Matchekewis


Matchekewis was a tribal leader of the Ojibwe people. His people had their home in Michigan country, migrating to avoid pioneer expansion. In 1763, he took part in Pontiac's Rebellion in the capture of Fort Michilimackinac from the Kingdom of Great Britain. But in 1780 he commanded his tribes in the American Revolutionary War as an ally of Great Britain against the Kingdom of Spain. At the Battle of St. Louis, in charge of all of the native American troops, he was defeated by the Spanish gunpowder weapons. After the war, he signed the Treaty of Greenville with the young United States, ceding Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron, in addition to all of his original lands, to the United States.