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The Shawnee Prophet and Handsome Lake

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The Shawnee Prophet and Handsome Lake The Shawnee Prophet and Handsome Lake DAVID EZZO Lancaster, New York The Frontier Zone The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the revitalization movements of Tenskwatawa (the Shawnee Prophet) and Handsome Lake of the Iroquois. Both of these revilalization movements took place within the context of a Frontier environment. Both the Shawnee and the Iroquois felt the effects of territorial expansion of the United States. Both the Shawnee and the Iroquois suffered from land loss, disease, depopulation and cultural disruption (cf. Howard 1981:1-23). Hudson (1977:13) has stated that the term "Frontier" denotes not only territorial or geographic expansion but also "the notion that the Frontier is a peculiar type of society, and, moreover, that the movement of the Frontier zone is a kind of social process, not merely a series of isolines on a map." Thus the geographical expansion by the United States and the social process on the Frontier worked together in laying the foundation of conditions that allowed for the development of both the Shawnee and Iroquois revitalization movements. Hudson notes that three essential variables can be used to identify a Frontier. These variables are time, location and population. For the purpose of this paper, the historical time frame is the late 18th and early 19th centuries (1799-1811). The locations involved are New York State and the Ohio Valley Region. The populations of concern are the Shawnee and Iroquois Indians. There are other important factors that are essential in the study of a Frontier zone. These other factors include the environment, economy, culture and, most importantly, for the concerns of the present paper, the historical interactions between "the people, institutions, and environment on the edge of the settled territory" (Hudson 1977:22). 108 SHAWNEE PROPHET AND HANDSOME LAKE 109 Acculturation and Revitalization After coming into contact with the Europeans, both the Shawnee and Iro­ quois tribes began the process of acculturation. Berkhofer (1972:371) has defined acculturation as "the process of interaction between two societies by which the culture of the society in subordinate position is drastically modified to conform to the culture of the dominant society." One of the major agents of the acculturation process are missionaries. The missionaries played an important role in both the Shawnee and Iroquois revitalization movements because they provided the basis for the syncretic religion that was developed by both the Shawnee Prophet and Handsome Lake. The new syncretic religion was the core of both of these revitalization movements (cf. Deardorff 1951). Berkhofer (1972:373) has noted that in contrast to some other agents of the Frontier, the missionary "sought not only religious converts but the complete transformation of Indian Life." Many anthropologists have done studies on Nativistic and revitaliza­ tion movements. Linton (1943:238) has stated that a revivalist-magical type of Nativism may arise if a group incurs sufficient hardships. This type of movement occurs when the dominated group considers itself inferior as a result of European domination. This was true for both the Shawnee and the Iroquois. Linton makes several other important points regarding na­ tivistic movements which will be illustrated by the two cases presented in this paper. Linton points out that it is quite easy to convert Nativistic movements into mechanisms for aggression. This will be illustrated by the Shawnee movement which began as a movement that was focused upon the religious teachings of the Shawnee Prophet and then was later converted into a mechanism of aggression to attempt to stop the geographical expan­ sion of the United States. Linton also states that when a society is going through a revitalization movement, people within that society will react differently to it. This will also be illustrated by both the Shawnee and Iroquois cases: In such societies, nativistic tendencies will be strongest in those classes of in­ dividuals who occupy a favored position and who feel this position threatened by culture change. This factor may produce a split in the society, the favored individuals or groups indulging in a rational Nativism, either revivalistic or perpetuative, while those in less favored positions are eager for assimilation. (Linton 1951:239) Linton also notes that revivalistic movements function as a safety valve for the society and that in almost all Nativistic movements there is a situa­ tion of inequality between the two societies that come into contact (Linton 1951:234). Both of these general statements are true for the Iroquois and Shawnee cases. 110 DAVID EZZO Although all types of Nativistic movements involve an attempt to revive extinct elements of a given culture, Linton defines several different types of Nativistic movements. The type under which both the Shawnee and Iroquois movements can be defined is the magical Nativistic type. In a magical Nativistic movement, "some individual assumes the role of the prophet and is accepted by the people because they wish to believe. They always lean heavily on the supernatural and usually embody apoca­ lyptic and millennial aspects" (Linton 1951:231). This general statement will also be illustrated by both the Shawnee and Iroquois cases. Another anthropologist who has done extensive research on revitaliza­ tion movements is Anthony F.C. Wallace. Wallace defines a revitalization movement "as a deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a so­ ciety to construct a more satisfying culture" (Wallace 1956:265). Wallace has stated that all revitalization movements occur under two conditions: in situations of high individual stress, and in situations where a disillusion­ ment with a distorted cultural Gestalt occurs (Wallace 1956:279). Wallace also points out that most revitalization movements are "conceived in a prophet's revelatory visions, which provide for him a satisfying relationship to the Supernatural and outline a new way of life under divine sanction." Both the Shawnee and Iroquois revitalization movements illustrate the points expressed above by Wallace. In both Shawnee and Iroquois soci­ ety there was disillusionment with a distorted cultural Gestalt and high individual stress. Handsome Lake and the Shawnee Prophet based their revitalization movement on revelatory visions. The Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking tribal group that was so frag­ mented that "during their recorded history were never united into a single society" (Callender 1978:622). Due to their many migrations, the Shawnee came into contact with a variety of other tribes. Their most important associations were with the Iroquois, Delaware and the Creek. Callender notes that the Shawnee contacts with the Iroquois were "very complex and shifted through several phases." Before European contact, the Iroquois drove the Shawnee out of the Ohio Valley. After the Shawnee had moved to Pennsylvania, the Iroquois treated the Shawnee as a subordinate group, and the exerted considerable influence over them. The Delawares were neighbors of the Shawnee after the Shawnee settled in Eastern Pennsylvania. At times the two tribes even shared the same settlements. Later, both the Delaware and the Shawnee moved into the Ohio Valley. The Shawnee also had important contacts with the Creek. Callender stated: "The Shawnee connection with the Creek is far from adequately known, was apparently old and rather close, although limited SHAWNEE PROPHET AND HANDSOME LAKE 111 in its extent. From the early post-contact period to the late 18th century, the Creek confederacy usually included at least one Shawnee town." During the Fur trade period (the late 16th and early 17th centuries), the Shawnee had close contacts with the English who provided them with a market for their furs. The Shawnee also had trade contacts with the French. During this time period the Shawnee were involved in the "Colonial play­ off system" between the English and the French. Throughout this period the Shawnee continually shifted their alliances in an effort to play off the Colonial powers against each other. The-Shawnee fought very hard to oppose trans-Appalachian settlement and they were involved in both Pontiac's rebellion and Lord Dunmore's war. The Shawnee were "probably the main force in the Indian coalition that resisted American expansion during and after the Revolution" (Callender 1978:623). Throughout this period the Shawnee suffered from land loss, fragmentation, warfare, disease, depopulation, a dwindling game supply and Anglo injustice. Edmunds (1983:5) noted that "the traditional failure of interpersonal relationships, formalized roles, and elaborate kinship groups came apart because the tribe was unable to cope with the rapid changes swirling around them." All of these factors worked together to set the stage for the appearance of the Shawnee Prophet. The Iroquois The Iroquois were an Iroquoian-speaking tribe that resided in New York state. The League of the Iroquois consisted of five tribes: The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and the Seneca. The Tuscarora tribe (from North Carolina) was allowed to join the League about 1722, but they never received full status and they really functioned in a subordinate position to the rest of the tribes. The Iroquois were able to play off both the French and the British because of their strategic location: Iroquois neutrality, and the threat of its abandonment, thus became a lever by which Iroquois diplomats at endless rounds of treaties
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