Wapasha was born in present-day Minnesota in about 1718. During his youth he befriended the agents of King Louis XV of France and encouraged trade between the French and Dakota nations. Wapasha and the remaining five continued to Quebec and offered themselves as surrogates for Ixkatapay in the English court. Because Wapasha said he would have himself executed for Ixkatapay, the British decided to release both Wapasha and the other warriors out of admiration. When he returned home, Wapasha became a war chief and his warriors fought in the American Revolution against the Ojibwe, along with the Sauk and Fox, allied to British and loyalist forces. However, he also reluctantly fought with British forces against the Spanish at an unsuccessful raid on St. Louis. When American victory was announced at Prairie Du Chein in 1783, it is said that Wapasha was "content". The Dakota eventually repelled their enemies, but Wapasha narrowly escaped a smallpox epidemic that struck his entire village. Wapasha died of throat cancer at the age of 88, just after the dawn of the 19th century.