One possibility for the confusion is two men with the same or similar name because the Ojibwes were found both near Detroit and in the Upper Peninsula (see history).
Another possibility is that white historians used some poetic license or confused individuals, as in the case of another Ojibwe legend altered by Schoolcraft and Longfellow, when Hiawatha suddenly appears at Lake Superior.
So far, I’ve contacted a number of tribal historians from the Ojibwe, Ottawa and Potawatomi nations; several professors each at the University of Michigan, Oakland University, Wayne State University and Michigan State University; the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society; the Oakland Press; and several Oakland County librarians.
Some, primarily tribal historians, think Sashabaw and Sassaba are the same person. The others fall into two camps: Those who think they are different men but don’t know with which tribe Sashabaw was affiliated, and those who have no idea if Sashabaw ever existed except in legend.
I find it odd that tribal historians who can trace Sassaba, a relatively minor historical figure, but not Sashabaw, whose legend far exceeds that of Sassaba.
If you have suggestions for other leads I can follow, please send them to me using the contact form.