What is "beshekee"

This article is about the Ojibwe chief from Leech Lake. For the Ojibwe chief from La Pointe, see Kechewaishke. For other individuals of the name, see Chief Buffalo (disambiguation). Beshekee also Pezeke and other variant spellings of Ojibwe: Bizhiki (English: Buffalo) was a noted war chief from the Bear doodem of the Pillager Chippewa Band during the 19th century in North America.

As a young man, he signed the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters as Pe-zhe-kins (Bizhikiins, meaning "Young Buffalo"), a Warrior. The Pillager Band was famous for producing skilled fighters in the wars against the Dakota, and in his time, Beshekee was among the most respected of these.

In 1855, he travelled with Aysh-ke-bah-ke-ko-zhay (Flat Mouth), another prominent Pillager leader to Washington D.C. to address the grievances of the Mississippi Chippewa and to negotiate a cession of Ojibwe lands at the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the U.S. Government.

Beshekee would later sign the 1863 Treaty that partially addressed these grievances by establishing permanent reservations in Minnesota, including one at Leech Lake.