| To counter these problems, Tecumthe formulated a plan that he would spend years trying to fulfill. His plan was to unite the various Indian tribes into a single entity. He believed that if a large following of Indians were to form a confederation, then the United States would be forced to recognized them as a united front and deal with them accordingly. This confederation was to be the equal of the ‘Seventeen Fires’ of the United States. Tecumthe traveled across America for years visiting the tribes of Florida, the Great Lakes, and the western tribes across the Mississippi. Tecumthe attempted to convince tribes to join him in the formation of the confederation. During his travels he attempted to convince the other tribes of the need to unite, that by standing alone each tribe would eventually be consumed by the Americans, but together they could stand up to the Americans. He also preached that the land, like the air and water, did not belong to any particular tribe, but to all of the tribes together. Tecumthe stated that no one could sell or give away the land without the permission of all of the tribes. He knew that the Americans often preyed on the weaker tribes to gain land. He understood that the Americans would offer them money and goods for land they may not have even owned. Two vastly different interpretations exist for his desire to form a confederation. The passive version is that Tecumthe simply wanted to form a common bond between the tribes and would settle for the confederation recognized as a country equal to the United States. The aggressive view and the one most believed by Americans at the time, was that Tecumthe was uniting the tribes together and would declare war against the Americans and drive them eastward, back across the Appalachian Mountains. Tecumthe, knowing that his great oratory capability was not enough to win over all of the Indians, planned a subtler way of convincing Indians to join his confederation. This more subtle way involved his younger brother, Laulewasikaw (also known as Elskatawa, Olliwayshila). Laulewasikaw, known throughout the |
