Shawnee Prophet essays

Shawnee Prophet essays The goals of Tenskwatawa were to unite all the Indians into an intertribal confederacy under his leadership, stop the American land encroachment and ensure Indian survival. Tenskwatawa preached and demanded sobriety, monogamy, an end to witchcraft, and an end to all relations with the Americans based on visions he had in a dream. He called for total rejection of American culture and denounced the selling of Indian lands. Even though Tenskwatawa was not a gifted speaker or great warrior, he used his gifts of manipulation, forcefulness and persistence to convince other Indians to follow his teachings which were essentially Native and encouraged a return to communal life. Initially, he dominated the Indian movement attracting followers, first to Greenville, Ohio and then to Prophetstown on the Wabash. Prophetstown became a center for Indian resistance as his teachings spread rapidly. The Prophet attracted a considerable following, especially among the younger, more radical warriors. The tribe was cleansed of liquor and evildoers, and other tribes took notice and came to join the Shawnee at Prophetstown. This was the first step in the culmination of Tenskwatawas vision of Indian unity. For a very long time, the majority of people, Indian and both American and British viewed him as the main authority figure at Prophetstown. For the next several years, epidemics spread through the tribes and harsh winters brought famine. These and other misfortunes caused some members of other tribes to be even more suspicious of Tenskwatawas power. Many tribesmen began to believe he was no different from anyone else and left Prophetstown. However, the Battle of Tippecanoe was perhaps most devastating to the aspirations and dreams of the Prophet and his people. The failure of Prophets military leadership and magic to protect Prophetstown was a major factor in the decline o f his influence and most importantly, any lasting ...