Wapasha
Wapasha refers to several significant chiefs of the Mdewakanton Sioux tribe, primarily active between 1750 and 1870. The first notable Wapasha, born around 1718 in present-day Minnesota, played a crucial role in both warfare and diplomacy, particularly in dealing with the Chippewas and later with English traders. His legacy continued with Wapasha II, known for his interaction with American explorer Zebulon Pike during an 1805 expedition, and for navigating the complexities of shifting loyalties during the War of 1812. Wapasha III, or Joseph Wapasha, succeeded him in leadership and faced increasing pressure from white settlers as immigration surged into Minnesota in the 1840s. Despite attempts to maintain peace and accommodation, the outbreak of the Great Sioux War in 1862 compelled him to engage militarily. Following the conflict, he and his people experienced displacement due to settler violence, ultimately seeking refuge on a reservation in Nebraska, where he died in 1876. The history of the Wapasha chiefs reflects the broader challenges faced by Indigenous peoples during periods of colonization and conflict in North America.
Wapasha
Category: Line of chiefs
Tribal affiliation: Mdewakanton Sioux
Significance: Several prominent chiefs in the Sioux tribe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were named Wapasha; they were members of the same family
“Wapasha” was the name of several important Mdewakanton Sioux chiefs between roughly 1750 and 1870. The eldest known to the historical record was born in about 1718 in present-day Minnesota. As a chief, he spent much of his time making war or negotiating peace with the Chippewas. Later in his life, he made contact with the English when they withdrew trading relations following the murder of a merchant. Wapasha captured the culprit and set off to deliver him to his accusers. When the prisoner escaped, Wapasha offered himself as a substitute. The English refused the offer but made an ally. Wapasha died near Hokah, Minnesota.
Wapasha (“Red Leaf”), son of the elder Wapasha, was born on the site of present-day Winona, Minnesota. He met Zebulon Pike on his 1805 expedition in search of the Mississippi River’s source. Though he was generally an ally of immigrating Americans, the British claimed his loyalty in the War of 1812 but regarded him as suspect to the point of court-martial. He died of smallpox and was followed as tribal leader by his brother (some accounts say nephew), Joseph Wapasha.
In 1862, Joseph Wapasha became the Mdewakanton Sioux’s principal chief. He continued the accommodationist policies of his two forebears of the same name. By the 1840’s, however, white immigration to Minnesota had reached unprecedented levels, and friendliness was becoming more difficult to maintain without abject surrender.
Reluctantly, Joseph Wapasha surrendered to pressure to join in the Great Sioux War that began in 1862 under Little Crow. Wapasha and his people did their best to stay out of the hostilities, but after the war they were caught in the general colonists’ fervor to rid Minnesota of all Indians. Vigilantes drove Wapasha and his people to a reservation on the upper Missouri. They later moved to the Santee Agency in Nebraska, where Joseph Wapasha died in 1876 at the age of fifty-one.