THE DELAWARE PROPHET AND PONTIAC 

The beginnings of Manifest Destiny, and the initial designs of Reservations put to Map. 

 This is truly is forbearing to the future. Invader from another country-Deals only meant to profit the Invaders. As always, Maps are drawn by white men, and sectioned off the Mother Earth, separating tribes from the food, and other items they would need for their way of life. But that life meant nothing to the British and French. The “Manifest Destiny” so loved in American History is a destiny of shame. The basic tenants of Manifest Destiny were.   

• The special virtues of the American people and their institutions.
• The mission of the United States to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian America.
• An irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty.

American Progress-a personification of the United States, is shown leading civilization westward with the American settlers. She is shown bringing light from the East into the West, stringing telegraph wire, holding a school textbook that will instill knowledge, and highlights different stages of economic activity and evolving forms of transportation what it also shows, in the left corner, is the systematic chasing of Native American, and wildlife, as Columbia, carry schoolbooks, and the telegraph wire. Though this painting was created in 1872, This surely is proof that this action was in full force over 200 years earlier

Chief Pontiac's vision was more than just a "purification" It also later led to the Heckewelder Map. I plan on writing more about this map later. This map was one of the very first maps designed to separate and keep the various tribes in that region in one place. In My mind, it is the precursor to reservations. The Pontic History does not stop here though. 

Heckewelder Map

Which brings to another Part in our Ghost Dance history- Chief Pontiac. And the year is 1752, 138 years before Wavoka's vision. Chief Pontiac is enlightened by the Delawake Prohet, and creates the very basis of our Democracy. It took the US many years to acknowledge this act. So, how long will it take the world to realize that the Ghost Dance was more than a dance, it was a movement, a movement that Religious leaders, and the Government tried to destroy many times. Below is an excerpt from James Money and his published finding dating back to 1892. His publications were mainly in the BAE books, 14^th edition, dated 1892-1893. 

They came with a Bible and their religion, stole our land, crushed our spirit, and now they tell is we should be thankful for being saved.-Chief Pontiac (1718-1769)

   The initial occupation of the Midwest became the perfect location for an early version Ghost Dance to take hold. Life was simple before the Spanish, French and English had arrived. Game was plentiful, disease was minimal, and the tribes lived as they had for centuries. The white man ways were coming to a critical point. Both the French and the English were taking land at an alarming rate. And in 1752, the Lenape chiefs sent to the British agent the pointed interrogatory: “The English claim all on one side of the river, the French claim all on the other.  Where is the land of the Indians? 

  When Pontiac and the other leaders clearly  saw the  French strengthening themselves along the lakes, there came a stronger protest from the council ground of the confederate tribes of the west :  “This is our land and not yours. Fathers, both you and the English are white; the land belongs to neither the one nor the other of you, but the Great Being above allotted it to be a dwelling place for us; so, fathers, I desire you to withdraw, as I have desired our brothers, the English." 

   A wampum belt gave weight to the words.  The French commander's reply was less than appreciated,  but skilled French diplomats promised that all land belonged to the Indian, and that the French King (Louis the 15^th)  only wanted to set up a boundary against the advancements of the English. They further warned that the English only wanted to  sweep the tribes from the Ohio just like they had already driven them from the Atlantic. This seemed to make sense to the tribes. In every tribe were French missionaries, whose fearless courage and devotion had won the admiration and love of the savage; in every village a hardy missionary had taken up residence. With his Indian wife and family of children, in whose veins commingled the blood of the two races and whose ears were attuned alike to the wild songs of the forest and the Rondeaux (poems) of Normandy or Provence. The attempted assimilation was well under way. 

    It was an uncommon relationship between the Indians and the French, and when a governor of Canada and the general of Ins army stepped into the circle of braves to dance the war dance and sing the war song with their red allies, thirty-three wild tribes declared on the wampum belt, "The French are our brothers and their king is our lather. We will try his hatchet upon the English",and through seven years of blood and death the lily and the totem were borne abreast until the flag of France went down forever on the heights of Quebec. 

   For sometime after the surrender the tribes has been tricked into a semblance of quiet by the belief,  that the king of France, had decided to pretty much ignore the tribes, But they saw English garrisons occupying the abandoned posts and English traders passing up the lakes even to the sacred island of the (heat Turtle, the despairing warriors said to one another, "We have been deceived. English and French alike are white men and liars. We must turn from both and seek help from our Indian gods." 

Then in 1762 a prophet appeared among the Delawares, at Luscarawas, 

on the Muskingum, who preached a union of all the red tribes and a return to the old Indian life, which he declared to be the divine command, as revealed to himself in a wonderful vision. From an old French which he describes, we have the details of this vision, as related by Pontiac to his savage auditors at the great council of the tribes held near Detroit in April, 1763. Parkman gives the story on the authority of this manuscript which he refers to as the " Pontiac manuscript," and states that it was long preserved in a Canadian family at Detroit, and afterward deposited with the Historical Society of Michigan. It bears internal evidence of genuineness, and is supposed to have been written by a French priest. The vision, from the same manuscript, is related at length in Schoolcraft’s Algic Researches

   According to the prophet's story, being anxious to know the, "Master of Life.'" he was determined, to secretly undertake a journey to the spirit world. He did not know of the way, and didn’t know any person who, having been there, that could direct him. he performed a mystic rite in the hope of receiving some light as to the course he should pursue. He then fell into a deep sleep, in which he dreamed that it was only necessary to begin his journey and that by continuing to walk forward he would at long last arrive at his destination. 

   Early the next morning, taking his gun, ammunition, and kettle, he started off, firmly convinced that by pressing onward without discouragement he should accomplish his object. Day after day he proceeded without incident, until at sunset of the eighth day. While preparing to camp for the night near a small stream, a little opening in the forest, he noticed, running out from the edge of the prairie, three wide and well worn paths. He wondered why the paths would be there, he finished his temporary lodging and, lighting a fire, he began to prepare his supper. While he was fixing his meal, he was stunned to discover that the paths became more and more defined as the night grew darker. 

   Alarmed at the strange appearance, he was about to abandon his camp and seek another at a safer distance, but it was then when be remembered his dream and the very purpose of his journey. He reasoned that one of these roads must lead to the place that he had been searching for, and he was determined to remain where he was until morning, and then he would take one of the three and follow that trail until the end. So the next morning, after a hasty meal, he left his camp, and, nervous with excitement of his discovery, took the widest path, following it until noon.  He suddenly saw a large fire burning coming out from the earth. His curiosity being aroused, he went toward it, but the fire increased to such a degree that he became frightened and turned back. 

   He then took the second of the three paths, which he followed as before until noon, when a similar fire again drove him back and he then took the third road, which he kept a whole day without meeting anything unusual, when suddenly he saw a huge shining mountain of directly in his path. After looking at the mountain for some time, he drew near and examined it, but could not see any sign of a trail leading to the top. He was about give up, when he looked up and saw a woman seated  a short distance up the mountain.  She was beautiful and clad in snow-white garments. The Woman addressed him in his own language, telling him that on the summit of the mountain was the home to the Master of Life, whom he had journeyed so far to meet. " But in order to reach it," said she, "you must leave all your cumbersome dress and equipments at the foot of the mountain, then go and wash in the river which I show you, and then, you may climb the mountain. 

   

   He obeyed her instructions, and on asking how he could hope to climb the mountain, which was steep and slippery as glass, she replied that in order to mount he must use only his left hand and foot. This seemed to him almost impossible, but, encouraged by the woman, he began to climb, and at length, after much difficulty, reached the top. Here the woman suddenly vanished, and he found himself alone without a guide. Upon looking about, he saw before him a plain, in the midst of which were three villages, with well-built houses disposed in orderly arrangement. He headed in the direction toward the principal one, but after going a short distance he remembered that he was naked, and was about to turn back when a voice told him that as he had washed himself in the river he might go on without fear.  He advanced without hesitation to the gate of the village, where he was admitted and saw approaching a handsome man in white garments, who offered to lead him into the presence of the Master of Life. Admiring the beauty of everything about him, lie was then conducted to the Master of Life, who took him by the hand and   gave him for a seat, a hat bordered with gold. Afraid of spoiling the hat, he hesitated to sit down until again told to do so, when he obeyed, and the Master of Life thus addressed him: “I am The Master of Life, Whom you wish to see and with whom you wish to speak. Listen to what I shall tell you for yourself and for all the Indians.”

He then commanded him to exhort his people to cease from drunkenness wars, polygamy, and the medicine song,” and continued: 

“The land on which you are, I have made for you, not for others. Wherefore do you suffer the whites to dwell upon your lands? Can you not-do without them? I know that those whom you call the children of your Great Father [the King of France] supply your wants; but were you not wicked as you are you would not need them. You might live as you did before you knew them. Before those whom you call your Great Father [the French] had arrived, did not your bow and arrow maintain you?’ You needed neither gun, powder, nor any other object. The flesh of animals was your food; their skins your raiment. But when I saw you inclined to evil, I removed the animals into the depths of the forest that you might depend on your brothers for your necessaries, for your clothing. Again become good and do my will and I will send animals for your sustenance. I do not, however, forbid suffering among you your Father's children. I love them; they know me; they pray to me. I supply their own wants, and give them that which they bring to you. Not so with those who have come to trouble your possessions [the English], Drive them away; wage war against them; I love them not: they know me not; they are my enemies; they tire your brothers' enemies. Send them back to the lands I have made for them. Let them remain there.” 

The Master of Life then gave him a prayer, carved in Indian hieroglyphics upon a wooden stick, which he was told to deliver to his chief on returning to earth. 

“Learn it by heart, and teach it to all the Indians and children. It must be repeated morning and evening. Do all that I have told thee, and announce it to all the Indians"as coming from the Master of Life. Let them drink but one draught, or two at most, in one day. Let them have but one wife, and discontinue running after other people's wives and daughters. Let them not fight one another. Let them not sing the medicine song, for in singing the medicine song they speak to the evil spirit. Drive from your lands those dogs in red clothing; they are only an injury to you. When you want anything, apply to me, as your brothers do, and I will give to both. Do not sell to your brothers that which I have placed on the earth as food. In short, become good, and you shall want nothing. When you meet one another, bow and give one another the [left] hand of the heart. Above all, I command thee to repeat morning and evening the prayer which I have given thee.” 

The Indian received the prayer, promising to do as he had been commanded and to recommend the same course to others. His former conductor then came and, leading him to the foot of the mountain, bid him resume his garments and go back to his village. His return excited much surprise among his friends, who had supposed him lost. They asked him where he had been, but as he had been commanded to speak to no one until he had seen the chief, he motioned with his hand to signify that he had come from above.And entering the village he went at once to the wigwam of the chief, to whom he delivered the prayer and the message which he had received from the Master of Life. 

The interesting thing here is that the story actually tell them to resent the British, and favor the French! Now that could be do to the fact that the original story was found was authored by a French man. It is possible that we just have a well know preference by the tribes. The occupancy of tribal areas by the British always meant a speedy removal of the tribes, where the French lived side by side with the tribes, often joining in on dances, and other amusements, and often showed sympathy into their lifestyle, so the tribes often regarded the French as Brethren instead of intruders.  

Even though we have a slight against the British and support of the french, The premise is simple-the Indians, are urged to discard everything that they have adopted from the whites, are yet to allow the French to remain among them, though exhorted to relentless war on the English

 The difference amplified at Michilimackinac a year later, when a handful of French traders looked on unarmed and unhurt while a crew ofIndians were butchering, scalping, and drinking the blood of British soldiers. The introduction of the trivial incident of the hat is characteristically Indian, and the confounding of dreams and visions with actual happenings is a frequent result of mental exaltation of common occurrence in the history of religious enthusiasts. The Delaware prophet regards the whole experience as an actual fact instead of a distempered vision induced by long fasts and vigils, and the hieroglyphic prayer — undoubtedly graven by himself while under the ecstasy — is to him a real gift from heaven. The whole story is a striking parallel of the miraculous experiences 

recounted by the modern apostles of the Ghost dance. The prayer-stick also and the heavenly map, later described and illustrated, reappear in the account of Keannekeuk, the Kickapoo prophet, seventy years afterward, showing in a striking manner the continuity of Tribal ideas and methods. 

The highly regarded missionary, Heckewelder, who spent fifty years among the Delawares, was personally acquainted with tins prophet and gives a detailed account of his teachings and of his symbolic parchments. He says: 

   “In the year 1762 there was a ramous preacher of the Delaware nation, who resided at Cayahaga, near Lake Erie, and travelled about the country, among the Indians, endeavoring to persuade them that he. had been appointed by the Great Spirit to instruct them in those things that were agreeable to him, and point out to them the offenses by which they have drawn his displeasure on themselves, and the means by which they might recover his favor for the future. He had drawn, as he pretended, by the direction of the treat Spirit, a kind of map on a piece of deerskin, somewhat dressed like parchment, which he called “The great Book or Writing." This, he said, he had been ordered to show to the Indians, that they might see the situation in which the Mannitto had originally placed them, the misery which they had brought upon themselves by neglecting their duty, and the only way that was now left them to regain what they had lost. This map he held before him while preaching, frequently pointing to particular marks and spots upon it, and giving explanations as he went along. 

   The size of this map was about fifteen inches square, or, perhaps, something more. An inside square was formed by lines drawn within it, of about eight inches each way ; two of these lines, however, were not closed by about half an inch at the corners across these inside lines, others of about an inch in length were drawn with sundry other lines and marks, all winch was intended to represent a strong inaccessible barrier, to prevent those without from entering the space within, otherwise than at the place appointed tor that purpose. When the map was held as he directed, the corners which were not closed lay at the hit-hand side, directly opposite to each other, the one being at the south-east by south, and the nearest at the north-east by north. In explaining or describing the particular points on this map, with his fingers always pointing to the place he was describing, he called the space within the inside lines "the heavenly regions," or the place destined by the Great Spirit for the habitation of the Indians in future life. The space left open at the southeast corner he called the "avenue," which had been intended for the Indians to enter into this heaven, but which was now in the possession of the white people; wherefore the Great Spirit had since caused another "avenue" to be made on the opposite side, at which, however, it was both difficult and dangerous for them to enter, there being many impediments in their way, besides a large ditch leading to a gulf below, over which they had to leap; but the evil spirit kept at this very spot a continual watch for Indians, and whoever lie laid hold of never could get away from him again, but was carried to his regions, where there was nothing but extreme poverty; where the ground was parched up from the heat for want of rain, no fruit, came to perfection, the game was almost starved for want of pasture, and where the evil spirit, at his pleasure, transformed men into horses and dogs, to be ridden by him and follow him in his hunts and wherever he went. 

   The space on the outside of this interior square was intended to represent the country given to the Indians to hunt, fish, and dwell in while in this world; the East side of it was called the ocean or "great salt-water lake." Then the preacher, drawing the attention of his hearers particularly to the South east avenue, would say to them. “Look here! See what we have lost by neglect and disobedience” by being remiss in the expression of our gratitude to the Great Spirit for what he has bestowed upon us; by neglecting to make to him sufficient sacrifices; by looking 

upon a people of a different color from our own, who had come across a great lake, as if they were a part of ourselves: by suffering them to sit down by our side, and looking at them with indifference, while they were not only taking our country from us. but this (pointing to the spot), this, our own avenue, leading into those beautiful regions which were destined for us. Such is the sad condition to which we are reduced. What is now to be done, and what remedy is to be applied? I will tell you, my friends. Hear what the Great Spirit has ordered me to tell yon ' You are to make sacrifices, in the manner that I shall direct; to put off entirely from yourselves the customs which you have adopted since the white people came among us. You are to return to that former happy state in which we lived in peace and plenty, before these strangers came to disturb us; and, above all, you must abstain from drinking their deadly poison, which they have forced upon its, for the sake of increasing their gains and diminishing our numbers. Then will the Great Spirit give success to our arms; then he will give us strength to conquer our enemies, to drive them from hence, and recover the passage to the heavenly regions which they have taken from us." 

Such was in general the substance of his discourses. After having dilated more or less on the various topics which I have mentioned, he commonly concluded in this manner: "And now my friends, in order that what I have told you may remain firmly impressed on your minds, and to refresh your memories from time to time, I advise you to preserve, in every family at least, such a book or writing as this, which I will finish off for you. provided you bring me the price, which is only one buck-skin for two doeskins apiece." The price was of course bought (sic), and the book purchased. In some of those maps, the figure of a deer or turkey, or both, was placed in the heavenly regions, and also in the dreary region of the evil spirit. I In the former, however, appeared fat and plump, while the latter seemed to have nothing but skin and bones. 

From the narrative of John McCullough, who had been taken by the Indians when a child of 8 years, and lived for some years as an adopted 

son in a Delaware family in northeastern Ohio, we gather some additional particulars concerning this prophet, whose name seems to be lost to history. McCullough himself, who was then but a boy, never met the prophet, but obtained his information from others who had, especially from his Indian brother, who went to Tuscarawas (or Tuscalaways) 

to see and hear the new apostle on his first appearance. 

“It was said by those who went to see him that lie had certain hieroglyphics marked on a piece of parchment, denoting the probation that human beings were subjected to whilst tiny were living cm earth, and also denoting something of a future state. They informed me that he was almost constantly crying whilst he was exhorting them. I saw a copy of bis hieroglyphics, as numbers of them bad got them copied and undertook to preach or instruct others. The first or principal doctrine they taught them was to purify themselves from sin, which they taught they could do by the use of emetics and abstinence from carnal knowledge of the different sexes; to quit the use of firearms, and to live entirely in the original state that they were in before the white people found out their country. Nay, they taught that their fire was not pure that was made by steel and flint, but that they should make it by rubbing two sticks together.It was said that their prophet taught them, or made them believe, that he had his instructions immediately from Keesh-she-la- mil-lang-up, or a being that thought us into being, and that by following his instructions they would, in a few years, be able to drive the white people out of their country. 

I knew a company of them who had secluded themselves for the purpose of purifying from sin, as they thought they could do. I believe they made no use of firearms. They had been out more than two years before I left them. It was said that they made use of no other weapons than than bows and arrows. They also taught, in shaking hands, to give the left hand in token of friendship, as it denoted that they gave the heart along with the hand. 

The religious ferment produced by the exhortations of the Delaware 

prophet spread rapidly from tribe to tribe, until, under the guidance of the master mind of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, it took shape in a grand confederacy of nil the northwestern tribes to oppose the further progress of the English. The coast lands were lost to the Indians. The Ohio and the lakes were still theirs, and the Adleghanies marked a natural boundary between the two sections. Behind this mountain barrier 

Pontiac determined to make his stand. Though the prospect of a    restoration of the French power might enable him to rally a following, he himself knew he could expect no aid from the French, for their armies had been defeated and their garrisons were already withdrawn: but, relying on the patriotism of his own red warriors, when told that the English were on their way to take possession of the abandoned posts, he sent back the haughty challenge, "I stand in the path." 

To Pontiac must be ascribed the highest position among the leaders 

of the Algonquian race. Born the son of a chief, he became in turn the chief of his own people, the Ottawa, whom if is said lie commanded on the occasion of Braddock's defeat. For this or other services in behalf of the French he had received marks of distinguished consideration from Montcalm himself. By reason of his natural ability, his influence was felt and respected wherever the name of his tribe was spoken, while to his dignity as chief he added the sacred character of high priest of the powerful secret order of the Mide´. Now, in the prime of manhood, lie originated and formulated the policy of a confederation of all the tribes, an idea, afterward taken up and carried almost to a successful accomplishment by the great Tecumtha. As principal chief of the lake tribes, he summoned them to the great council near Detroit, in April, 1763, and, as high priest and keeper of the faith, he there announced to them the will of the Master of Life, as revealed to the Delaware prophet, and called on them to unite for the recovery of their ancient territories and the preservation of their national life. Under the spell of his burning words the chiefs listened as to an oracle, and cried out that he had only to declare his will to be obeyed. His project being unanimously approved, runners were sent out to secure the cooperation of the more remote nations, and in a short time the confederation embraced every important tribe of Algonquian lineage, together with the Wyandot, Seneca, Winnebago, and some of those to the southward.

Only the genius of a Pontiac could have molded into a working unit 

such an aggregation of diverse elements of savagery. His executive 

ability is sufficiently proven by his creation of a regular commissary department based on promissory notes — hieroglyphics graven on birch- bark and signed with the otter, the totem of his tribe; his diplomatic bent appeared in his employment of two secretaries to attend to this unique correspondence, each of whom he managed to keep in ignorance of the business transacted by the other while his military capacity was soon to be evinced in the carefully laid plan which enabled his warriors to strike simultaneously a crushing blow at every British post scattered throughout the 500 miles of wilderness from Pittsburg to the straits of Mackinaw. 

The history of this war, so eloquently told by Parkman. reads like 

some old knightly romance. The warning of the Indian girl; the con- 

certed attack on the garrisons; the ball play at Mackinac on the king's birthday, and the massacre that followed; the siege of Fort Pitt and the heroic defense of Detroit; the bloody battle of Bushy run, where the painted savage recoiled before the kilted Highlander, as brave and almost as wild; Bouquet's march into the forests of the Ohio, and the submission of the vanquished tribes — all these things must be passed over here. They have already been told by a master of language. But the contest of savagery against civilization has but one ending, and the scene closes with the death of Pontiac, a broken-spirited wanderer, cut down at last by a hired assassin of his own race, for whose crime the blood of whole tribes was poured out in atonement.

The Ghost Dance and the War of 1812

Tecumseh

Tecumseh

We are taught in school about the war of 1812. If you google “War of 1812”, you get the following “The immediate causes of the War of 1812 were a series of economic sanctions taken by the British and French against the US as part of the Napoleonic Wars and American outrage at the British practice of impressment, especially after the Chesapeake incident of 1807.” This war started June the 18^th 1812 and ended February 17^th, 1815. It ended with the mutual ratification of the Treaty of Ghent. 

What many people do not know, is that the British and the French were willing to go to any lengths to win. In fact, they leveraged the battle between the native American tribes to fight with (or for) them during many battles. One such Indian tribe was the Shawnee, and their leader Tecumseh. 

Tecumseh was bent on revenge for the killing of his father and step-father. In fact, Tecumseh actually witnessed the killing of his step-father when he was a young child. The killings left him with a deep and warranted state of distrust of the white man, and as he grew older, masterminded many attacks in what is now known as the Great Lakes Region. 

The mindset with Tecumseh was, he believed that all tribes MUST settle their differences and unite to retain their land and defeat the white man. His leadership and savvy sills slowly created a coalition of tribes, and they began their goal of defeating the white soldier, and did their best to drive them from their land. 

But there was problem, victories became far and few between and many of the other tribal leaders began to lose confidence in Tecumseh. It was only when Tecumseh’s brother Lalawethika, who later changed his name  Tenskwatawa, which means “The Prophet”, his visions were instrumental in keeping the tribes together. His brother was well known for his drinking, and yet, every tribe followed the two faithfully.

Tenskwatawa

Why? Lost battles, supplies running low, and a meeting of the leaders nearly became combative. The tribes were ready to disband, and Tecumseh was about to be left with nothing but his own tribe. 

In 1805, Tenskwatawa told the council that during an alcohol induced stupor that if they followed the Native ways, they could defeat the white man and reclaim their land as promised in his vision. He then correctly predicted a Solar Eclipse in 1806, word spread, and many more tribes joined the cause. Tecumseh travels far and wide spreading the word to many other tribes that they needed to “Resist the American way of life and they could defeat the white man, and return to their former glory”. 

While Tecumseh was away, his brother who did not have the tactical expertise of his brother, ignored Tecumseh’s warning of not battling William Henry Harrison. Tenskwatawa ignored that warning and the battle of Tippecanoe is now in the history books. Prophetstown is destroyed, and the all of the hard work of building an alliance is all but destroyed. 

The next few years Tecumseh struggled to maintain his rag-tag group together and it was not until the war of 1812 would Tecumseh see serious battles and victories. 

The first major victory actually  occurred in Michigan in what is known as the Siege of Detroit which happened on the 15^th and the 16^th of August 1812. This two day site ended only when General William Hull saw a large British and Indian Force gathering outside of Detroit’s walls. It is believed that the General was preoccupied with the presence of his daughter and grandchildren visiting at the time. Not wanting  bloodshed, he surrendered the fort, and British General Isaac Brock Hull and his 2,000 man army to return to their homes. With the victory at Fort Detroit, the land was declared to be mutually owned by the British and Tecumseh. This allowed Tecumseh to use this area as a home base and he increased his raids against Americans in the area. 

This victory was a huge blow to the American morale, and eventually General William Henry Harrison, who later became the ninth President , recaptured the Fort in September 1813. 

(As a side bar here-William Hull was officially court-martialed for cowardice and neglect of duty for not fighting and just surrendering the Fort Detroit and was sentenced to death. BUT because of his service during the Revolutionary War, President James Madison remitted his sentence. Remember this act for later reference, as it starts a level of cover-ups, and deceit to the very American People, these leaders were supposed to be protecting.) 

1813 was the beginning of the end for  The British, and Tecumseh’s dream. Ft Detroit is back into the hands of the American Troops, and Now a battle is brewing in upper Canada in Moraviantown, also known as the battle of the Thames which occurred on October the 5^th 1813. 

Artist’s conception of the battle of the Thames-(Wikipedia) 

With a strong alliance with the British, Tecumseh and British Commander Major General Henry Procter were ill equipped for this battle. After General Harrison recaptured Ft Detroit, It set a series of events in motion, that included The British retreat to an area that relied heavily on supplies from Lake tries, as the area they were in, was seriously deficient to feed their troops. The British needed to maintain control of the Lake Erie waterways in order to keep General Proctor from being cut off all together. Meanwhile the tribes and families under Tecumseh control had gathered at Amherstburg. Both were going to rely heavily on supplies from those British ships. A series of mistakes from the British Naval Commander at Presque Isle Bay, led to the battle of  Lake Erie, where the British Commander Robert Heriot Barclay was defeated. Perry’s Victory coined the phrase “we have met the enemy- and they are ours” .

Perry sent this message to General Harrison, and Harrison ordered his 2500 hundred troops to advance onto the retreating Proctor. Proctor was in no position to defend Ft Amherstburg so on the 27^th of September 1813 Tecumseh had no other option but to retreat with Proctor to the Thames river area. 

Military map of the Battle of Thames. 

The battle became a series of mistakes and miscues by the British, basically leaving Tecumseh and his tribes in the woods to fend for themselves against the better fed, and better armed American Troops. They over ran Tecumseh, where he and Chief Roundhead were killed. With their deaths, it became a crushing blow to the alliance Tecumseh had worked so hard to build. An armistice was signed with the remaining chiefs in the area, essentially relinquishing land to the victors.  

As in any major Battle involving native American Leaders, Controversy ruled the truth. Several individuals claimed that they had killed Tecumseh, Most prominent was Richard Johnson, a Kentucky politician who fought at the Thames as a cavalry commander. Whether or not he was indeed "The Man Who Killed Tecumseh," a great many of his constituents believed he was. With supporters chanting "Rumpsey Dumpsey, Rumpsey Dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh," Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Senate and then, in 1836, to the Vice Presidency. With a little help from another catchy jingle, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," William Henry Harrison became President four years later. Later in life, there are many times, the killing of a leader led to major political positions. We will see this repeated many time during the Wars, battles and killings of Indian leaders. 

Where Victors of any Indian Battle were revered, losers were often punished severely. General Proctor of the British Army was charged with negligence and improper conduct, failing to secure his stores and also disposed and managed his troops ineffectively.  He was later court martialed and sentenced to six months of no pay and suspension of his rank as well.  

SO the die is cast-Lose a war, get court-martialed. You will win against the “natives” at any cost. Or die trying. You have to wonder if this message from 1812 was the building blocks for Future soldiers like Custer, General Miles and many others, who resorted to immoral and heinous acts to gain control over the Native Americans later in our history. 

BUT-I want you to think of this-What is Tecumseh had won? Or if he and Chief Roundhead had lived? Would the vision have counted to grow? Would the very face of our country be different? This is another sample of the vision being squashed by fate. Or was it fate at all? 

It starts here…..

The year is 1540, The pueblo Indians in Present Day New Mexico were being subjected to wave after wave of Spanish soldier, missionaries and settlers.  In the winter of 1540-41, The Tiguex war was fought by Váquez de Coronado against the twelve to thirteen pueblos if the Tiwa Indians, destroying relations between the two. What was he looking for? Gold and other riches in the area. What was the Laramie treaty of 1868 was about? Gold. It seems sad that many of the wars, killing of innocent tribes were all about gold. Sad considering it was something many Indian tribes cared nothing about. All they ever wanted was their homes, food and their land. It always started out the same, Invaders looking something they want, not need and here we go, conquering forces either chase off or imprison the local tribes to do their bidding. In this case, it even went as for to hobble the men of the tribes be cutting off one foot!  Váquez de Coronado had a distinct advantage due to the fact he already had over 350 armed men, a large number of spouses, slaves, and servants, and as many as 2,000 Mexican Indian allies, mostly warriors from Aztec, Purépecha, and other tribes from central and western Mexico. The expedition also brought thousands of livestock, including horses, mules, sheep, cattle, and perhaps pigs. This gives the Spanish expedition, a nearly un-defeatble status. 

Abuses were rampant during this time as tribal women were raped, the resources they had stockpiled were ravaged by the Spaniard soldiers. (Perhaps this is where Custer learned his skills.) There are many other similarities as well. To keep the Pueblo Tribe under control, The Spanish Priests also banned “all dancing”  But as it is written in the BAE book, 14^th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology  written by James Mooney- 1892-1893

The great revolt of the Pueblo Indians in August, 1680, was one of the first determined efforts made by the natives on the northern continent to throw off the yoke of a foreign oppressor. The Pueblo tribes along the Rio Grande and farther to the west, a gentle, peaceful race, had early welcomed the coining of the Spaniards, with their soldiers and priests, as friends who would protect them against the wild marauding tribes about them and teach them the mysteries of a greater •• medicine ' than belonged to their own kachinas. The hop.- soon faded into bitter disappointment.

“The soldiers, while rough and overbearing toward their 

brown-skin allies, were vet unable to protect them from the inroads to their enemies. The priests prohibited their dances and simple amusements, yet all their ringing of bells and chanting of hymns availed not to bring more rain on the crops or to turn aside the vengeful Apache. •• What have we gained by all this?" said the Pueblos one to another; "not peace and not happiness, for these new rulers will not protect us from our enemies, and take from us all the enjoyments we once knew. The pear was ripe. Pope, a medicine-man of the Tewa, had come back from a pilgrimage to the far north, where he claimed to have visited the magic lagoon of Shipapu, whence his people traced their origin and to which the souls of their dead returned after leaving this life. By these ancestral spirits he had been endowed with occult powers and commanded to go back and rouse the Pueblos to concerted effort for deliverance from the foreign yoke of the strangers. Wonderful beings were these spirit messengers. 

Swift as light and impalpable as thought, they passed under the earth from the magic lake to the secret subterranean chamber of the oracle and stood before him as shapes of fire, and spoke, telling him to prepare the strings of yucca knots and send them with tin- message to all the Pueblos far and 

near, so that in every village the chiefs might untie one knot from the string each day, and know when they came to the last knot that then was the time to strike. 

They even had their own version of Little Big Horn. 

“From the Pecos, across the Rio Grande to Zufii and the far-distant Hopi mesas, every Pueblo village accepted the yucca string and began secret preparation for the rising. The time chosen was the new moon of August, 1680, but, through a partial discovery of the plot, the explosion was precipitated on the 10th. So sudden and complete was the surprise that many Spaniards in the Pueblo country, priests, soldiers, and civilians, were killed, and the survivors, after holding out for a time under Governor Otermin at Santa Fe, fled to El Paso, and in October there remained not a single Spaniard in all New Mexico.” 

{Bandelier, 1 <i, lb.) 

Despite their bitter disappointment, the southern nations continued to cherish the hope of a coming redeemer, who now assumed the character of a terrible avenger of their wrongs, and the white-skin conqueror has had bloody occasion to remember that his silent peon, as he toils by blue Chapala or sits amid the ruins of his former grandeur in the dark forests of Yucatan, yet waits ever and always the coming of the day which shall break the power of the alien Spaniard and restore to their inheritance the children of Anahuac and Mayapan. In Peru the natives refused to believe that the last of the Incas had perished a wanderer in the forests of the eastern Cordilleras. For more than two centuries they cherished the tradition that he had only retired to another kingdom beyond the mountains, from which he would return in his own good time to sweep their haughty oppressors from the laud. 

In 1781 the slumbering hope found expression in a terrible insurrection under the leadership of the mestizo Condorcanqui, a descendant of the ancient royal family, who boldly proclaimed himself the long lost Tupac Amaru, child of the sun and Inca of Peru. With mad enthusiasm the Quichua highlanders hailed him as their destined deliverer and rightful sovereign, and binding around his forehead the imperial fillet of the Incas, he advanced at the head of an immense army to the walls of Cuzco, declaring his purpose to blot, out the very memory of the white man and reestablish the Indian empire in the City of the Sun. Inspired by the hope of vengeance on the conqueror, even boys became leaders of their people, and it was only alter a bloody struggle of two years' duration that the Spaniards were able to regain the mastery and consigned the captive Inca, with all his family, to an ignominious and barbarous death. Even then so great was the feeling of veneration which he had inspired in the breasts of the Indians that "notwithstanding their fear of the Spaniards, and though they were surrounded by soldiers of the victorious army, they prostrated them selves at the sight of the last of the children of the sun. as lie passed along the streets to the place of execution."

The cycle of imprisonment essentially began here. The same steps and planning to colonize-even civilize the Pueblo. Their uprising is no more surprising or unexpected that it was in 1890,  So why did they continue to try the same methods knowing the outcome, and challenges? It is said the definition of insane is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Was the Government insane?  This is way more than Manifest destiny. 

They knew to conquer and take what they wanted meant one thing, Take control of any tribe that stood in their way. They used their Christian belief of bearing witness to God to force them to bear the burden of their greed. When that did not work, they systematically attacked, and even allowed other tribes to attack a weakened tribe, only to come in and mop up the mess they created. Arms and weapons were given to rival tribes, in order for them to gain the upper had. What tribe got the weapons depended on the mood and what they wanted to take from the losing tribe. In the case of the Sioux, It was the black Hills, A bankrupt country with bankrupt morals, set their sights on gold and riches. It is no different today. We have the Sioux and so many tribes living in a forced prison state. (We call them reservations), and when we want something, we just force it. Like the XL pipeline. And more than likely it will continue. As we continue this journey together. I will do my best to find the truth, but it is up to you to form your own opinion and ideals on what in my heart and mind can only be described as “One of he great failures in mankind” 

     It has been said that history is written by the victorious. That may be true, only if the battle is over. In the case of the Ghost Dance, I think it is just beginning. because it is not about the dance at all, but a belief. A belief that truth and honor will win out over greed, lies and deceit. It is about people trying to shun and refuse the Manifest Destiny of the Government. If it is true the "The meek shall inherit the earth", then oppressed tribes in our continent will prevail. If you're thinking of just the tribes, and cultures in our country, guess again. Canadian tribes are oppressed as well. That's may not be news to you. But what if you knew that many of the supporters of the Ghost Dance can not travel from Canada to here, nor can many of the supporters of the dance here cannot travel to Canada. Why is that? 


     Well, it is simple. After the massacre on December 29th, 1890 at wounded knee, the Ghost Dance was Outlawed. Any attempt to revitalize the dance was met with extreme prejudice and even violence. It took until 1970 when Leonard Crow Dog revived the practice as part of the Red Power movement. It was watched under the watchful eyes of the government, and may have even led to the Incident at Wounded in 1973. So the Government once again clamped down on Wounded Knee, and it quite obvious if you spend anytime there. But let's not get ahead ourselves.... Yet. The Ghost Dance of December 1890 had so many undercurrents. The Murder of Sitting Bull 2 weeks earlier, plus the sting of Little Big Horn Still fresh in many of the troops mind. The need to end this possible uprising in any manner possible. Now add in a severe winter blizzard in full swing. And the man in charge general Nelson Miles, an aggressive Indian hating soldier at the helm. His fear was evident before the massacre. His anger over the loss at Little Bighorn evident in his actions at the Ft Laramie Treaty of 1868, forcing the agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota and Arapaho Nation, following the failure of the first Fort Laramie treaty, signed in 1851. The treaty failed because of the discovery of gold in the Black hills, and a bankrupt nation, wanted that gold at any cost. There were several battles, and many of them were won by the local tribes, and the ones the lost, created so many casualties on the white man side, the victories were hollow. General Miles was determined to win at any cost. He proved that nine years later at Wounded Knee.

Gen. Miles

The Indians have become so bold in their frenzy that they declare that if the soldiers attempt to take away their chiefs, as has been proposed, they will cut the soldiers’ ears off and kill them. Every officer on the ground views the situation as very critical. They know that from 6,000 to 8,000 Indians are likely to swoop down upon them at any moment. ‘If this happens,’ one officer said, ‘nothing but a miracle could save us from Custer’s fate. I hope to God that reinforcements will come before the red devils make their break.

It is obvious that plans were already in place to end this movement at any cost. Unfortunately, it was at the cost of unarmed lives. They even made sure to claim a scapegoat to the fight. A medicine man no less. The left the bodies in the snow for 2-3 days, trying to figure out what or how to best dispose of the bodies. They settled on the mass grave, located to the north of the massacre, the same place they had placed the 4 Hotchkiss guns. The very same guns they used to kill. 

    Mass graves are nothing new to he United States, In fact in 2018, Sugar-Land Texas discovered a mass grave that may have as many as 15,000 bodies of slaves. The disposition of the site is still unclear, as they may be bodies under homes, and various locations around the city. USA today did a great story on it here. 

    As we travel the history of the Ghost Dance together, you will discover that history does indeed repeat itself in many ways. From the actual steps governments take to conquer and vanquish what the believe to be threats, to the media's response to the acts as well. If it doesn't worry you or scare you, It should. The Indian wars set a precedence of behavior in our country and the worries of the conquering men worried about what to do about the tribes date back to the 1700s. 

    I am by no means an expert on this subject, and learn something new all the time. And as I begin to post more blogs, I will also try and post links, and tell you what books I have read, and how you too can purchase them. I hope you will take the time to not only read the blogs, and the Facebook Page, but leave a response or reply. Your opinion matters! The series will start soon, and we will be going back to August 1680! 210 years before Wounded Knee! The first document sign of revolt, oppression. The lies, deceit, and treachery against the tribes begins.