocated in previous years by
15732-474: The resistance at Prophetstown . In August 1810, Tecumseh led 400 armed warriors to confront Harrison in Vincennes. Tecumseh demanded that Harrison nullify the Fort Wayne treaty, threatening to kill the chiefs who had signed it. Harrison refused, saying that the Miami were the owners of the land and could sell it if they so chose. Tecumseh left peacefully but warned Harrison that he would seek an alliance with
15870-578: The security of Upper Canada. After his short stay in the area, Brock returned to the Niagara frontier, where he was killed in action several weeks later. Meanwhile, the British had negotiated a temporary armistice and called off further offensives. Tecumseh was frustrated by the unexpected British-American armistice, which came at a time when his confederacy was attacking other American forts and needed British support. In September 1812, he and Roundhead led 600 warriors to assist in an attack on Fort Wayne , but
16008-493: The siege failed before they arrived. Another siege against Fort Harrison also failed. Tecumseh stayed in the Prophetstown region for the remainder of 1812, coordinating Native American war efforts. I have with me eight hundred braves. You have an equal number in your hiding place. Come out with them and give me battle; you talked like a brave when we met at Vincennes, and I respected you; but now you hide behind logs and in
16146-521: The south, most notably the Choctaws and Chickasaws; his most receptive southern listeners were among the Muscogee. A faction among the Muscogee, who became known as the Red Sticks , responded to Tecumseh's call to arms, contributing to the coming of the Creek War . According to Sugden (1997), Tecumseh had made a "serious mistake" by informing Harrison he would be absent from Prophetstown for an extended time. Harrison wrote that Tecumseh's absence "affords
16284-664: The south. In an account and a song collected by C. F. Voegelin, šaawaki is attested as the spirit of the South, or the South Wind. The Shawnee language is known as saawanwaatoweewe. In 2002, the Shawnee language , part of the Algonquian family , was in decline but still spoken by 200 people. These included more than 100 Absentee Shawnee and 12 Shawnee Tribe speakers. By 2017, Shawnee language advocates, including tribal member George Blanchard, estimated that there were fewer than 100 speakers. Most fluent Shawnee speakers are over
16422-575: The states of Missouri , Kansas , and Texas . Finally, they were removed to Indian Territory , which became the state of Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Today, Shawnee people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes , all headquartered in Oklahoma: Shawnee has also been written as Shaawana . Individuals and singular Shawnee tribes may be referred to as šaawanwa, and the collective Shawnee people as šaawanwaki or šaawanooki . Algonquian languages have words similar to
16560-503: The story features a fictional, doomed romance between Tecumseh and a white settler woman, an example of the " vanishing Indian " scenario popular with white Americans. William Tecumseh Sherman , a Union general during the American Civil War , was also named after Tecumseh. In 2024, the main-belt asteroid 47069 Tecumseh was named in his honor. Also in 2024, Firaxis Games worked with chief Ben Barnes and other members of
16698-424: The tips two thirds of the way round and the piece extended with brass wire till it touches their shoulders, in this part they hang a thin silver plate, wrought in flourishes about three inches diameter, with plates of silver round their arms and in the hair, which is all cut off except a long lock on the top of the head. They are in white men's dress, except breeches which they refuse to wear, instead of which they have
16836-526: The two leaders met, with Tecumseh assuring Harrison that the Shawnee intended to remain at peace with the United States. Afterward, Tecumseh traveled to the Southeast on a mission to recruit allies against the United States from among the " Five Civilized Tribes ". His name Tekoomsē meant "Shooting Star" or "Panther Across The Sky". Tecumseh told the Choctaw , Chickasaw , Muscogee , and many others that
16974-434: The ultimate proof of his inherent nobility." Some accounts said Tecumseh rebuked General Procter for failing to protect the prisoners, though this might not have happened. Tecumseh and Procter returned to Fort Meigs in July 1813, Tecumseh with 2,500 warriors, the largest contingent he would ever lead. They had little hope of taking the strongly defended fort, but Tecumseh sought to draw the Americans into open battle. He staged
17112-771: The village the following day and returned to Vincennes. Historians have traditionally viewed the Battle of Tippecanoe as a devastating blow to Tecumseh's confederacy. According to a story recorded by Benjamin Drake ten years after the battle, Tecumseh was furious with Tenskwatawa after the battle and threatened to kill him. Afterwards, it was said, the Prophet played little part in the confederacy's leadership. Modern scholarship has cast doubt on this interpretation. Dowd (1992), Cave (2002), and Jortner (2011) argued that stories of Tenskwatawa's disgrace originated with Harrison's allies and are not supported by other sources. According to this view,
17250-539: The war. The Americans controlled the area during the remainder of the conflict. The Shawnee in Missouri migrated from the United States south into Mexico, in the eastern part of Spanish Texas . They became known as the " Absentee Shawnee ". They were joined in the migration by some Delaware (Lenape). Although they were closely allied with the Cherokee led by The Bowl , their chief John Linney remained neutral during
17388-474: The west, giving British colonists a claim to lands in what are now the states of West Virginia and Kentucky. The Shawnee did not agree to this treaty: it was negotiated between British officials and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who claimed sovereignty over the land. While they predominated, the Shawnee and other Native American tribes also hunted there. After the Stanwix treaty, Anglo-Americans began pouring into
17526-446: The west, so Native allies were essential to the defense of Upper Canada. The British quickly recognized Tecumseh as the most influential of their Indian allies and relied upon him to direct the Native forces. He and his warriors scouted and probed enemy positions as American General William Hull crossed into Canada and threatened to take Fort Malden. On July 25, Tecumseh's warriors skirmished with Americans north of Amherstburg, inflicting
17664-441: The woods to create the impression that thousands of Native Americans were outside the fort, a story that may be apocryphal. To almost everyone's astonishment, Hull decided to surrender on August 16. Afterwards, Brock wrote of Tecumseh: He who attracted most of my attention was a Shawnee chief, Tecumset [ sic ], brother to the Prophet, who for the last two years has carried on, contrary to our remonstrances, an active warfare against
17802-463: Was born in Shawnee territory in what is now Ohio between 1764 and 1771. The best evidence suggests a birthdate of around March 1768. The Shawnee pronunciation of his name has traditionally been rendered by non-Shawnee sources as "Tecumthé". He was born into the Panther clan of the Kispoko division of the Shawnee tribe. Like most Shawnees, his name indicated his clan: translations of his name from
17940-615: Was brief, and the child remained with her mother. In 1791, Tecumseh returned to the Ohio Country to take part in the Northwest Indian War as a minor leader. The Native confederacy that had been formed to fight the war was led by the Shawnee Blue Jacket , and would provide a model for the confederacy Tecumseh created years later. He led a band of eight followers, including his younger brother Lalawéthika, later known as Tenskwatawa . Tecumseh missed fighting in
18078-533: Was called Tecumseh's War . The two principal adversaries in the conflict, Chief Tecumseh and General William Henry Harrison , had both been junior participants in the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers . Tecumseh did not sign the 1795 Treaty of Greenville . However, many American Indian leaders in the region accepted the Greenville terms, and for the next ten years local intertribal resistance to American hegemony faded. In September 1809, Harrison, then governor of
18216-449: Was intended to "preserve the memory of one of the noblest and most gallant spirits" in history. Canadian writers such as Charles Mair ( Tecumseh: A Drama , 1886) celebrated Tecumseh as a Canadian patriot, an idea reflected in numerous subsequent biographies written for Canadian school children. The portrayal of Tecumseh as a Canadian patriot has been criticized for obscuring his true aim of protecting Native homelands outside of Canada. Among
18354-437: Was once thought to have been a regional extension of the Mississippian culture. Scholars now believe that Fort Ancient culture (1000–1650 CE) was descended from Hopewell culture (100 BCE–500 CE). The people in those earlier centuries also built mounds as part of their social, political and religious system. Among their monuments were earthwork effigy mounds , such as Serpent Mound in present-day Ohio. Uncertainty surrounds
18492-430: Was somewhat known as "an eloquent speaker" among Native Americans, and this reputation would follow him for the rest of his life as he grew in prominence. Tecumseh returned to the Ohio Country at the end of 1792 and fought in several more skirmishes. In 1794, he fought in the Battle of Fallen Timbers , a bitter defeat for the Indians. The Native confederacy fell apart, especially after Blue Jacket agreed to make peace with
18630-559: Was the fifth of eight children. His parents met and married in what is now Alabama , where many Shawnees had settled after being driven out of the Ohio Country by the Iroquois in the 17th-century Beaver Wars . Around 1759, Puckeshinwau and Methoataaskee moved to the Ohio Country as part of a Shawnee effort to reunite in their traditional homeland. In 1763, the British Empire laid claim to the Ohio Country following its victory in
18768-447: Was thereafter mentored by his older brother Cheeseekau , a noted war chief who died fighting Americans in 1792. As a young war leader, Tecumseh joined Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket 's armed struggle against further American encroachment, which ended in defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and with the loss of most of Ohio in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville . In 1805, Tecumseh's younger brother Tenskwatawa , who came to be known as
18906-454: Was under pressure from traders to allow rum and brandy in trade. Unable to protect themselves, in 1745, some 400 Shawnee migrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama and Illinois, hoping to escape the traders' influence. Prior to 1754, the Shawnee had a headquarters at Shawnee Springs at modern-day Cross Junction, Virginia . The father of the later chief Cornstalk held his council there. Several other Shawnee villages were located in
19044-466: Was uniting the tribes to prevent further cessions. Harrison insisted the land had been purchased fairly and that Tecumseh had no right to object because Native Americans did not own land in common. Harrison said he would send Tecumseh's demands to President James Madison , but did not expect the president to accept them. As the meeting concluded, Tecumseh said that if Madison did not rescind the Fort Wayne treaty, "you and I will have to fight it out." After
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