Waubojeeg, also written Waabojiig or other variants in

Ojibwe 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 ...

, "White Fisher" (c. 1747–1793) was a warrior and chief of the

Ojibwe people 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 ...

. He was born into the ''Adik'' (caribou) ''

doodem The Anishinaabe, like most Algonquian-speaking groups in North America, base their system of kinship on patrilineal clans or totems. The Ojibwe word for clan () was borrowed into English as totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no o ...

'' (clan), some time in the mid-18th century near ''Zhaagawaamikong'' on the western end of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. His father '' Mamongazeda'' ("King of the Loons") was also a noted warrior, who fought for the French in the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

. Although Waabojiig's family had intermarried with the

Dakota people The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

during times of peace, and he had several Dakota relatives, including the famous chief

Wapasha I Wapasha (1718–1806) was the name of a Mdewakanton Dakota chief. Wapasha (Dakota: ''Wáȟpe Šá'' New Lakota Dictionary, 2008) was born in present-day Minnesota in 1718. During his youth he befriended the agents of King Louis XV of France and ...

, he fought in several battles against the Dakota and

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, the ...

during his lifetime. His children, notably his son '' Weshkii'' ("the renewer") and his daughter Ozhaguscodaywayquay, became prominent in the Sault Ste. Marie area, a major

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

post. Waubojeeg distrusted white men because of their encroachment on Native territory. When John Johnston, a young Scots-Irish fur trader, fell in love with his daughter, Ozhaguscodaywayquay, and asked the chief to be allowed to marry her, Waubojeeg at first refused. While a respected warrior, Waubojeeg was also known for his poetry. He created "Waubojeeg's Battle Song", which his son-in-law John Johnston translated into English:

"On that day when our heroes lay low, lay low,
On that day when our heroes lay low
I fought by their side, and thought, ere I died,
Just vengeance to take on the foe,
Just vengeance to take on the foe.

On that day, when our chieftains lay dead, lay dead,
On that day, when our chieftains lay dead,
I fought hand to hand at the head of my band,
And here on my breast have I bled, have I bled,
And here on my breast have I bled.

Our chiefs shall return no more, no more,
Our chiefs shall return no more -
Nor their brethren of war, who can show scar for scar,
Like women their fates shall deplore, deplore,
Like women their fates shall deplore.

Five winters in hunting we'll spend, we'll spend,
Five winters in hunting we'll spend,
Till our youth, grown to men, we'll to the war lead again,
And our days like our fathers' will end, will end,
And our days like our fathers' will end.''

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waubojeeg 1740s births 1793 deaths Native American leaders Ojibwe people