Myths and Misconceptions: the Curse of Tippecanoe

Another stereotype of Native people is the ability of individual Natives, particularly leaders, to pronounce curses on White men who have wronged them and their people.  Dragging Canoe of the Chickamauga Cherokee supposedly predicted the Civil War.  Cornstalk of the Shawnee turned Point Pleasant, West Virginia into its own little Bermuda Triangle of tragedies and sent the Mothman to plague the residents.  Osceola predicted that Zachary Taylor would die in office as President and that the Second Seminole War would last five years after he was captured.  And either Tecumseh or Tenskwatawa predicted that an American President would die in office every twenty years, beginning with their nemesis William Henry Harrison.

Did it happen?  Probably not.  These stories are yet another instance of stereotypes of Native people as having mystical powers or knowledge unknown to the average person.  European people and Americans today understand little of Native spirituality and tend to believe that much of it is the mystical, fortune-telling, witchcraft kind that would allow Natives, especially prominent Native leaders whose fame often extends to the White population, to have "powerful medicine" that would enable them to make these predictions and get them to stick as curses.  However, the only Native leader who is on record as having said anything of the kind was Osceola, who predicted that the Second Seminole War would last five years, which it did.  But, still, there was no record that he pronounced a curse on anyone, or was doing more than making an extremely lucky educated guess.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Presidents and assassination go together like a horse and carriage.  Almost every President since Washington has had at least one assassination attempt, never by a Native and almost always by a lone wolf seeking to carry out their own warped agenda.  Forty-four Presidents later, some of those attempts would be successful.  In addition, while Presidents today have the best medical care on standby 24/7, Presidents in the 19th century often had to rely on whatever doctor was available, dealing with medical knowledge as it stood then.  Again, the number of Presidents compared by the number of ways one can die without an assassination, and some of our Presidents have died in office.  Here's the rundown.

William Henry Harrison, elected in 1840, died a month (April 4, 1841) after taking office from pneumonia caught while giving his Inaugural speech in a rainstorm without a rain coat.  He didn't want to cover up the medals and military insignia on his jacket.

Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860 and 1864, died April 15, 1865, assassinated at close range in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth.

James A. Garfield, elected in 1880, assassinated by firearm on September 19, 1881.

William McKinley, elected to a second term in 1900, assassinated by firearm on September 14, 1901.

Warren G. Harding, elected 1920, died on August 2, 1923 of a heart attack or stroke.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, beginning his fourth term in 1944, died on April 12, 1945 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 23, 1963.

Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, attempted assassination during a speaking engagement at a Washington Hotel, June 5, 2004, wounded and returned to office.

George W. Bush, elected in 2000, assassination attempt and choking on a pretzel, survived both. 

Finally, one President who does not fit the mold:

Zachary Taylor, elected 1848, died July 9, 1850 five days after overindulging at a Fourth of July picnic where he was likely food poisoned on accident. 

Looking at the above list, except for Taylor as the only odd one out, it looks like any prophecy with regard to death or near death to a President every twenty years is accurate.  Whether this is fate, coincidence, or there is some type of curse at work, no one can say.  However, there's no record of either Tecumseh or Tenskwatawa having uttered this curse.  Just because a Native leader lets off a few choice words about the way he and his people are being treated, or maybe says something along the lines of 'God will get you for this!' doesn't always amount to a curse.  This must be relegated to one of those many myths surrounding the American Presidency.