April 1, 2008

Prof, students interpret Native American history at Prophetstown

Dawn Marsh, an assistant history professor, says the 200th anniversary of Prophetstown's creation is an opportunity to highlight the people who lived there. The village was founded by Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee who is called The Prophet. His brother is the well-known warrior Tecumseh.

The Prophet and his people fought the U.S. Army near Prophetstown in a battle that is now known as the Battle of Tippecanoe. The village was burned down in 1811 by the U.S. military to prevent the tribes from meeting, and its site is located near the Wabash River in Historic Prophetstown at the Prophetstown State Park.

"The town was founded as part of a religious revival that was led by the Prophet," Marsh says. "Unfortunately, the warriors and battle at this site are emphasized more than the life of the village. After all, it's called Prophetstown and not Techumsehtown.

"This message of war also implies that the Indians are all dead and gone, but many still live here and in other parts of the Midwest," Marsh says. "Native American history is not limited to what happened centuries ago, but it's also a vital part of life today."

The 200th anniversary is being commemorated at the April 3-5 Prophetstown Revisited: An Early Native American Studies Summit. More information is available online at https://www.matrix.msu.edu/ptown2008/ .

Purdue students in Marsh's "Prophetstown Revisited" class are researching the history of Prophetstown to provide educational materials for the park's thousands of annual visitors. The students are focusing on the trade and ways of life for the Delaware, Miami, Potowatami and Shawnee tribes.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Dawn Marsh, (765) 494-4124, dmarsh@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page