Tecumseh’s Ghost

200 years ago today, in what is now called Moraviantown, Ontario, the great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh was killed defending Canada against invading American troops during the War of 1812.  After waging a fearsome battle with the encroaching American militia for over five years, Tecumseh had struck terror in the hearts of American settlers, soldiers and commanders alike. His alliance with the British General, Isaac Brock, and their victory at Detroit, decisively shifted the early momentum in the War to Canada’s favour.  No longer could the Americans boast that victory would be (as Thomas Jefferson promised then President James Madison) “a mere matter of marching.”  Indeed, it can be said that it was Tecumseh – as much as any other single individual – who saved Canada in the War of 1812.

Party's War Of 1812 Spending Plans Exclude Key Figure's Resting Place

The Conservative government's multi-million dollar effort to ensure Canadians never forget the War of 1812 may have sidelined a key figure in the conflict.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett told The Huffington Post Canada Wednesday that she was shocked to discover that the grave of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh has been left uncared for when she visited Walpole Island, Ont., near the U.S. border.

Documentary ponders ‘betrayal’ of aboriginal dreams after War of 1812

A new U.S. documentary being aired Monday ahead of next year’s bicentennial of the War of 1812 puts a different spin on the enduring debate over who won the historic battle between British Canada and the fledgling United States, instead highlighting the unambiguous defeat suffered by North America’s aboriginal nations as a result of the war.

The two-hour film, produced by the Buffalo, N.Y.-based PBS affiliate that has millions of viewers in southern Ontario, casts the native allies of the British-Canadian forces — led by the heroic Shawnee chief Tecumseh — as fierce and effective fighters in resisting American invasion attempts.

But the resulting deadlock in the war, which left North America’s borders intact after 2 1/2 years of fighting, also ended Tecumseh’s dream of a confederation of Indian nations with large, secure territories and a status comparable to the British colonies and American states.

The documentary, simply titled The War of 1812, “clearly deals with the fact that the one group that lost heavily is the natives,” Canadian military historian Peter Twist, a consultant on the film, told Postmedia News.