Yankton Sioux Chieftain. Little is known of his early life, though it is speculated he was born about 1785 to the Santee Sioux, probably in what is present-day Minnesota. He was reportedly called Wambdí Okíchize, which translates to "Little Eagle," but was somehow altered when being referred to by allied Americans. He reportedly left the Santee to avoid tribal politics and the probable bloody fallout thereof. He then served as a guide on the upper Mississippi, worked for the American Fur Company, and during the War of 1812, worked as a messenger for the United States government and promoted the United States against the British among the First Nations. He married Mazakihawin of the Yankton Sioux around 1830 and was adopted by her tribe. He and his wife would have seven children. He was elected chief of the Yankton and, therefore, was among those who traveled to Washington, DC, with other tribal leaders to negotiate peace treaties. He was very proud to have been presented with a silver peace medal by the then President of the United States, Martin Van Buren, in 1837. He then met and befriended Theophile Bruguier, a well-read trader who eventually deserted his past and joined the Yankton Sioux, marrying one or more of War Eagle's daughters. Bruguier later claimed land near the confluence of the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers, and in 1849, he built a trading post. His homestead was considered the first white settlement in what would become Sioux City, Iowa. His father-in-law would often encamp his band there as well, and it was there he succumbed to illness in the fall of 1851. He was buried on top of a bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley. Today, the bluff is part of War Eagle Park, and a 150-foot monument on the site honors him. He was reportedly the last Sioux chief to reside in Iowa territory