Tenskwatawa
Tenskwatawa (prophet) was a spiritual leader of the Shawnee nation.
Contents
History
Tenskwatawa's brother, Tecumtha, emerged as a martial leader to complement his spiritual movement. He experienced visions of the future and correctly predicted an eclipse.
Reign
Tenskwatawa's spiritual movement led to the establishment of Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe. A multi-tribe confederacy gradually emerged from it.
Harrison was charged with the elimination of the movement led by the brothers. This conflict became known as Tecumtha's War. Tenskwatawa led a military offensive in what became the disastrous Battle of Tippecanoe; Prophetstown was burned, he lost legitimacy as a leader, and the confederacy dissolved. The war effectively ended when Tecumtha was killed at the Battle of the Thames.
Legacy
Tenskwatawa lived in exile in Canada for about a decade. He returned to join the Shawnee in their removal to Missouri following the Treaty of Lewistown.
He died at the Shawnee settlement, which eventually developed into Kansas City.