Exploring the legacy of misnaming on Prophetstown tourism

Linda Joyce Forristal, PhDDrexel University

November 4-6, 2011 Wiping Away the Tears at Purdue University

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Current Configuration

Historic Prophetstown is comprised three

main areas: a 1920s living history farm a partially restored prairie a modest Woodland Indian village with a

council house, medicine lodge, chief’s cabin, and granary

Not original site? Indian village settled by the Prophet and his

followers was probably not the Woodland village currently located within the boundaries of the 247-acre Historic Prophetstown property.

Kethtippecanunk located both spatially and temporally very close to the encampments of the Prophet and Tecumseh, although not overlapping in time, may have overlapped in space

Site Sacralization Theory Proposed by sociologist Dean MacCannell

in the 1970s (MacCannell, 1976:43–45) When introducing his concept, MacCannell

was interested in the linkages between society and attractions that lead to making them famous, resulting from becoming a desired place to visit

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MacCannell’s five stages

Argued that a tourism site is transformed into a tourism attraction by passing through five stages: 1) naming 2) framing and elevating 3) enshrinement 4) mechanical reproduction 5) social reproduction.

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Past 2 decades, used in tourism

MacCannell’s Original Stages

Relabeled Phase

1. Naming 1. Resource identification

2. Framing and elevating 2. Marketing emphasis

3. Enshrinement 3. Interpretation

4. Mechanical reproduction 4. Sales and merchandizing

5. Social reproduction 5. Broader community use

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Destination attractiveness Some researchers have focused on the

‘sacred’ angle, especially that the tourist is a modern-day religious pilgrim

Taking the logic one step further, tourists are drawn to specific attractions like a religious pilgrim who plans a once-in-a-lifetime visit, because the site meets their specific needs and wants (i.e., is intrinsically attractive to them)

Site possesses destination attractiveness

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Naming The first stage, called naming, occurs when

the site is “marked off from similar objects as worthy of preservation (MacCannell, 1976:44).”

Drew from Charles Sanders Peirce’s Theory of Signs

A marker represents something about a site to the tourist, which help delineate and create an attraction Tourist, site and marker = attraction

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The power and role of naming The importance of proper

naming is suggested or can be derived from anthropological and sociological studies in the universal and seminal power and role of naming and naming systems for people and places (Basso, 1986; Tooker, 1984) in cultures around the world.

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Framing & elevating Framing is the

“placement of an official boundary around the object” and elevation is “putting an object on display” or opening it up for visitation (Jacobsen, 1997; MacCannell, 1976:44).

Locate, perceive, identify and label

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Enshrinement Occurs when the framing

material or boundary (as a container) itself enters the first stage of sacralization, i.e., naming

In the tourism literature, researchers have translated this stage to mean that the buildings on a site become venerated themselves (Jacobsen, 1997; Leiper, 1990).

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Geysers at Yellowstone surrounded by the park

Mechanical reproduction

The fourth stage in MacCannell’s site sacralization theory is mechanical reproduction of artifacts and souvenirs associated with a site.

Prints, photographs, models, or effigies of the “sacred object” which themselves become valued

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Social reproduction Social reproduction

occurs when towns, schools or even people start to name themselves after someone or something famous (MacCannell, 1976:45)

Leads to place names on maps

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Naming

At its root, a name for a place is an important sign or signpost and societal marker.

In relation to MacCannell’s first stage of naming, a core necessity is accurately identifying the site north of Lafayette referred to as “Prophet’s town” in the early 1800s with the right name.

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Roots of name lost

No one can be sure what the Native Americans called the site themselves. Perhaps “Prophet’s town” was anglicized from the Shawnee language

An early account of Harrison’s life may be the first appearance of the name “Prophet’s town,” which was later reduced to Prophetstown.

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Museums at Prophetstown

First organized for visitation under the name Museums at Prophetstown in 1995.

In 2002, the site’s name was changed to the singular Museum of Prophetstown to reinforce the “unity of the three components” (Bodenmiller, 2005:1)

Changed again in 2005 to Historic Prophetstown.

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Power of iconic figures The power of naming

can be multiplied by capitalizing on the name of an iconic figure (Pearce et al, 2003).

In relation to this historic site, the most-recognized iconic figure was Tecumseh, not Tenskwatawa.

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Whose story…which site? Confusion over which brother is the key attractor

for bringing tourists to Prophetstown Which Prophet? There are others in the Midwest. “Historic” site of Prophet’s village maybe

elsewhere Thus, MacCannell’s first stage, “naming,” has not

occurred at Historic Prophetstown

 

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Framing and elevating

MacCannell’s framing is the “placement of an official boundary around the object” and elevation is “putting an object on display (MacCannell, 1976).”

Appropriate “labeling” or signage Maps clearly demarcate the boundaries of

Historic Prophetstown within the larger Prophetstown State Park.

But this is from an aerial perspective

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Boundary is not obvious to the visitor on the ground.

No signage announcing the site along Interstate 65 less than one mile away

Various stakeholders have “framed” the site with different representations.

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Inadequate signage

Signage on the property, either near the entrance of the property or at the edge of the parking lot adjacent to the farm, does not adequately showcase its rich Native American history.

Nor does the signage provide adequate visitor orientation about the Indian village’s location.

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Signage is minimal Framing and

elevation of the 3 parts of the site— the farm, the prairie and the Indian village—are not done consistently or adequately.

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No electronic elevation In lieu of physical

elevation (i.e., putting object on display), the Native American aspect of Historic Prophetstown could be electronically elevated

However, Web presence tied to an agrarian calendar

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Current FACEBOOK statement of the site’s mission (electronic elevation):

“We are dedicated to enhancing public awareness of agriculture and horse powered farming.”

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The design of the current Website and membership card (which sports a picture of a draft horse and a little girl) all demonstrate that site’s promotion and image is tied to an agrarian calendar—not a Native American one.

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Framing and elevation not achieved All in all, there is no consistent or agreed-

upon framing and elevation of the site, either physically, sociology or electronically.

Thus, MacCannell’s second stage of framing and elevation has not taken place at Historic Prophetstown.

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Enshrinement This stage has been interpreted to occur

when the buildings on a site become venerated themselves

It seems unlikely the houses or barn on the living-history farm at Historic Prophetstown could become venerated objects, but the potential for such a development might have existed for the two structures proposed in the original plan for the Museums of Prophetstown.

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Early 1990s plans

Then, in the 1990s, the founding board of the Museums at Prophetstown hoped to garner the funds to build two structures they proposed for the property.

However, none of the plans to promote the site based on this broader historical potential materialized.

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The sister Eagle Wing Visitor and Education Center was to welcome local visitors and

tourists from Chicago and beyond.

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A 65,000-square-foot Woodland Native American Center was to serve as a museum with both

permanent and rotating exhibits

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Enshrinement not yet achieved Because Prophetstown State Park completely surrounds

HP, one could view the 3,000-acre Prophetstown State Park as the “framing material” for Historic Prophetstown.

If state park became a viable, successful destination in its own right (as are the plans), this would facilitate Historic Prophetstown’s movement into MacCannell’s third stage of enshrinement

At this point, the state park is still in the middle of a three-stage development process.

Thus, the enshrinement phase has not taken place at Historic Prophetstown.

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Mechanical reproduction not achieved There is historical

material on which to base mechanical reproduction, and thus, the creation of venerable souvenirs for Tenskwatawa

Not happened at Prophetstown.

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Social reproduction In the past 200 years, there has NOT been

extensive social reproduction (i.e., towns, schools, or people named after someone or something famous) in relation to Tenskwatawa

Fair amount in relation to Tecumseh, such as the name of towns in Michigan, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

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Towns and schools

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WorldCat searches Place names and

book titles 1 for Historic

Prophetstown 12 records for

Prophet’s Town 126 returned for

Tenskwatawa 4,408 for Tecumseh

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Social reproduction out of order However, these events of social reproduction

have taking place out of order (i.e., without successful completion of Stages 1, 2, 3)

Not in relation to Prophet, but his brother Thus, MacCannell’s fifth stage of social

reproduction has not occurred in relation to the person Historic Prophetstown, was named for (i.e., the Prophet Tenskwatawa).

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Improper naming hinders progress Site has remained in naming stage A lack of focus that proper naming would

provide has hindered framing and elevation (Stage 2), enshrinement (Stage 3) and mechanical reproduction (Stage 4).

Although there has been ample social reproduction (Stage 5) related to Tecumseh, it is absent in relation to Historic Prophetstown itself and to the Prophet who gave it its name.

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Site lacks destination attractiveness If MacCannell’s model is used as a measure,

because Historic Prophetstown has not successfully moved through all five stages, it lacks attractiveness as a tourist destination.

The lack of attractiveness stemming from the improper naming of the site may substantially contribute to its low visitation and financial stagnation.

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Cascading effects

The lack of a proper or right name has cascading effects that influence or impede the progression through the rest of the stages

Thwarts the development of destination attractiveness

Name of a site is intrinsically a branding issue

Concept of a brand is very close to MacCannell’s “marker” and Peirce’s “sign”

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Recommendations

Beneficial for the site to clearly identify its resources—especially which name and historical framing of the site would best maximize the potential for successful future development and promotion

May be prudent to realign the visitors’ perceptions and expectations to match the name and significance of the site.

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Increase awareness of Tenskwatawa Undertake concerted efforts to increase the

awareness of significance of Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, on the ground and on the web.

Incorporate George Catlin’s (1830) and Henry Inman’s (1830) paintings of Tenskwatawa literature design for schools and the site website(s).

Add places names to area and virtual tour

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Name change?

To capitalize on the name of Tecumseh, an iconic figure whose name has been extensively socially reproduced during the past 200 years and who is historically tied to the destination.

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Naming is a sacred process It should also be remembered that within

the indigenous community, the naming of something is an important and sometimes sacred process

Consideration should be given to whether the promotion of agricultural events under the umbrella of Historic Prophetstown leads to misidentification of the site among potential visitors.

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State park as framing material

Since Prophetstown State Park is the “framing material” for Historic Prophetstown, any improvements and successes in the park could contribute to the Historic Prophetstown’s enshrinement as a tourism destination

Cultivate and maintain a good symbiotic and working relationship with the park and state of Indiana DNR

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Elevated to National Park? Higher framing,

elevation and enshrinement of events if Prophetstown State Park became a national park

Not impossible, based on the historical significance of the elements within its boundaries.

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