“No tribe has the right to
sell, even to each other, much less to strangers ... Sell
a country! Why not sell the
air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn’t the Great
Spirit make them all for the use of his children? The way,
the only way to stop this evil is for the red man to unite
in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was
first, and should be now, for it was never divided.” (Tecumseh)
After the American Revolution, the Ohio country looked like
the perfect place for settlers to make their home. Tecumseh,
Chief of the Shawnee, resisted this expansion by trying to
revive the Western Alliance. Meeting resistance from Ohio
tribes, he formed an Indian Confederacy with tribes from
Wisconsin to Florida. He saw the Ohio River as the dividing
line between the races. While he was away getting support
for the union, his brother Tenskwatawa (the Prophet) gathered
a warrior band at Tippecanoe. On November 7, 1811, the Prophet
and his troops fought a premature battle with the Americans
under William Henry Harrison and was defeated. Tecumseh had
told him not to do anything while he was gone. This defeat
had a profound effect on the future of the Confederation.
During the War of 1812, Tecumseh aligned himself with the
British. American naval victories on Lake Erie under Admiral
Oliver Hazard forced the British to retreat. Tecumseh chose
to cover the retreat and was killed at the Battle of the
Thames in 1813 at age 45.
Even though Tecumseh fought against the Americans, he was
held in respect by them. He showed honor in battle, mercy
toward his captives and had great oratory skills.
The Shawnee peoples were "removed" to
a site west of the Mississippi River in 1827.
Resources
Tecumseh Shooting Star
http://www.heidelberg.edu/FallenTimbers/FTbio-Tecumseh.html
Tecumseh “panther passing
across”
http://ohiobio.org/tecumseh.htm
Tecumseh Ohio History Central
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=373
