A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.
TECUMSEHI am the maker of my own fortune, and Oh! that I could make that of my Red People, and of my country, as great as the conceptions of my mind, when I think of the spirit that rules the universe.
More Tecumseh Quotes
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No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers….
TECUMSEH -
Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
TECUMSEH -
We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave.
TECUMSEH -
Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and oppression of the white man, as snow before the summer sun.
TECUMSEH -
The Great Spirit is angry with all men that tell lies.
TECUMSEH -
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
TECUMSEH -
From my tribe I take nothing. I am the maker of my own destiny! And of that I might make the destiny of my red people, of our nation, as great as I conceive to in my mind, when I think of Weshemoneto, who rules this universe!
TECUMSEH -
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours.
TECUMSEH -
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
TECUMSEH -
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.
TECUMSEH -
Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, ‘Never! Never!’
TECUMSEH -
Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pokanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun.
TECUMSEH -
Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.
TECUMSEH -
When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.
TECUMSEH -
I am Shawnee! I am a warrior! My forefathers were warriors. From them I took only my birth into this world.
TECUMSEH -
The Great Spirit made all things. He gave the white people a home beyond the great waters. He supplied these grounds with game, and gave them to his red children; and he gave them strength and courage to defend them.
TECUMSEH -
Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds and the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?
TECUMSEH -
When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
TECUMSEH -
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength.
TECUMSEH -
I am the maker of my own fortune, and Oh! that I could make that of my Red People, and of my country, as great as the conceptions of my mind, when I think of the spirit that rules the universe.
TECUMSEH -
Brothers, the white people are like poisonous serpents: when chilled they are feeble and harmless, but invigorate them with warmth and they sting their benefactors to death.
TECUMSEH -
Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
TECUMSEH -
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
TECUMSEH -
I would not then come to Governor Harrison to ask him to tear up the treaty, and to obliterate the landmark, but I would say to him, “Sir, you have the liberty to return to your own country.”
TECUMSEH -
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
TECUMSEH -
The white people have no right to take the land from the Indians, because the Indians had it first.
TECUMSEH