|
|||||
| |
Commanding a confederation of Native American tribes after 1794
Tecumseh (Shooting Star) of the Shawnee was born in March 1768, on the Mad River near the present-day city of Springfield, Ohio. He was a brother to Tenskwatawa (The Shawnee Prophet).
Tecumseh took part in the war of retaliation in 1780, waged because of the murder of Chief Cornstalk as he was attempting to negotiate with white men. A brave, skilled fighter, Tecumseh was known for his opposition to unnecessary, arbitrary killing. He led several raids against the encroaching white settlers, often with his Creek and Cherokee neighbors. Tecumseh participated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, but refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.
With his brother, a respected preacher of the Shawnee people, Tecumseh traveled among the tribes of the region to set forth a doctrine that the lands of the Northwest Territory belonged to a single Indian Nation and that negotiated borders with individual tribes were invalid.
He and his brother established a village in northern Indiana, a village that became known as Prophet's Town. They encouraged their people to return to traditional ways, to cultivate the land and to avoid liquor.
On Nov. 6, 1811, Northwest Territory Governor William Henry Harrison engaged Native American tribes under the leadership of Tenskwatawa while Tecumseh was travelling. The village was destroyed, and the defeat left many tribes disillusioned with the promise of victory.
The unity of the Native Americans was further diminished as they were caught between the British and American forces at the outbreak of the War of 1812. Tecumseh and many others allied with the British. The British commissioned Tecumseh as a brigadier general.
Native Americans under Tecumseh took a stand at the Battle of the Thames on Oct. 5, 1813, where Tecumseh and his dreams were killed.
Sources: Compton's Encyclopedia Online, 1997; The Native Americans by Turner Publishing, 1993; and Great North American Indians by Frederick J. Dockstader, 1977.
Return to Fallen Timbers Archaeological Project Home Page.
Heidelberg College / Office of College Relations
/ webmaster@heidelberg.edu