Teedyuscung (tribal leader)
Teedyuscung was a prominent tribal leader of the Lenni Lenape, born in New Jersey and later relocated to the Delaware River valley in Pennsylvania due to the pressures of English settlement. His leadership emerged in response to the encroachment on Indigenous lands, particularly during the controversial Walking Purchase of 1737, which unfairly transferred land from the Lenape to Pennsylvania. Teedyuscung advocated for Indigenous rights and represented his people in negotiations with colonial authorities, notably participating in the Treaty of Easton in 1758, which addressed land disputes and established the Proclamation Line of 1763. Although he was initially converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries, he later shifted his focus to military leadership against the Iroquois and participated in the French and Indian War. Teedyuscung became a symbol of resistance against colonial policies that undermined Native land rights, with his speeches gaining attention through publication by Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately, his life was tragically cut short when he was burned to death in Wyoming, likely as a result of conflict with land speculators. His legacy continues to resonate as a significant figure in the history of Indigenous resistance in North America.
Teedyuscung (tribal leader)
- Born: c. 1705
- Birthplace: Near present-day Trenton, New Jersey
- Died: April 1, 1763
- Place of death: Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania
Category: Tribal leader, orator
Tribal affiliation: Lenni Lenape (Delaware)
Significance: Teedyuscung was an eloquent defender of Indian land rights
Teedyuscung’s career was one of opposition to white English encroachment on Indian lands. He was born in New Jersey, where he lived in a small Lenni Lenape community. Encroaching English settlement led the group, in about 1730, to move to the Delaware River valley in eastern Pennsylvania. Along with other Indians, Teedyuscung protested the unfairness of the Walking Purchase of 1737 under which Pennsylvania seized land from the Indians. Complicating the Lenni Lenape claims to the land were land grants made by the Iroquois, who claimed the smaller tribe as their subjects.
Teedyuscung was converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries, but he later gave up his involvement in the church to take up duties as war chief against the Iroquois. In 1754 the Lenni Lenape were expelled, with Iroquois cooperation, to Wyoming, near Wilkes-Barre. During the French and Indian War (1755-1763), Teedyuscung was a leader of a group of warriors from several tribes living in Wyoming. Teedyuscung appeared at a number of important meetings, including the Albany Conference of 1754. He became a symbol of the unfairness of proprietary policy toward Indian land rights, and his speeches were published by Benjamin Franklin. While opposing settlement of the northeast Pennsylvania frontier, Teedyuscung was burned to death at home in Wyoming, likely a victim of arson/murder by land speculators.