Every so often we are reminded of the Shawnee presence in the area when Glen Helen is connected to the legend of Tecumseh’s silver treasure, but this entry from Women of Greene County demonstrates how much more there is to the Shawnee story.
Tecumapese (1758 – 1811)
It is impossible to do research on any aspect of Native American history without encountering the name of Tecumseh, the great Shawnee chief. What is amaz
ing is that as well known as Tecumseh is, a pivotal force in his life—his sister, Tecumapese—remains relatively unknown. It would be misleading to say that she has been consigned to obscurity, for her life and Tecumseh’s are too closely interwoven. Where there is mention of him there is often mention of her as well. But, as is so often the case with many powerful women, it is only her importance as a satellite to Tecumseh, a powerful man, that is viewed as worthy of historical note.
Tecumapese was born in 1758 while her family was still living in the South, probably in Alabama. She was the second born in her family, the first daughter. By 1768, when Tecumseh was born, the family was living in Greene County. It seems that almost from the beginning of his life, Tecumseh and Tecumapese were closer than most siblings. To characterize their relationship as simply that of brother and sister is an understatement. Tecumapese was much more than a sister to Tecumseh. She was his surrogate mother, advisor, confidant and mainstay.
‘Tecumapese, whose name means Shooting star, seems to have played an important part in her family even as a young girl. Her mother, Methotasa, suffered badly with the delivery of Tecumseh, and Tecumapese had to accept ever imcreasing domestic responsibilities. When she was sixteen she left her family to marry a Shawnee warrior, Chaquiweshe. They seem to have had a happy marriage and she soon became pregnant. Before she could deliver the child, however, both her father, Pucksinwah, and her husband were killed in the battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. She had been married only seven months. Her first child, Spemica Lawba (Big Horn) was born nine months to the day from her wedding and two months after his father and grandfather died.
The death of Pucksinwah was a blow from which Methotasa never fully recovered. She and her children went to live with another Shawnee chieftain to be under his protection and care. Tecumapese became, for all purposes, the female head of the family. Events began to unfold around Tecumapese and her family that would eventually lead to great adventures and, ultimately, to great tragedy.
The Shawnee attempted to remain neutral in the Revolutionary War. They considered it a conflict between two groups of White men and did not comprehend how it might effect them. In 1777, however, the chief, Cornstalk, was killed at Fort Randolph while on a peaceful mission. His death worried the Shawnee nation, making them realize they might be drawn into the conflict whether they wanted to be or not. Raids on Kentucky in the spring of 1778 by the Shawnee led to retaliatory raids by the Whites in 1779. This led to a schism in the Shawnee nation. Some of the leaders wanted to adopt White ways and try to fit in. Others felt this would be futile and wanted to wage war to protect what they considered their land. A third group wanted to combine the two attitudes, enter into treaties and still retain their own culture. When the three groups were unable to come to an agreement, about one thousand of them, over one-third of the tribe, decided to migrate west to Missouri.
Tecumapese’s mother was among them. Taking only her youngest daughter with her, Methotasa left Tecumapese to raise the rest of her children, including the eleven year old Tecumseh. For the rest of his life Tecumapese was one of the most important people in Tecumseh’s life. Historians generally credit her with instilling in him many of the character elements that would eventually allow him to become the leader of his people. It is known that, even before his second wife’s death, Tecumseh had delivered both their son, Pacheta, and his older sibling, the offspring of Tecumseh’s first marriage, to Tecumapese to raise.
Tecumapese remarried in May of 1780. Her new husband, Wasegobah, was a well respected Shawnee man. He and Tecumseh soon became fast friends. Wasegobah and Tecumapese followed all the campaigns of Tecumseh, providing him with help, counsel and comfort. Tecumapese, due partially to her relationship with Tecumseh, but also to her own strength of character, intelligence, bravery and vision, rose to be considered the Mother of her Tribe. This was the highest honor a woman could attain in tribal status.
‘In the fall of 1810 Wasegobah divorced Tecumapese, his wife of thirty years, for unknown reasons. Two days later a repentant Wasegobah asked for a reconciliation but was turned away by Tecumapese. Their ensuing arguments were so distasteful that Tecumseh suggested that Tecumapese leave the area for a while to think things over and allow Wasegobah to collect himself. In December of 1811 Tecumseh decided it was time for her to rejoin the tribe and went to collect her. When he reached his destination he was amazed to discover that Tecumapese had run off with a French trader some months before. This infuriated him for several reasons. First, his entire philosophy, which drove his actions,k was that Whites and Native Americans would always be enemies. Second, the fact that his beloved sister would take up with a White man despite her intimate knowledge of Tecumseh’s beliefs could only be viewed as a betrayal. Finally he felt that her place was with the tribe›—at his right hand as usual. He spent some time finding Tecumapese at her lover’s cabin. Although she was happy to see him, she protested when he tried to take her back with him. She told him she loved the French trader, Maisonville, and had no desire to return to Wasegobah. Tecumseh, finding himself unable to persuade her to return to her husband, finally convinced her to return to the tribe, but not to Wasegobah.
For the rest of Tecumseh’s life she was the primary female figure in his household. It must have been a source of grief to her that her son chose to champion the cause of White reconciliation and broke with his famous uncle over that issue.
After Tecumseh’s death Tecumapese continued to be so highly thought of by the Shawnee nation that she and Tecumseh’s adolescent son were chosen to represent the Shawnees at a conference of tribal leaders called in Canada by Sir George Provost in March of 1814. Tecumapese subsequently moved to Michigan where she later died. Most accounts of her life end with the death of Tecumseh, so the actual date of her death remains unsure.
It is only fitting, however, that her life and her contribution to the rise of the Shawnee nation be remembered. It is apparent that she was the most enduring and potent influence in Tecumseh’s life, literally from the cradle to the grave. Whatever he became he owed in large part to the devotion, care and guidance of his sister, Tecumapese, the Shooting Star.
