Tecumseh (c. 1768 – October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. During Tecumseh's childhood, the Shawnee lost territory to the American colonies in a series of border conflicts. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and promoting tribal unity. He proclaimed that Native Americans owned their lands in common, and urged tribes not to cede more territory unless all agreed. In the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined his cause with the British, recruiting warriors and helping to capture Detroit in 1812. In 1813, he retreated with the British into Upper Canada, where American forces engaged them at the Battle of the Thames, in which Tecumseh was killed. His death led to the collapse of his confederacy, but he became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian history. (Full article...)