Tecumseh's Religion

Tecumseh's confederacy was a confederation of indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region of North America that began to form in the early 19th century around the teaching of Tenskwatawa, called The Prophet by his followers. The confederation grew over to include several thousand warriors. A Shawnee, Tecumseh, the brother of The Prophet, developed into the leader of the group as early as 1808. Together, they worked to unite the various tribes against the European settlers who had been crossing the Appalachian Mountains and settling on their land. In November 1811, an American military force under the leadership of William Henry Harrison engaged warriors associated with Tenskwatawa in the Battle of Tippecanoe, resulting in a definitive American victory. In retaliation for that battle, Tecumseh led the confederation to war with the United States during a conflict later named Tecumseh's War, a part of the War of 1812 alliance between the Indians and the british. In 1813, the U.S. Navy gained control of Lake Erie. The British and Tecumseh abandoned Detroit and fled east, where they were caught and destroyed as a military force. Tecumseh was killed in the Battle of the Thames near Chatham, Ontario. The small retreating British force was routed, leaving Tecumseh's 500 warriors (who refused to retreat any further) to face a significantly superior American force which included cavalry. The death of Tecumseh had a demoralizing effect on his allies. His confederacy dissolved as an organized entity soon after, although many tribes continued to fight under their own leaders, just as they had before Tecumseh's death. After Tecumseh's death in 1813, his younger brother Tenskwatawa retained a small group of followers but had no significant leadership position among the American Indians in the decade that followed. In 1824, at the request of the governor of Michigan Territory, the aging Prophet returned to the United States from Canada to assist the federal government with its plans for the Shawnee removal west of the Mississippi River. Tenskwatawa hoped his involvement would allow him to regain some influence as a leader among the Shawnee. His more effectual predecessor, Tenskwatawa, held beleifs that were greatly influenced by the teachings of Neolin and Scattamek, Lenape religious leaders who had died years earlier and had predicted a coming apocalypse in which the white men would be overthrown by supernatural powers. As part of Tenskwatawa's religious teachings, he urged Indians to reject white introductions such as liquor, Europeans style clothing, and firearms. He also called for the tribes to refrain from ceding any more lands to the United States. Numerous Indians who were inclined to cooperate with the United States were accused of witchcraft, and some of these were executed by the followers of Tenskwatawa. Tenskwatawa's religious teachings became increasingly militant following an 1807 treaty between the Americans, the Fox tribe, and the Sauk. Many members of the two tribes were outraged by the treaty which caused the Sauk to lose their greatest settlement. Many of the disaffected came to align themselves with the Prophet and his teachings. Led by Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh, thousands of Algonquin-speaking Indians gathered at Tippecanoe to gain spiritual strength. Eventually, the remnant of Tecumseh's confederacy retreated westward by 1840 to avoid the large numbers of whites that continued to enter their territory.