Tenskwatawa (c. 1768–c. 1837)

Shawnee resistance leader. A vision in 1805 led him to believe that Indians must reject the ways of whites and return to their traditions; his prediction of a solar eclipse in 1806 was largely responsible for his fame as ‘The Prophet’. He worked with his brother Tecumseh to unite Indians as common owners of the land throughout the then Northwest Territory. In 1811, with Tecumseh away, he led his people to defeat in the Battle of Tippecanoe. His credibility gone, he moved to Canada but returned in 1826 to move west with his people. Tenskwatawa was born on the Mad River near present-day Springfield, Ohio.