To commemorate the day of Tecumseh’s death at the Battle of the Thames and honor his courageous life of service to the Shawnee people and Indian Country at large, the Shawnee Tribe leadership will officially declare October 5th “Tecumseh Memorial Day.”
Starting with Tecumseh Memorial Day 2021, Shawnee Tribe employees will receive one day of paid time off from work to observe the holiday. The holiday has specifically been set aside to perform acts of service to the local community or to the Shawnee Tribe. Beginning in 2022, the Tribe will facilitate formal options for group service projects.
Chief Ben Barnes encouraged Shawnee employees to spend this year’s holiday volunteering at a shelter, cooking a meal for the homeless or personal elder relatives, cleaning up the streets in the neighborhood, or giving time back to the Tribe to get ahead on a project at work, like donating a few hours at tribal headquarters to help process COVID-19 Relief Applications for tribal citizens.
Explore: 91.3 WYSO Article “Shawnee Tribe Declares October 5 Tecumseh Memorial Day“
Message From Chief Ben Barnes:
Proclamation of October 5th as “Tecumseh Memorial Day”
October 5th is an anniversary of the death of Tecumseh, but we will not celebrate his death, but rather his life. He has been attributed as to having said…
“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.”
He also said that from his tribe he takes nothing, that he himself was the master of his own fortune and destiny. It is with this mindfulness and with full-remembrance of all of our former Shawnee leaders, chairmen and chairwomen, chiefs, and hokimaki & hokimawikwaki, boceli noki bocelikwe, men and women, that gave themselves to our people that we commemorate this day.
This October 5th and every hereafter shall be “Tecumseh Memorial Day” and be observed by the Shawnee Tribe’s elected officers and her staff as a day to give of ourselves to our communities.
Today, October 5th, all staff that give their day to a local community, non-profit, or service organization, the Shawnee Tribe will pay that employee as if it were a regularly, scheduled work day for they have truly performed service to the Tribal Nation.
Because we Shawnee believe that we are only as strong as our communities, we are committed to all of them, regardless of the dotted lines of borders and distance.
The Shawnee diaspora is vast and we remember all of it, especially on this “Tecumseh Memorial Day.”
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