Chechalk
Chechalk | |
|---|---|
Chechalk's signature, from the text of the Toronto Purchase. | |
| Born | c. 1770 |
| Died | 1810 |
| Other names | Chechock, Cheechock, Chehalk |
Chief Chechalk (also recorded as Chechock, Cheechock, and Chehalk) (c. 1770–1810), was a 19th-century chief of the Mississauga Ojibwe.[1] He was the head chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit from 1805 to 1810, proceeded by Wabanip and succeeded by James Ajetance.[2]
Life
Chechalk was one of the last Credit River chiefs to not convert to Christianity, dying before the arrival of the Methodist missionaries.[3] He was a signatory on the Toronto Purchase (Treaty 13) and the Head of the Lake Treaty (Treaty 14), major land surrenders by the Mississaugas to the Colonial Government.[4][5] He was vocal against the encroachment of his people's lands, telling the British in 1800 that their hunting grounds were "becoming confined and not fit for hunting."[6]
Chechalk was a member of the Eagle clan, and his name is often translated as "crane" (Ajijaak) or "bird on the wing".[7][8] The latter is an interpretation by Egerton Ryerson when the name was bestowed upon him by Ajetance at a council meeting in 1826.[6][9]
His descendants continued to be band leaders, including his son James Chechalk (Manoonooding) who married Peter Jones's sister Catherine, along with his grandson John Chechalk.[10] Some sources claim that Chechalk or his son James served in the War of 1812, but this is unlikely given their dates of birth and death.[11]
Legacy
Chechalk Trail in Mississauga is named in his honour.[12]
References
- ^ "Toronto Purchase, 1805". heritage.canadiana.ca. Department of Indian Affairs : Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada : C-10996. Library and Archives Canada. August 1, 1805. pp. 301–303. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ^ Bohaker, Heidi (2020). Doodem and Council Fire: Anishinaabe Governance through Alliance. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-4426-1543-4.
- ^ Playter, George F. (1862). The history of Methodism in Canada : with an account of the rise and progress of the work of God among the Canadian Indian tribes, and occasional notices of the civil affairs of the province. Toronto: Anson Green. p. 251.
- ^ Curnoe, Greg (1996). "Deeds / Nations: Directory of First Nations Individuals in South-Western Ontario 1750 - 1850". www.adamsheritage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ^ "Treaty Texts - Upper Canada Land Surrenders". Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. 2016-03-07.
- ^ a b Smith, Donald B. (2013). Mississauga portraits : Ojibwe voices from nineteenth-century Canada. Internet Archive. Toronto : Buffalo ; London : University of Toronto Press. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-0-8020-9162-8.
- ^ Beaver, George (1997). Mohawk reporter : the Six Nations columns of George Beaver. Ohsweken: Iroquois Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-919645-24-0.
- ^ Williamson, Lynne (1993). Brecher, Jeremy (ed.). The Great Tree of Peace. Stone Soup Books. p. 283.
- ^ Ryerson, Egerton; Hodgins, J. George (John George) (1884). "The story of my life" : being reminiscences of sixty years' public service in Canada. Ryerson University. Toronto : W. Briggs. p. 67.
- ^ Smith, Donald B. (1987). Sacred Feathers : the Reverend Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) & the Mississauga Indians. University of Toronto Press.
- ^ "Remembering the War of 1812 Marker". City of Mississauga. September 14, 2024.
- ^ "City of Mississauga: Corporate Report: Naming of Off-Road Trail 11 as "Chechalk Trail" (Ward 3)". City of Mississauga. January 16, 2024.