The Ojibwe-Dakota battle of 1795 Battle Lake, MN

Archives

How did a young Ojibwe warrior from Leech Lake become immortalized on the shores of Battle Lake, over 100 miles from his home? This was a place where he only ever spent about half a day. And it wasn’t a very good day for him all said, except that he survived to see the sun set on it.

The imposing statue of “Chief Wenonga” overlooking Battle Lake would give you the impression that this person was a victorious leader in the battle which gave the lake its English name. The historical account of this battle paints a different picture. Wenonga (meaning Vulture) was part of a 50-man surprise-attack Ojibwe war party. They left Leech Lake late in the fall of 1795 and traveled for four days until they began to hear the sounds of Dakota hunting guns firing throughout the countryside. When a hunting party came into view, the Ojibwe took off after them in hot pursuit. The attack was not very well planned, and the surprise ended up turning unfavorably on the Ojibwe group. After chasing the small hunting party down the beach and through thick woods, three of the fastest runners came out on the open prairie. There they found themselves dressed for war and standing breathlessly on the doorstep of a village of 300 Dakota homes. This was somewhere on the north shore of West Battle Lake. (Supposing just five people per household, this town would have had a larger population than Battle Lake has today).

The Dakota quickly rounded up their own warriors who far out-numbered the Ojibwe and chased them back through the woods and down the sand beaches of the lake to the reedy outlet that runs into Molly Stark. Today this small stream is called Battle Creek. At this point I should tell you that the ensuing battle was not fought with tomahawks and bows and arrows, but primarily with guns, which the Ojibwe and Dakota had access to for well over 100 years [1].

The Ojibwe men hid in the reeds, and by hiding, reportedly shot down many of the Dakota before they knew what was happening. But ultimately the Ojibwe were hopelessly outnumbered. The old Ojibwe chief Uke-ke-waus who had rounded up the war party in the first place, ordered anyone left alive to retreat while he and his three remaining sons bore the brunt of the attack, giving others the chance to escape. Uke-ke-waus and his three sons were killed and scalped by the Dakota warriors. His fourth son had been the first to be shot in front of the Dakota village. Less than one-third of the Ojibwe party made it home alive. Wenonga — who is referred to as a leader, but not a chief — was one of the few who survived. And though he was badly wounded, he was still living nearly 60 years later and boasted of shooting down seven Dakota warriors that day. The Leech Lake Ojibwe called the lake where this event took place Ish-quon-e-de-win-ing; Where But Few Survived. The French fur traders called it “Lac du Battaile.” We do not know what the Dakota called it, but I sure would like to know because it probably had nothing to do with bloodshed. Since the Ojibwe had been on enemy territory, they were never given the chance to bury their dead. William W. Warren, the half-Ojibwe historian who recorded this story, said that at the time of his writing (circa 1852), “Their bones are bleaching, and returning to dust, on the spot where they so bravely fought and fell”.

Warren was the only historian to write an account of this battle. We have nothing from the Dakota perspective. If we had, I imagine that a Dakota warrior, victorious in defending his hometown, might have been given the honor of standing guard over Battle Lake. But unfortunately, history has not given us the name of one. It is good to have statues, monuments and memorials to make us ask “What happened here?” even if the story gets a little messed up along the way. The important thing is to keep asking “What really happened here?” and to find primary historical sources when possible. I hope that if you pass through Battle Lake, you will be able to look at Chief Wenonga and think of both sides of the story that are mixed up in this classic mid-20th century homage to Native American history. Look out at the lake and remember that to the Ojibwe it was “Where But Few Survived”. To the French fur traders who were not involved, it was “The Place Where That Battle Happened”…and to the Dakota, who had lived there for “generations beyond remembering”[2] it had a different name. Probably a beautiful name. A name lost, just like the names of their warriors, their chiefs and their side of the story that day.

You can find the full story (well, the Ojibwe side of it anyhow) in “History of the Ojibway People” by William W. Warren in Chapter 29 “The Pillagers”. It is much more detailed and interesting than this brief summary, and the geography is so well described and so similar to how it is today, that you can read the story while looking at the area on a satellite map and picture how the events played out in the swamp, woods, creek and on the sandy beaches of West Battle Lake.

Visit Site Archives: https://thelibrarycardhistorian.home.blog/author/thelibrarycardhistorian/

[1] Wingerd, Mary Lethert. North Country, The Making of Minnesota p. 9,20

[2]Wingerd. North Country, The Making of Minnesota from the opening lines of chapter one: “The Dakota Sioux were indeed a fortunate people. For generations beyond remembering, they had made their home on the lands that would become Minnesota”.