Chief Wabakinine

Chief Wabakinine was Head Chief of the Mississaugas of western Lake Ontario, whose traditional territory includes the Toronto area. As Head Chief, he led by resolving issues through discussion until a consensus was reached., While he was Chief, the Mississaugas maintained a cautious friendship with the British. On behalf of his people, he signed the Niagara Purchase (1781), the first Toronto Purchase (1787), the Between the Lakes Treaty (1792), and the provisional Brant Tract Treaty (1795). The Mississaugas saw these treaties as an agreement to share the land, while the British saw them as a land transaction., In 1796, Chief Wabakinine, his wife, his sister, and other Mississaugas went to York (now Toronto) to sell salmon. According to colonial administrator Peter Russell, during this trip British soldier Charles McCuen sexually assaulted Wabakinine's sister., Wabakinine and his wife were fatally injured in the struggle and the Mississaugas soon buried the bodies. Although limited and likely biased, Russell's was one of the only written accounts of the attack. McCuen was not convicted due to a lack of available evidence., Leadership passed to Wabanip, Wabakinine's mizhinawe (a role similar to an ambassador or aide de-camp), and the Mississaugas allied themselves with War Chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) and the Six Nations Confederacy. This alliance and the potential for an Indigenous uprising worried the British. No uprising occurred, though the Mississaugas lost trust in the British.