Crafting the Prophet: Ellskwatawa, Tecumseh, and the Shawnee People

• In Event: Convergent Roads: Discourses of Peace and Conflict among American Indian, Euro-American and Russian Cultures

Abstract

As settlers continued to encroach on Native American homelands, a great debate developed within the Shawnee tribe. Some gave in to Euro-American ways, accepting the concepts of Christianity, private property, and modern agriculture. Others longed for a time untouched by
these influences. The latter group eventually coalesced around Ellskwatawa, brother of Tecumseh. Because of his visions, he was called “The Prophet.” He envisioned a life that 1. rejected the old shaman, 2. was free of alcohol and sexual promiscuity, and 3. united the many
different tribes in resistance to Euro-American hegemony.

The Prophet had wide appeal, and several other tribes began to follow his teachings. The Potawatomi invited the Prophet to build a city at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers in Indiana. More pragmatic than his brother, Tecumseh saw the political potential of
Ellskwatawa’s religious initiatives. He furthered the rhetorical campaign of the Shawnee and brought together a confederacy of several tribes.

Ellskwatawa and Tecumseh blended tropes of Native American mythos with more traditional rhetorical techniques in their discourse to broaden the appeal of their movement. In this essay, I will examine how Ellskwatawa achieved the status of “prophet.” How “the prophet” was a
unique rhetorical construction within the norms of Shawnee culture. And once he was elevated to “prophet,” how he used that new power to influence the culture of several tribes.

Author

• Geoffrey Klinger, DePauw University