Monday, December 10, 2007 Chief Tecumseh

1. What does Tecumseh mean in English (more than one possibility)?


"Shooting Star" of the SHAWNEE tribe, named Tecumtha ( which means Celestial Panther Lying in Wait)


2. When and where was Tecumseh born?


Tecumseh ("Panther in the Sky") is believed to have been born in 1768 just outside the current town of Xenia.


3. What did Tecumseh say when GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON tried to get Tecumseh to sell him part of the Shawnee tribal land?



Tecumseh replied, "Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds, and the great sea, as well as the Earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?"


4. What did Tecumseh want the members of his tribe to reject?

Tecumseh wanted the members to reject the ways of the whites.


5. What did Tecumseh try to form?

Tecumseh tried to form a broad alliance of Native American tribes with help from the British in Canada.

6. Name at least three tribes that he attempted to join together.

Tecumseh was on a summer recruitment drive in an attempt to bring the Chickasaw, Choctaw an Creek nations to Prophet'sTown, Governor of the Indiana Territory, General William Henry Harrison sent a small army of 1000 men into Prophet's Town to try and drive away the Indians.

7. Which side of the War of 1812 did Tecumseh join?

Tecumseh joined on the British side in the War of 1812 .

8. How did Tecumseh die?

Tecumseh was killed in the Battle of the Thames, near Thamesville, Ontario, on October 5, 1813.