The family of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

(c. 1768 – October 5, 1813), the Shawnee leader, has long been the subject of inquiry by historians. The documentary evidence of his personal life is fragmentary, with frequently contradictory evidence, and historians have often reached differing conclusions about significant details.

Parents

Tecumseh's father, Puckshinwa (in

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, ), meaning "alights from flying", "something that drops", or "I light from flying", and rendered in various records as Puckeshinwa, Pucksinwah, Pukshinwa, Pukeesheno, Pekishinoah, Pooksehnwe and other variations) was a minor

war chief of the

Kispoko Kispoko (also spelled Kiscopocoke, Kispokotha, Spitotha) is the name of one of the five divisions (or septs) of the Shawnee, a Native American people. The Kispoko were the smallest of the five septs or divisions during the 18th century. They lived ...

("Dancing Tail" or "Panther")

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

and the panther

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

. According to some sources, Puckshinwa's father was

Muscogee (Creek) The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsne who NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...

lays eggs in the sand" or "a turtle laying eggs in the sand", and alternately spelled Methoataske, Meetheetashe, Methotase, or Methoatase), was Puckshinwa's second wife. She is believed to have been either

Muscogee Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsCherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, or Shawnee through both her parents, possibly of the

Pekowi Pekowi was the name of one of the five divisions (or bands) of the Shawnee, a Native American people, during the 18th century. The other four divisions were the Chalahgawtha, Mekoche, Kispoko, and Hathawekela. Together these divisions formed th ...

band and the turtle clan. Some traditions argue that Methotaske was Creek because she had lived among that tribe prior to marriage, while others claim that she was

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, having died in old age living among that tribe. Others suggest that she was a white

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

due to the family stories that claim Puckshinwa had been married to a white captive. Puckshinwa and Methotaske had at least eight children. Shawnee divisional identity was recorded

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

ly, meaning that inheritance and descent are traced through the male line, which made Tecumseh and his siblings members of the Kispoko. When Tecumseh's parents met and married, the Pekowi were living somewhere near the present-day site of

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

. The Pekowi had lived in that region alongside the Creek people, since the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

(a powerful confederacy based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) forced them from the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

valley during the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...

in the seventeenth century. About 1759 the Pekowi band moved north into the

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

. Not wanting to force Methotaske to choose between staying in the south with him or moving with her family, Puckshinwa decided to travel north with her. The Pekowi founded an Indian settlement named Chillicothe, where Tecumseh was likely born.

Siblings

Tecumseh had three older brothers, one older sister, and two younger brothers. The oldest sibling was

Cheeseekau Cheeseekau (c. 1760–1792) was a war chief of the Kispoko division of the Shawnee Nation. Also known as Pepquannakek (Gunshot), Popoquan (Gun), Sting, and Chiksika. Although primarily remembered as the eldest brother and mentor of Tecumseh, wh ...

(c. 1761–1792). Although primarily remembered as the eldest brother and mentor of Tecumseh, Cheeseekau was a well-known war chief in his own time. The second child in the family was Tecumapease ("Flying Over the Water"), also called Menewaulaakoosee. She was Tecumseh's only sister. She and Tecumseh were close. She married Wahsikegaboe ("Stands Firm"), who became one of Tecumseh's leading supporters. The third child in the family was Sauaweseekau ("Jumping Panther"). He grew to be a warrior, and was killed in the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

, possibly in the 1794

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Indigenous peoples of North America, Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their Kingdom of Gre ...

. The next sibling in the family was a brother named Nehaaseemoo. Because a tradition claimed that Tecumseh had two sisters, one 20th century Tecumseh biographer decided that Nehaaseemoo must have been a female, but Sugden (1997) argues the evidence is incontrovertible that he was male. Tecumseh, the fifth child of the family, was born around 1768. In 1775, not long after Puckshinwa had been killed in the

Battle of Point Pleasant The Battle of Point Pleasant, also known as the Battle of Kanawha and the Battle of Great Kanawha, was the only major action of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, between the Virginia militia and Shawnee and Mingo warriors. Along ...

, Methotaske gave birth to triplets. One of the three died at birth. Of the two boys who survived, one was Kumskaukau ("A Cat That Flies in the Air"), who grew to be a well-liked man with many friends, and a follower of Tecumseh. The other was named Laloeshiga ("A Panther with a Handsome Tail"). Laloeshiga later became well-known as

Tenskwatawa Tenskwatawa (; also called Tenskatawa, Tenskwatawah, Tensquatawa or Lalawethika) (January 1775 – November 1836) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as the P ...

(1775–1836), the Shawnee Prophet.

Wives and children

Tecumseh's first wife Mamate was the mother of his first son, Paukeesaa, born about 1796. Their marriage did not last, and Tecumapese raised Paukeesaa from the age of seven or eight. He married twice more during this time. His third marriage, to White Wing, lasted until 1807.

Parents

Siblings

Wives and children

References

Notes

Citations

Sources