Wabanquot, Wabonaquod, Wah-bon-ah-quot, Wau-bon-a-quat or Wa-bon-o-quot (ca. 1830-1898) was an

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

. Wabanquot (from the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

''Waabaanakwad'': White Cloud) was born at Gull Lake,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, around 1830. He succeeded to the office of chief of the Ojibwa at the death of his father, Waubojeeg, one of the principal chiefs for the Gull Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa. After the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, the Gull Lake Band was removed to the

Leech Lake Leech Lake (translated from the Ojibwe language ''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag'': Lake abundant with bloodsuckers) is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, Minnesota, Bemidji, located mainly within the L ...

area. There, Wabanquot was considered by many to be the principal chief of the removed Mississippi bands of Chippewa. He was a signatory to the Treaty of Washington (1867) (), in which on June 14, 1868, he led his band to the

White Earth Indian Reservation The White Earth Indian Reservation () is home to the White Earth Band, in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. The reservation includes all of Mahnomen County, plus parts of Becker and Clea ...

, where he lived until his death 30 years later. Upon his supposed conversion to Christianity sometime in the 1870s, he adopted the name ''D.G. Wright'' after an Episcopalian benefactor, but he rarely used his English name; however, sometime in the 1890s before his death, he converted to Roman Catholicism.

Memorials

* ''Chief White Cloud State Monument'' (), in Becker County, in Calvary Catholic Cemetery of the St. Benedict's Mission, a mile south of White Earth, honoring Chippewa Chief White Cloud, was established in 1909. The monument inscription says:Rubinstein, Sarah P
Minnesota history along the highways: a guide to historic markers and sites
p. 247. (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003) * The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

USS ''Wabanquot'', in service from 1945 to 1976, was named for him.

References

Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' Wabanquot
(ship namesake paragraph) *Treaty of Washington (1867) (

Native American leaders 1830s births 1898 deaths White Earth Nation people {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub