 Kechewaishke replied that he was unable to stop the young men of Lac Courte Oreilles, St. Croix, Lac du Flambeau or other bands beyond La Pointe from fighting the Dakota.Historians take this to mean that while he was regarded as the head spokesman of the Ojibwa in Wisconsin, he could not control the day-to-day affairs of all the bands, which were highly decentralized, particularly with respect to warfare.Kechewaishke also said that, unlike the British before the War of 1812, the U.S. government had not done enough to maintain peace among the tribes.