Tenskwatawa
Tenskwatawa, originally named Lalawethika, was a significant Shawnee leader and spiritual figure known as the "Open Door." He was born into a challenging environment, as his father, Puckeshinwa, a respected war chief of the Kispokotha Shawnee, was killed shortly before his birth. After a troubled youth marked by excessive drinking and boasting, Tenskwatawa underwent a transformative experience in 1805, during which he began preaching a spiritual revival that called for Indigenous peoples to reject European influences and return to traditional communal ways. His movement gained momentum, attracting followers from various tribes to Prophetstown, a village he established along the Wabash River.
Tenskwatawa's prominence grew, particularly after accurately predicting a solar eclipse in 1806, which bolstered his reputation as a prophet. However, tensions escalated as American government officials grew concerned about his influence. This culminated in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, where his forces faced a significant defeat against Indiana Governor William Henry Harrison's army. Following this loss, Tenskwatawa faced discredit and fled to Canada, living there until 1825 before returning to the Ohio Shawnee. He later settled in Kansas, where he spent the remainder of his life, continuing to advocate for his people amid the pressures of displacement and cultural change.
Subject Terms
Tenskwatawa
- Born: March 1, 1768
- Birthplace: Piqua, Ohio
- Died: November 1, 1837
- Place of death: Present-day Argentine, Kansas
Tribal affiliation: Shawnee
Significance: Tenskwatawa led a spiritual and cultural revival among the tribes of the Old Northwest during the first decade of the nineteenth century
Tenskwatawa was one of two surviving triplets born to Methoataske several months after his father Puckeshinwa was killed at the battle of Point Pleasant (October, 1774). Puckeshinwa was a great war chief of the Kispokotha Shawnee. In his youth, Tenskwatawa was known as Lalawethika (“the Rattle”) because of his excessive boasting. He was blind in one eye because of a childhood accident. As a young man, Lalawethika was given to drunken sloth.
He accompanied his brother Tecumseh to Fallen Timbers(1794) to fight against the American army of Anthony Wayne. In the years after the Indian defeat at Fallen Timbers, Lalawethika was trained in magic and medicine by Penagasha. In April, 1805, Lalawethika fainted in his lodge. When he recovered, he began to preach a new gospel given to him by the Master of Life.
Taking the name Tenskwatawa (“the Open Door”), he urged all Indians to renounce whiskey, sexual promiscuity, and the technology of European Americans. He advocated a return to the communal life of his Shawnee ancestors. Tenskwatawa’s reputation was greatly enhanced when he successfully predicted a solar eclipse on June 16, 1806.
From 1804 until 1811, agents of the U.S. government negotiated numerous treaties with various tribes of the Old Northwest, under which the government purchased millions of acres of Indian land. Tenskwatawa and his brother Tecumseh challenged the validity of the treaties.
Indiana governor William Henry Harrison became increasingly concerned about the growing strength of the intertribal cultural revival being led by Tenskwatawa. The Shawnee prophet attracted followers from many Indian nations to his village Prophetstown, on the banks of the Wabash River. Convinced that Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh posed a real threat to European American interests on the frontier, Harrison raised an army and marched to Prophetstown. Harrison arrived near the Indian village while Tecumseh was on a southern journey. Tenskwatawa encouraged his multitribal army to strike first. He promised them that the power of his magic would lead to victory.
The Indians struck the American army in the predawn hours of November 7, 1811. After hours of fierce fighting, they were defeated in what came to be known as the Battle of Tippecanoe. Following the battle, Prophetstown was burned, and Tenskwatawa was discredited as a religious leader.
During the first year of the War of 1812, Tenskwatawa attempted to continue to live with a small band of followers in the Wabash River Valley. American pressure forced him to flee to Canada. The defeat of the British and the death of Tecumseh shattered any hope of revitalizing Tenskwatawa’s cultural movement.
Tenskwatawa lived in Canada until 1825, when he returned to live among the Ohio Shawnee. He aided Governor Lewis Cass of the Michigan Territory in his efforts to convince the Ohio Shawnee to move west across the Mississippi. In 1827, he established his home on the Shawnee Reservation in Kansas, where he lived out the remainder of his life.