Tecumseh (c.1768 – 1813)

In c. 1810 – 1811 when Tecumseh was about 42 years if age he spoke to the Osage about uniting North American tribes against the advancing white settlers.

‘Brothers – we all belong to one family; we are all children of the Great Spirit; we walk in the same path, slake our thirst at the same spring, and now affairs of the greatest concern lead us to smoke the pipe around the same council fire.

Brothers – we are friends; we must assist each other to bear our burdens. The blood of many of our fathers and brothers has run like water on the ground, to satisfy the avarice of the white men. We, ourselves, are threatened with a great evil; nothing will pacify them but the destruction of all the red men.

Brothers – When the white men first set foot on our grounds they were hungry, they had no place on which to spread their blankets, or to kindle their fires. They were feeble, they could do nothing for themselves. Our fathers commiserated their distress, and shared freely with them whatever the Great Spirit had given his red children. They gave them food when hungry, medicine when sick, spread skins for them to sleep on, and gave them grounds, that they might hunt and raise corn.

Brothers – the white people are like poisonous serpents, when chilled they are feeble and harmless, but invigorate them with warmth and they sting their benefactors to death.

Brothers – the white men are not friends to the Indians, at first, they only asked for land sufficient for a wigwam, now, nothing will satisfy them but the whole hunting grounds, from the rising to the setting sun.

Brothers – my people are brave and numerous, but the white people are too strong for them alone. I wish you to take up the tomahawk with them. If we all unite, we will cause the rivers to stain the great waters with their blood.

Brothers – if you do not unite with us, they will destroy us, and then you will fall an easy prey to them. They have destroyed many nations of red men because they were not united, because they were not friends to each other.

Brothers – We must be united, we must smoke the same pipe, we must fight each others battles, and more than all, we must love the Great Spirit, he is for us, he will destroy our enemies, and make his red children happy.’

The tribes did not Unite.

The original inhabitants of North America numbered 7 – 10 million and spoke over 400 languages, by 1990 the total population was 1,878,285.

We must learn from history - what fate awaits the white English tribe?