The name of the Native Indian in the picture of the Prophet Indian is Ten-sqúat-a-way, The Open Door, Known as The Prophet, Brother of Tecumseh, 1830, Shawnee tribe. The picture of him raises different points of interest which increase knowledge and understanding of Native Indian tribes:

• What materials have been used to make the clothes / headdress?
• What ornaments or decorations are being worn?
• What items or accessories is he holding?
• What image does the picture convey? Intimidating or friendly?
• Can you identify the group or the region the Native Indian belongs to?

The title we have given the picture reflects the name of the tribe, for ease of identification.

Description of the Picture
The artist of this painting, George Catlin, wrote the following to accompany this picture:

“The ‘Shawnee Prophet,’ is perhaps one of the most remarkable men, who has flourished on these frontiers for some time past. This man is brother of the famous Tecumseh, and quite equal in his medicines or mysteries, to what his brother was in arms; he was blind in his left eye, and in his right hand he was holding his ‘medicine fire,’ and his ‘sacred string of beads’ in the other. With these mysteries he made his way through most of the North Western tribes, enlisting warriors wherever he went, to assist Tecumseh in effecting his great scheme, of forming a confederacy of all the Indians on the frontier, to drive back the whites and defend the Indians' rights; which he told them could never in any other way be protected. … [he] had actually enlisted some eight or ten thousand, who were sworn to follow him home; and in a few days would have been on their way with him, had not a couple of his political enemies from his own tribe … defeated his plans, by pronouncing him an impostor.…

“This, no doubt, has been a very shrewd and influential man, but circumstances have destroyed him … and he now lives respected, but silent and melancholy in his tribe.”

The Manners, Customs and Conditions of the North American Indians (1832 - 1839)
by George Catlin