John Smith (Chippewa)

Common card · No. 214204

Chief John Smith was a Chippewa (Ojibwe) Native American who lived in the area of Cass Lake, Minnesota. It is thought he was born between 1822 and 1826, and he died on February 6, 1922. Some sources place his birth as early as 1787. His extreme age was noted in the 1918 French annual periodical Almanach Vernot, for the day 6 September, where his name was reported as "Flèche Rapide" or "Rapid Arrow". It also said the Ojibwa called him "Ba-be-nar-quor-yarg". In 1920, two years before his death, he appeared as the main feature in a motion picture exhibition that toured the United States, featuring aged Native Americans.

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