Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too
Tippecanoe is a lake, a river, and a county in the state of Indiana. In addition to Tippecanoe County, five townships that the river flows through are named Tippecanoe. "Kethtippecanoogi" which means "place of the succor fish people," was what the natives called the river. The word "Tippecanoe" came from the Americanization of this Native American word. The word is best known because of the Battle of Tippecanoe. This battle took place in November of 1811 in the Indiana Territory.
At that time, Indiana territorial governor William H. Harrison wanted to get enough Native American land to qualify for statehood. He bargained with several of the tribes and was able to secure a treaty. The tribal leaders agreed to sell three million acres to the United States on September 30, 1809. It was called the Treaty of Fort Wayne.
The treaty enraged one Shawnee tribal chief named Tecumseh. He believed all the tribes, not just those who signed the treaty, owned the land. He threatened to kill all the leaders who signed the treaty.
