Tecumseh & Tribes

This giant statue is the first thing that people see when they pull into River Village.  Camp people have nicknamed him "Irving the Indian."  On the sign that faces the entrance, it says, "Come in Peace, Camp Tecumseh."  On the side that people see as they exit, it says, "Go in Peace--Serve God and Man."  Irving isn't a real Indian, but Tecumseh was, and our camp is named after him.

Tecumseh 
Tecumseh was a great leader of the Shawnee tribe.  As an adult, he and his warriors lived really close to where camp is now.  Their village was where the Tippecanoe River meets the Wabash River.  Today Prophetstown State Park is on that spot., and it is only about 15 miles from Camp Tecumseh.

Tecumseh had a younger brother that had visions and became a prophet. Tecumseh and his brother became the leaders of their tribe.  Tecumseh united many tribes to fight against the white men who were taking their land.  Their most famous battle was the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Tecumseh was very brave, and both the white men and the Native Americans respected him.  Kids still learn about him in their history classes in school.

Cabins
All of the cabins at Camp Tecumseh are named after real Native American tribes.  We have a couple different types of cabins, but this is the most common one:

Living at camp has made us really interested in learning more about Native Americans.  Here is a list of all the cabin names with links to more information about the tribes they represent:

* Abnaki
* Arapaho
* Catawba
* Cayuga
* Cherokee
* Cheyenne
* Chickasaw
* Chippewa
* Choctaw
* Comanche
* Creek
* Crow
* Delaware
* Eel River
* Erie
* Fox
* Hopi
* Huron
* Illinois
* Iowa
* Iroquois
* Kickapoo
* Lakota
* Menominee
* Miami
* Mingo
* Mohawk
* Mohican
* Mojave
* Ojibwa
* Omaha
* Oneida
* Onondaga
* Osage
* Ottawa
* Paiute
* Pawnee
* Peoria
* Pima
* Potawatomie
* Seminole
* Seneca
* Shawnee
* Shoshone
* Sioux
* Teton
* Wea
* Winnebago
* Wyandot

One really good site for learning about Native American history is Native Languages of the Americas.  It was created by a non-profit group that wants to help kids learn more about Native American history and tribes.  A lot of the links above are from this site.