Early Life
Wageezhegome was born in May 1764 at Credit River, Ontario. During his youth, he witnessed significant changes in his people's lifestyle, marked by the arrival of thousands of white settlers after the 1776 American revolution into what is now southern Ontario. This quickly led to treaty negotiations in which the Mississauga surrendered of much of their hunting territory and fishing grounds. Close contact with the settlers also introduced a series of epidemics, such as the smallpox epidemics in the New World reaching them, against which the Indians had no immunity. As the Mississaugas’ society collapsed, many of the Mississaugas turned to alcoholism. However, Wageezhegome did not. Instead, Wageezhegome leaned some English and rudimentary farming skills. He attended a school and adopted the name of John Cameron. After the death of his tutor David Ramsay, Cameron settled on the flats of the Credit River to farm.
Read more about this topic: John Cameron (chief)
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