''Bayaaswaa'' (recorded variously in English as Biauswah, Bajasswa, Byianswa or Biaswah) was the principal Chief of the Sandy Lake

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, whose village was located at either terminus of the

Savanna Portage Savanna Portage State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, established in 1961 to preserve the historic Savanna Portage, a difficult trail connecting the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. The portage trail crosses a drain ...

( Sandy Lake & opposite the mouth of the

East Savanna River The East Savanna River is a small yet historic stream in Aitkin and Saint Louis counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. With a total length of ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , ...

) in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. According to

William Whipple Warren William Whipple Warren (May 27, 1825 – June 1, 1853) was a historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. The son of Lyman Marcus Warren, an American fur trader and Mary Cadotte, the Ojibwe-Metis daughter of fur trader M ...

, based on

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

regarding ''Bayaaswaa'', as a child ''Bayaaswaa'' was captured by the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and his father ''Bayaaswaa'' (I) traded his life for his son's. ''Bayaaswaa'' and few other survivors went to Fond du Lac, and the

Fond du Lac Band Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (or Wayekwaa-gichigamiing Gichigamiwininiwag in the Ojibwe language, meaning "Lake Superior Men at the far end of the Great Lake") is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) band located near Cloquet, Minnesota. Their l ...

drove the Fox out of northern Wisconsin. The oral history, Warren continues, recalled a major battle with the

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

at the mouth of the

Crow Wing River The Crow Wing River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 29, 2012 tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation ...

. Sixty Ojibwa led by ''Bayaaswaa'' engaged three hundred Dakota who they said had destroyed their village at Sandy Lake. Supposedly, the battle lasted for three days. The Ojibwa established their village at Sandy Lake, establishing the Sandy Lake Band, and then ventured to Red Lake and Pembina. Other oral history accounts, however, suggest the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

aided the Ojibwa against the Dakota. According to Richard Alan Nelson, ''Bayaaswaa'' was a ''jiisakiiwinini'' (Shaking-tent Seer) and lived to the age of 109. ''Bayaaswaas son ''Gaa-dawaabide'' ("Broken Tooth") later became Chief of the Sandy Lake Band. Biauswah Lake in

Itasca County, Minnesota Itasca County (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is located in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version of the La ...

, is named after him, as is the Biauswah Bridge, a bridge for the

Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roughl ...

over the Saint Louis River out of the Fond du Lac neighbourhood of

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biauswah 02 Ojibwe people Native American history of Minnesota Native American leaders 17th-century births 17th-century Native Americans 18th-century Native Americans