American Indian Council's Response to Little Turtle's War, 1794
Tenskwatawa’s Vision When the War of 1812 embroiled the American armed forces in bitter battles south of the Great Lakes region, the Shawnees began to call on their neighbors and allies to help them retake the Ohio Valley. The American desire to settle the region started long before 1812. Although the Shawnees had lost the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), or perhaps because the memory of that defeat still rankled, their movement soon gained support. The Shawnee revival is often traced to Lalawethika (literally the “Rattle” or “Noisemaker”), the Shawnee warrior chief Tecumseh’s younger brother, a man who until then had led an unpromising existence, drinking excessively and causing frequent disturbances. As a child, Lalawethika managed to shoot himself in one eye, lending him a forbidding appearance. This seemed just about right, as his was a family history rife with pain and loss; Tecumseh and Lalawethika belonged to a generation that came of age after decades of clashes with settlers.
In 1805, upon emerging from an epileptic seizure, Lalawethika had a revelation. He gave up alcohol and began to issue prophecies. He foresaw that a new confederacy of the wounded nations of the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, and the southeastern lands would soon rise. Together with his charismatic older brother, he traveled throughout these regions, drawing thousands of warriors to a new village called Prophetstown (est. 1808). While Lalawethika reinvented himself as a Shawnee prophet named Tenskwatawa (“Open Door”), Tecumseh emerged as the war chief of a coalition of young, militant American Indians.
Tenskwatawa’s vision was simple: break your ties to the white people, and rid yourselves of their harmful influence. He called on his fellow Shawnees to return to their traditional way of life, embracing ancestral values and ethics. His vision, reflected in his new name, was inclusive–—it promised a revival that would improve the lot of all American Indians.
The Great Spirit bids me address you in his own words–—which are these:
My Children!
You are to have very little intercourse with the Whites. They are not your ‘Father,’ as you call them–—but your brethren. I am your Father. When you call me so, you do well–—I am the Father of the English: but of the French, of the Spaniards, and of the Indians, I created the first man who was the common father of all these people, as well as yourselves: and it is through him, whom I have awakened from his long sleep, that I now address you. But the Americans I did not make–—they are not my children–—but the children of the Evil Spirit–— they grew from the scum or froth of the great water, when it was troubled by the Evil Spirit; and the froth was driven into the woods by a strong east wind. They are numerous, but I hate them. They are unjust: they have taken away your lands–—which were not made for them.
My Children! “The Whites I placed on the other side of the great lake, that they might be a separate people. To them I gave different manners, customs, animals, vegetables, &c., for their use. To them I have given cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, for themselves only. You are not to keep any of these animals, nor to eat of their meat. To you I have given the deer, the bear, the buffalo, and all wild animals; and the fish that swim in the rivers, and the corn that grows in the fields, for your own use; and you are not to give your meat or your corn to the Whites to eat.
My Children!
You may salute the Whites when you meet them, but must not shake hands. You must not get drunk–—it is a great sin. Your old men and Chiefs may drink a little pure spirits … but you must not drink one drop of whisky. It is the drink of the Evil Spirit. It was not made by me, but by the Americans. It is poison. It makes you sick. It burns your insides. …
My Children!
You must plant corn for yourselves, for your wives, and for your children; and when you do it, you are to help each other: but plant no more than is necessary for your own use. You must not sell it to the Whites. It was not made for them. I made all the trees of the forest for your use–—but the maple I love best, because it yields sugar for your little ones. You must make it only for them; but sell none to the Whites. They have another sugar, which was made expressly for them. Besides, by making too much, you spoil the trees, and give them pain, by cutting and hacking them; for they have a feeling like yourselves. If you make more than is necessary for your own use, you shall die, and the maple will yield no more water. If a White man is starving, you may sell him a very little corn, or a very little sugar.
My Children!
You must not dress like the Whites, nor wear hats like them; but pluck out your hair, as in ancient times, and wear the feather of the eagle on your heads; and, when the weather is not severe, you must go naked, excepting the breech-cloth: and when you are clothed, it must be in skins, or leather, of your own dressing.
My Children!
You complain that the animals of the forest are few and scattered. How should it be otherwise? You destroy them yourselves, for their skins only, and leave their bodies to rot. Or give the best pieces to the Whites. I am displeased when I see this, and take them back to the earth, that they may not come to you again. You must kill no more animals than are necessary to feed and clothe you.
My Children!
Your women must not live with traders, or other White men, unless they are lawfully married. But I do not like even this; because the White and my Red Children were thus marked with different colours, that they might be separate people.
My Children!
You are to have very little intercourse with the Whites. They are not your ‘Father,’ as you call them–—but your brethren. I am your Father. When you call me so, you do well–—I am the Father of the English: but of the French, of the Spaniards, and of the Indians, I created the first man who was the common father of all these people, as well as yourselves: and it is through him, whom I have awakened from his long sleep, that I now address you. But the Americans I did not make–—they are not my children–—but the children of the Evil Spirit–— they grew from the scum or froth of the great water, when it was troubled by the Evil Spirit; and the froth was driven into the woods by a strong east wind. They are numerous, but I hate them. They are unjust: they have taken away your lands–—which were not made for them.
My Children! “The Whites I placed on the other side of the great lake, that they might be a separate people. To them I gave different manners, customs, animals, vegetables, &c., for their use. To them I have given cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, for themselves only. You are not to keep any of these animals, nor to eat of their meat. To you I have given the deer, the bear, the buffalo, and all wild animals; and the fish that swim in the rivers, and the corn that grows in the fields, for your own use; and you are not to give your meat or your corn to the Whites to eat.
My Children!
You may salute the Whites when you meet them, but must not shake hands. You must not get drunk–—it is a great sin. Your old men and Chiefs may drink a little pure spirits … but you must not drink one drop of whisky. It is the drink of the Evil Spirit. It was not made by me, but by the Americans. It is poison. It makes you sick. It burns your insides. …
My Children!
You must plant corn for yourselves, for your wives, and for your children; and when you do it, you are to help each other: but plant no more than is necessary for your own use. You must not sell it to the Whites. It was not made for them. I made all the trees of the forest for your use–—but the maple I love best, because it yields sugar for your little ones. You must make it only for them; but sell none to the Whites. They have another sugar, which was made expressly for them. Besides, by making too much, you spoil the trees, and give them pain, by cutting and hacking them; for they have a feeling like yourselves. If you make more than is necessary for your own use, you shall die, and the maple will yield no more water. If a White man is starving, you may sell him a very little corn, or a very little sugar.
My Children!
You must not dress like the Whites, nor wear hats like them; but pluck out your hair, as in ancient times, and wear the feather of the eagle on your heads; and, when the weather is not severe, you must go naked, excepting the breech-cloth: and when you are clothed, it must be in skins, or leather, of your own dressing.
My Children!
You complain that the animals of the forest are few and scattered. How should it be otherwise? You destroy them yourselves, for their skins only, and leave their bodies to rot. Or give the best pieces to the Whites. I am displeased when I see this, and take them back to the earth, that they may not come to you again. You must kill no more animals than are necessary to feed and clothe you.
My Children!
Your women must not live with traders, or other White men, unless they are lawfully married. But I do not like even this; because the White and my Red Children were thus marked with different colours, that they might be separate people.
Background Text courtesy of Teaching American History with Primary Sources [NPS, Public Domain]
Primary Source Text in the Public Domain
Primary Source Text in the Public Domain