James Ajetance
James Ajetance | |
|---|---|
Ajetance's signature, from the text of the Toronto Purchase. | |
| Born | c. 1770 |
| Died | March 11, 1829 |
| Other names | Acheton, Adjutant, Captain Jim |
Chief James Ajetance (also recorded as Acheton, Adjutant, Agetauns, or Captain Jim) (c. 1770–March 11, 1829), was a 19th-century chief of the Mississauga Ojibwe.[1][2] He served as head chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit from 1810 to 1829, proceeded by Chechalk and succeeded by Nawahjegezhegwabe (Joseph Sawyer).[3][4]
Life
Ajetance was the second Mississauga chief to convert to Christianity, after John Cameron.[2] He held his leadership role during a transformative time for the Mississauga during and after the War of 1812, when most of their land was sold to the Colonial Government and the Credit Mission was established. Ajetance was a signatory of major land treaties, including the Toronto Purchase (Treaty 13) and the Ajetance Treaty (Treaty 19), which colloquially bears his name.[5][6]
Following the death of his son, Ajetance adopted Peter Jones and gave him the same name as his deceased son, Kahkewaquonaby (Sacred Feathers).[7] In 1826, he also gave the name of the deceased chief Chechalk to Methodist missionary Egerton Ryerson, who lived and worked with them at the Credit Mission.[8]
Ajetance negotiated for land rights for his people, but was often faced with few options. On one occasion, at the Fort York council, an Indian Agent told Ajetance that the Credit Mission had no legal title to their lands, other than a 200-acre lot along the Credit River.[8]
He died on March 11, 1829, and was buried beside fellow chief John Cameron at the Credit Mission.[2]
References
- ^ Smith, Donald B. (1987). Sacred Feathers : the Reverend Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) & the Mississauga Indians. University of Toronto Press.
- ^ a b c "Obituary for James Agetauns". Colonial Advocate. March 26, 1829. p. 5.
- ^ Van Dusen, Conrad (1867). The Indian chief [microform] : an account of the labours, losses, sufferings and oppression of Ke-zig-ko-e-ne-ne (David Sawyer), a chief of the Ojibbeway Indians in Canada West. Canadiana.org. London.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Bohaker, Heidi (2020). Doodem and Council Fire: Anishinaabe Governance through Alliance. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442647312.
- ^ "Treaty 19". grasac.artsci.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Curnoe, Greg (1996). "Deeds / Nations: Directory of First Nations Individuals in South-Western Ontario 1750 - 1850". www.adamsheritage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Jones, Peter (1860). Life and journals of Kah-ke-wa-quo-nā-by (Rev. Peter Jones), Wesleyan missionary. Toronto: Anson Green.
- ^ a b Smith, Donald B. (2013). Mississauga portraits : Ojibwe voices from nineteenth-century Canada. Internet Archive. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9162-8.