PROPHET, THE

born , c. March 1768, Old Chillicothe, Ohio died 1834, Argentine, Kan., U.S. byname of Tenskwatawa North American Shawnee Indian religious revivalist, who worked with his brother Tecumseh for an Indian confederacy to resist U.S. encroachment in the Northwest. The Prophet's declaration in 1805 that he had a message from the Master of Life, followed by his accurate prediction of a solar eclipse in 1806, caused a great stir among the Indians. In advocating a return to distinctively Indian ways of life, he rejected white men's innovations, such as the use of alcohol and of textile clothing rather than animal skins and furs, the concept of individual ownership of property, and intermarriage with whites. He retained his hold over his followers by presenting himself as one who had contact with the supernatural through incantations and dreams. Witch burning was a feature of his program. In November 1811, while Tecumseh was away, he allowed the Shawnees to be drawn into military action with Gen. William Henry Harrison; the defeat on the Tippecanoe River (November 7) thoroughly discredited The Prophet and destroyed the Indian confederacy.