Joseph Snake was an Ojibwe chief belonging to the from sometime before 1842 until his death in 1861. Having relinquished virtually all of their territory west of Lake Simcoe to the government of Upper Canada in the Lake Simcoe–Lake Huron Purchase of 1815 and the of 1818, these Ojibwe converted to Methodism in 1828 and were persuaded by Lieutenant Governor John Colborne to settle permanently in 1830 in purpose-built villages at Coldwater and Atherley Narrows between Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching. At the same time, Colborne set aside Georgina Island, Snake Island, and Fox Island in Lake Simcoe as a reservation for the Ojibwe.