Chechalk
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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]
Chechalk | |
|---|---|
 Chechalk's signature, from the text of the Toronto Purchase. | |
| Born | c. 1770 |
| Died | 1810 |
| Other names | Chechock, Cheechock, Chehalk |
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]