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]
