Tenskwatawa was a Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as the Prophet or the Shawnee Prophet. He was a younger brother of Tecumseh, a leader of the Shawnee. In his early years Tenskwatawa was given the name Lalawethika, but he changed it around 1805 and transformed himself from a hapless, alcoholic youth into an influential spiritual leader. Tenskwatawa denounced the Americans, calling them the offspring of the Evil Spirit, and led a purification movement that promoted unity among the Indigenous peoples of North America, rejected acculturation to the American way of life, and encouraged his followers to pursue traditional ways.
Tenskwatawa
Portrait by Charles Bird King
The view from Prophet's Rock, looking toward the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe
The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.
The Shawnee Prophet, Tenskwatawa (1775–1836), ca. 1820, portrait by Charles Bird King
Fort Ancient Monongahela cultures
Serpent Mound, Peebles, Ohio
Tecumseh, by Benson Lossing in 1848 based on 1808 drawing.