Joseph Snake was an Ojibwe chief belonging to the Chippewas of Lakes Huron and Simcoe from sometime before 1842 until his death in 1861.
A change of government in 1836, with Francis Bond Head replacing Colborne as Lieutenant Governor, soon brought this "civilising" experiment to an end.
Bond Head persuaded the Ojibwe to leave the Narrows-Coldwater corridor (which remained Crown land) in return for one-third of the proceeds of the anticipated sales of lots there to future European settlers.
[4] In 1842, their leading chiefs, Musquakie (otherwise known as William Yellowhead), head chief and leader of the Narrows settlement, and John Aisance, leader of the Coldwater settlement, wrote to Governor General Charles Bagot protesting that Bond Head had not fully explained this purchase agreement, and had, in particular, not made it clear that it did not involve an upfront, lump-sum payment, nor that the Ojibwe would receive only one-third of the sale proceeds.
[5] One of the four other chiefs who subscribed to this letter was Joseph Snake, whose signature occurs immediately after that of Musquakie, and before that of Aisance in the list.