Wawasee was a signatory to the Treaty of Mississinewas and in the mid-1830s, Wawasee was allotted a small village where the town of Syracuse currently is — situated near the southeast corner of Waubee Lake, approximately two and one-half miles southeast of Milford including the eastern shores of Waubee Lake.
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 in his honor.
