Tecumseh’s brother, Tenskwatawa, an influential shaman, predicted an eclipse on June 16, 1806; it happened, and indigenous people united for some time to fight the US westward advance
The Battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed. Photo: iStock The skies over the continent of North America will play host to a celestial spectacle on April 8, 2024, when a ‘total solar eclipse’ will be visible over Mexico’s Pacific coast, the continental United States and Atlantic Canada.
According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “a total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk”.
People in the path of a total solar eclipse can see the Sun’s corona, the outer atmosphere, which is otherwise usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun, the US federal agency adds.
Some 15 US states — Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee — lie in the path of totality.
The totality of the eclipse will be for a longer time than the last such event in 2017, according to NASA:
In April, totality will last longer than it did in 2017. Seven years ago, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale, Illinois, at 2 minutes, 42 seconds. For the upcoming eclipse, totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds, in an area about 25 minutes northwest of Torreón, Mexico.
“As the eclipse enters Texas, totality will last about 4 minutes, 26 seconds at the center of the eclipse's path. Durations longer than 4 minutes stretch as far north as Economy, Indiana. Even as the eclipse exits the US and enters Canada, the eclipse will last up to 3 minutes, 21 seconds,” NASA adds.
The continental US (‘Lower 48’) has not seen a total solar eclipse of such duration since June 16, 1806 — almost 218 years ago, according to Forbes. It was a very different time and setting. And the eclipse of 1806, known as ‘Tecumseh’s Eclipse’, has gone down in the history of the US as a major event — astronomically, and more importantly, politically.
In 1806, the US was a fledgling nation. The 13 British colonies that had rebelled against the mother country, had won the American Revolution and become sovereign with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783.
The colonies had come about with settlers coming from Europe in the aftermath of the ‘discovery’ of the New World in 1492.
But the ‘New World’ was not empty. The Americas — from Alaska to the Drake Passage — were the home of several clans, confederacies and chiefdoms at the time of European arrival.
The process of settlement thus came about with violent and internecine warfare between the newcomers and original inhabitants of the land.
This process was on even as the American Revolution took place, with Native American tribes aligning themselves with either the American colonists or the British. It continued after the US became a separate political entity.
As white settlements advanced westward towards the Mississippi river, resistance arose from several tribes. One of these were the Shawnee of the woodlands of Ohio. And in 1806, they had a charismatic leader called Tecumseh (‘Shooting Star’).
One of the greatest indigenous leaders in North America, Tecumseh was one of eight children.
“One of his brothers, ten years younger than he, was named Lauliwasikau, which meant “Loud Mouth,” notes an article in the National Academies Press (NAP) which publishes reports by several US government agencies.
Lauliwasikau was addicted to alcohol and in 1805, almost drank himself to death. But even as preparations were being made to cremate him, he suddenly woke up and declared that “he was an instrument for the Indian people to lead their way forward”.
Lauliwasikau was rechristened Tenskwatawa, meaning “He Who Opens the Door”. From then on, he became a medicine man, a shaman of his nation, also coming to be known as ‘The Prophet’.
“He claimed he could cure all types of disease and provide divine protection in battle for his adherents, a popular notion that the people were ready to believe,” according to the NAP article.
It adds further:
Tecumseh had long realized that for the American Indians to survive against the encroachment of the whites from the east it would be necessary for all the tribes to band together in a common purpose. His efforts in this regard had been stymied by inter-tribe rivalry. Now, though, Tecumseh saw in his brother the instrument to unite the Indians to resist the otherwise inevitable, gradual seizure of their lands.
Such an opportunity presented itself in June 1806.
Jennifer Graber, professor of religious studies and associate director of Native American and Indigenous studies, University of Texas at Austin, is quoted as saying in a recent article on the University’s website that “In 1805, President Thomas Jefferson and William Henry Harrison, then governor of Indiana Territory and later a short-lived US president, were attempting to get the Shawnee to cede more land to the US in what was to become Ohio”.
Graber further noted that “Harrison, in trying to convince the Delaware Indians to reject an alliance with the brothers, urged the Delaware to challenge Tenskwatawa to perform a miracle, suggesting that he cause “the sun to stand still.”
Tenskwatawa predicted an eclipse on June 16, 1806. “When it happened, Harrison looked like a fool, and Tenskwatawa’s authority grew,” she adds in her quote.
The NAP article notes that at the site of modern-day Greenville in Ohio, “thousands of Indians from many tribes gathered, having heard of the prophecy…Accounts handed down to us have the Prophet pointing his finger toward the Sun at just the correct time, and as all cowered in fear he appealed to the Great Spirit to remove the obstruction and let the beneficial orb again shine down upon the land”.
The article agrees that “…the eclipse did provide a mighty impetus to Tecumseh in his efforts to provoke a great rising of the Indians”. However, Tecumseh’s dream of the Shawnee and other Native Americans being sovereign masters of their homeland did not fructify in the long term.
In 1811, the Prophet lost the Battle of Tippecanoe against Harrison and with it, his credibility as a seer and leader. Tecumseh, who was away, also felt the impact. He was forced to relocate to Canada, where his brother had fled after the war. He sided with the British in the War of 1812 against the Americans and died in the Battle of the Thames in October, 1813.
‘Tecumseh’s Eclipse’ was nearly 4 minutes and 55 seconds long, according to NASA.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.