Birthday of Tecumseh

Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. He successfully formed a powerful confederacy of Indigneous peoples in the Great Lakes area which engaged colonizers in the early 1800's. In 1805, Tecumseh's younger brother Tenskwatawa, who came to be known as the Shawnee Prophet, founded a religious movement that called upon Native Americans to reject European influences and return to a more traditional lifestyle. In 1808, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa established Prophetstown, a village in present-day Indiana, that grew into a large, multi-tribal community. Tecumseh traveled far and worked tirelessly for the formation of a strong confederacy. In the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined his cause with the British, recruited warriors, and helped capture Detroit in August 1812. He was killed by the US Army at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. Tecumseh is remembered and beloved in popular history today among colonized peoples the world over.