Another martyr to political correctness

Meet Tecumseh. He was an Indian leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy (known as Tecumseh's Confederacy) which fought alongside British soldiers and Canadian militias against the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812.

The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is being celebrated in Canada right now -- the Battle of Queenston Heights will be re-enacted on the site next month -- but for some reason is being largely ignored in the US. Click here for more information on the War of 1812. You'll see a picture of Tecumseh -- well, an actor portraying the great Indian leader -- second from the left on the landing page. If you'd like to watch a good video about Tecumseh and his role in the war, click here.

Now then, about the political correctness... Ed. thinks I should say "Native American" instead of "Indian" in the opening sentence. I will not, for the same reason I won't write "Native Canadian". The Indians regarded themselves then, and still regard themselves as neither American nor Canadian. They are just "the people", and that is how they refer to themselves in Cree and other native languages. Actually there's nothing wrong with the word "native", except that it's no longer politically correct to refer to people of colour by six-letter words beginning with "N".

Nor is it PC to use representations of n*****s as mascots for companies or sports teams or... well... anything. One company that has stopped "appropriating cultural images" is (or was) the Tecumseh Power Company, founded in 1934 as Tecumseh Products.

There is still a company of that name trading on NASDAQ, but it's not really the same as the Tecumseh Power Company that was known in 120 companies around the world for its small gasoline engines, like the one shown here.

This is an old(ish) picture. If you have a Tecumseh engine manufactured in the last half-dozen years or so, you'll notice that the Indian has disappeared, replaced by a nondescript and meaningless geometric design. The chief, it seems, is not wanted in the New Age of Political Correctness.

Warning to fans of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Black Hawks: You're next! (Signed) The PC Police.