Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership

The multi-generational conflict between the Shawnee and white settlers that Tecumseh inherits is a direct consequence of European colonialism in North America. By 1800, the traditional lifestyle of the Shawnee had been permanently altered by the economic, cultural, and political changes brought from Europe to the “New World.” In addition to being victims of violence and disease, the Shawnee and other tribes became highly dependent upon the British and American settlers for food and supplies. This precipitates a loss of autonomy that irreversibly ties the fate of the Native Americans to the policies and decisions of whites in North America.

Even before Tecumseh’s birth in 1768, there is an array of alliances and broken promises foisted upon the Shawnee. Allied with the British at the opening of the 18th century, the Shawnee switch sides and join their enemies, the French, in the Seven Years War (1754-1763). After the French are defeated, the Shawnee struggle to coexist with the British in the region. By the time of the American Revolution, they once more openly oppose the “Long Knives” and American settlement in the Old Northwest. This cycle of temporary allegiances and violence reflects a grim reality for the Shawnee and other tribes: They must constantly seek out the most advantageous partner in intra-European conflicts in North America in order to survive. For Tecumseh, this means working with the British in Canada against the westward expansion of the United States.

According to Edmunds, the British cultivate opposition of Indigenous tribes, like the Shawnee, to the Americans in order to better secure their position in Canada. Though Tecumseh agrees to this convenient partnership in the lead-up to the War of 1812, it becomes clear that the British do not always have the Native Americans’ best interests at heart. For instance, Edmunds suggests that the British essentially abandoned Tecumseh and his warriors in the Battle of the Thames.

Throughout his life, Tecumseh must navigate the challenges of the cultural and political landscape thrust upon the Indigenous peoples of North America by European settlement. His successes and failures in doing so form the core of his story.

Edmunds emphasizes the role of Tenskwatawa in igniting the pan-tribal religious union that Tecumseh later refashions into a strictly military and political movement.

Unlike his older brother, Tenskwatawa (originally Lalawethika) is not particularly well-suited to the Shawnee warrior lifestyle of his family. Edmunds describes him as an unpleasant, fat child who matures into an obnoxious alcoholic. However, in 1805, Lalawethika experiences a vision in which the Master of Life tells him to lead the Shawnee back to greatness by returning to their traditional lifestyle and eschewing the vices of the Europeans. He takes the new name “Tenskwatawa” to signal his re-birth as a new man.

Tenskwatawa’s message of religious revival finds ready adherents from several tribes in the region. Faced with increased alcoholism, violence, and deprivation as a result of European settlement, many Native Americans eagerly embrace Tenskwatawa. Religious salvation, not secure territory or political self-determination, is what draws so many people to Greenville and then later to Prophetstown. The conquest of earthly tribulations by the promises of faith is the root of the Indigenous confederation that Tecumseh will take over from his brother.

According to Edmunds, Tenskwatawa’s teachings conform to a pattern of Native American religious revivals that included figures such as the Delaware Prophet, Handsome Lake, Kanakuk, and Wovoka. Unlike his brother’s quest for Indigenous political sovereignty—which was modelled on a European framework—Tenskwatawa’s solution to the struggles of his people is “undeniably Indian” (224).