Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa were Shawnee brothers who had differing views on resisting white settlers. Tecumseh advocated for tribal unity and reclaiming Native lands, while Tenskwatawa promoted a return to traditional ways. They established the town of Prophetstown as a resistance headquarters. However, Tenskwatawa disobeyed Tecumseh's orders and led an attack, resulting in their defeat at the Battle of Tippecanoe. This weakened their movement, and though Tecumseh continued resisting, he was later killed in battle. Tenskwatawa's influence also declined and he died in obscurity, while some believe in a "T

1. Tecumseh & the Prophet

2. Intro
• Tecumseh & Tenskwatawa were two brothers
from the Shawnee Indian tribe. They did not
get along as brothers and had very different
views on how to handle their tribe and the
oncoming white onslaught. They had many
struggles wit one another during their life.

4. Tecumseh
• Born in 1768
• Name means ‘Shooting Star’
• Mother abandoned him at age 11, raised by
his brother Chiksika and sister Tecumpease

5. Tenskwatawa
• Born in 1775
• Originally named Lalawethika (The Rattle)
• Mother abandoned him at age 4, raised by
many siblings

7. Tecumseh
• Trained by Chiksika as a warrior
• First battle in 1782 against George roger
Clark’s army
• Tecumseh fled from battle

8. Tenskwatawa
• Unathletic / no physical gifts
• Siblings refused to teach him skills
• Lost an eye
• Turned to alcohol
• Trained to be a medicine man, but failed when
his mentor passed

10. Tecumseh
• Learned to never run in battle
• Victorious in next battle vs. army of Arthur St.
Clair
• Quickly became Shawnee’s most trusted
leader
• Tribe gave up land after a loss in battle, didn’t
sit well with Tecumseh

11. Tenskwatawa
• Fell into trance while smoking his pipe
• Body was prepared for burial, he was thought
to be dead
• Awoke claiming to have been visited by
Master of Life
• Was told to tell tribe to convert to traditional
ways
• Changed name to Tenskwatawa (Open Door)

13. Tecumseh
• All tribes should unite to drive away whites
• Land belonged to all Native Americans wholly,
shouldn’t be separated by tribe
• Toured the Midwest in search of tribes to
unite
• Created the town of Prophetstown

14. Tenskwatawa
• Natives should revert to traditional life to
please the Giver of Life
• Relinquish all white-made products(iron
cookware, guns, alcohol, etc)
• Natives should unite under Giver of Life
• Created the town of Prophetstown

15. • Established in 1808
• “Home base” for Shawnee resistance against
white settlers
• Formed by Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa
• West of Appalachians
• Tribes from across the nation met there

17. Tecumseh vs. Tenskwatawa
• While recruiting allies in the south, Tecumseh
left the Prophet with orders not to attack
oncoming American troops. The Prophet
claimed to have received a message from the
Giver of Life. It said to attack the white men,
so Tenskwatawa led “his troops” into what
would be called the Battle of Tippecanoe.

18. Battle of Tippecanoe
• Lead by William Henry Harrison for America
and Tenskwatawa for the Shawnee
• Americans suffered more casualties but won
the battle
• Prophetstown was destroyed and the natives
were pushed back
• This victory helped get Harrison elected as
eventual President of the United States

19. Fallout
• Tecumseh lashed out at Tenskwatawa for not
following orders, which lost him a lot of
support. The two continued to struggle back
and forth, but they would never come close to
holding off the Americans. Tecumseh was
killed in the Battle of the Thames in 1813. The
Prophet sought to take over his brothers
troops, but they remembered his mistake at
Tippecanoe and refused to join him.

20. The End of the Prophet
• The Prophet continued to seek power among
the Shawnee, traveling from place to place
attempting to gain followers. He ended up in
his own village with a family. He died virtually
forgotten in 1836.

21. Tecumseh’s Curse
• Tecumseh, after the Battle of Tippecanoe,
placed a curse on the American presidency- all
presidents elected during a year ending in 0
will die in office.

22. Proof of the Curse
• 1840- William Henry Harrison, dies of Pneumonia
• 1860- Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in Ford Theatre
• 1880- James Garfield, shot at a railroad station
• 1900- William McKinley, shot during his second term
• 1920- Warren G. Harding, died of a heart attack
• 1940- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, cerebral
hemorrhage
• 1960- John f. Kennedy, assassinated while riding on a
motorcade