Tecumseh

Tecumseh(1768-1813), a Shawnee born in Ohio, was known for his courage and integrity. He maintained that land could not be sold by or purchased from individual tribes because the land belonged to all Indians. He traveled among the various tribes, trying to convince them to refuse the white man's gifts, to work in agriculture, to make their own livelihood, and to settle disputes with the settlers peaceably. In an effort to unify the tribes of the Old Northwest and to establish an Indian region in the Ohio Valley, he joined the British in the War of 1812 against the United States. He was killed in the battle of the Thames, in Canada, in 1813. Today, Tecumseh is remembered as a visionary who sought to unite all Indians against the advance of white society.

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