Wawasee or Wawaausee often contracted into Wawbee and known as ("Full Moon") was a Miami

Miami tribe

The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...

 chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

 who lived in what is now Kosciusko County

Kosciusko County, Indiana

Kosciusko County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded the population at 77,358. The county seat is Warsaw.The county was formed in 1836. It was named after the Polish general Tadeusz Kościuszko, who served in the American Revolutionary War, and then returned to...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He was brother to Miami chief Papakeecha

Papakeecha

Papakeecha or meaning "Flat Belly" was the most influential Miami chief in the region around Lake Wawasee, in what is now Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States leading his people from 1820 until 1837. Lake Papakeechie was named after him.Papakeecha was about 60 years old when white men entered...

.

Wawasee was a signatory to the Treaty of Mississinwas

Treaty of Mississinwas

The Treaty of Mississiniwas or the Treaty of Mississinewa is an 1826 treaty between the United States and the Miami tribe.-Terms:After negotiations with the Pottawatomie to build the Michigan Road through Indiana by James B...

 and in the mid-1830s, Wawasee was alloted a small village where the town of Syracuse

Syracuse, Indiana

Syracuse is a town in Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,810 at the 2010 census.Syracuse is the location of Lake Syracuse and the nearby, larger Lake Wawasee, in addition to several other lakes in the region.-Geography:Syracuse is located at ...

 currently is — situated near the southeast corner of Lake Wabee, approximately two and one-half miles southeast of Milford

Milford, Indiana

Milford could refer to:*Milford, Decatur County, Indiana*Milford, Kosciusko County, Indiana*Former name of Green Hill, Indiana...

 including the eastern shores of Lake Wabee.

Chief Wawasee, like his brother, was big and strong. He was a minor leader in the Miami tribe but was somewhat significant as brother of Papakeecha. Wawasee dressed up for special occasions by wearing a large silver ring that hung from the cartilage of his nose. He sometimes substituted a fish bone for the ring. Turkey Lake became Lake Wawasee

Lake Wawasee

Lake Wawasee, formerly Turkey Lake, is a natural lake southeast of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana. It is located just east of Indiana State Road 13.-History:...

 in his honor.

Sources

• Benack, Flat Belly Once Walked These Lands
• Lilly, Eli
  Eli Lilly (industrialist)
  Eli Lilly was a pharmaceutical industrialist and philanthropist from Indiana, United States.- Business :Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Eli Lilly was President of Eli Lilly and Company. He was named for his grandfather, Colonel Eli Lilly, who founded the family business...
  
  . Early Wawasee Days. Indianapolis: Studio Press Inc., 1960.
• Armstong, James W. The History of Leesburg and Plain Township Indiana.