Gabriel Renville

Gabriel Renville (April 1825 – August 26, 1892) was Chief of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe from 1866 until his death in 1892. As part of a large fur-trader family of French and Sioux origins, he was an unlikely candidate for Chief of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. However, with the coming of the Dakota War of 1862, his fortunes changed. Thanks to his family's connections, he obtained in 1863 the post of Chief of Scouts in the service of Minnesota state militia Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley--later to become the first governor of the state of Minnesota. His service to the U.S. Army ended in 1865. For his military service, he was appointed by Sibley as Chief of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in 1866. His people seconded Sibley's appointment a year later by declaring Renville chief-for-life. His tenure as chief saw the creation and settlement of his people on the Lake Traverse Reservation. He is buried atop a bluff near Old Agency, South Dakota.

Gabriel Renville was born in April 1825 to Winona Crawford (1805-1897) and Victor Renville (died 1833).