Early in the year, Prophetstown State Park is a solemn place, and rightly so.
After all, this is where in 1811 a decisive battle between a confederacy of Native Americans, led by Tecumseh’s brother Tenskwatawa (“The Prophet”), and an army of 1000 men, led by William Henry Harrison, the Governor of the Indiana Territory, took place.
The battle ended with a defeat of the Native Americans, and the complete destruction of their village.
Today, the park features an early pioneer village and replicas of the earlier Shawnee settlements.
I found the vistas of the empty landscape more impressive. Much of its geology was formed from retreating ice, when glacial lakes broke their dams and caused devastating floods, as is visible here in the Wabash flood plane.
Both the flood plane and the lost battle of Tenskwatawa should remind us that there will always be resistance, no matter how often it fails.
The Inner Frame 