As the United States takes control of the Lenni Lenape (Delaware)’s homeland, a woman known as the Munsee Prophetess has a vision indicating that the Lenni Lenape’s Big House religion must be reformed. She preaches that the Lenni Lenape should maintain their traditional ways and resist adopting non-Indian customs and Christianity. She also gives women a more prominent role in the rites of the Big House and encourages young men to take on positions of leadership. Largely owing to the prophetess’s teachings, the Lenni Lenape will execute several tribe members for supporting Americans and practicing the Christian religion. (See also entry for AUTUMN 1924.)
The Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa founds an Indian religion.
A Shawnee named Lalawethika (meaning “noise-maker”), known for his laziness and fondness for alcohol, falls into a trance from which he emerges advocating a new Indian religion taught to him by the Master of Life. He preaches that all Indians should unite in preserving their traditional cultures and shunning the ways of non-Indians. He is especially adamant that Indians should not drink liquor or intermarry with whites. Called the Prophet by some, Lalawethika gives himself the name Tenskwatawa, which means “The Open Door”—a reference to Jesus’ statement, “I am the Open Door.”
Tenskwatawa attracts followers from many tribes who are drawn to his promise that if Indians heed his words, “all the white people will be covered, and you alone shall inhabit the land.” Among those inspired by Tenskwatawa is his brother Te-cumseh, who will organize an Indian confederacy to halt white encroachment in the Ohio River valley (see entry for 1808).
Sacagawea (Sacajawea) joins the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Spending the winter near the villages of the Hidatsa on the Knife River, in present-day North Dakota, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (see entry for MAY 14, 1804) meet a young Shoshone woman named Sacagawea (Sacajawea) and her French-Ca-nadian husband Toussaint Charbonneau. When the weather breaks, the explorers hire the couple to serve as interpreters for the expedition as it continues west to the Pacific Ocean. Traveling with Sacagawea is her two-month-old son Jean-Baptiste, whom the explorers give the nickname “Pomp.”
In later accounts of the expedition, Sacagawea will be hailed for guiding the expedition through the Rocky Mountains. In fact, she plays only a small role as a guide. She does, however, help the explorers survive by finding and cooking wild roots and berries. Even more important, she persuades her Shoshone relatives to help the expedition cross the Rocky Mountains. Without their assistance, it is unlikely the Lewis and Clark Expedition would have survived. (See also entries for 1823, 1902, and MAY 4, 1999.)
Office of Indian Trade is established.
The secretary of war creates the Office of Indian Trade within the War Department. The new bureau is charged with regulating the fur trade and overseeing the federal employees of the government-run trading houses (see entry for 1796) that dominate trade between Indians and whites. (See also entry for 1822).
The Lewis and Clark Expedition returns to St. Louis.
After nearly 28 months of exploration, the Lewis and Clark Expedition (see entries for MAY 14, 1804, and for APRIL 1805) makes its way back to its original starting point, St. Louis. The public, which had given up the explorers as dead, widely celebrates the event. Lewis and Clark’s maps, notes, and specimens document a huge amount of information about Indian lands west of the Mississippi. As a result of their expedition, non-Indian traders and trappers almost immediately begin moving into this territory to take advantage of the large beaver population the explorers found along western waterways.
World History
