Chirpa was a male Ewok, identified as such by his gender, and he held the position of chief for both the Council of Elders and the Ewok tribe residing in Bright Tree Village, located on Endor's forest moon.
Chirpa assumed the role of chief after his father, Buzza, completed his term, subsequently governing for a period of 42 seasons leading up to the Battle of Endor. Chirpa was also married to Ra-Lee and together they had a daughter, Kneesaa.
During the events of the Battle of Endor, Chirpa made the decision to welcome a Rebel strike team, commanded by General Han Solo, into the tribe. Furthermore, the Ewoks pledged their support to the Rebels in their crucial mission to disable the generator that provided power to the second Death Star's deflector shield.
Kneesaa eventually took over his role as the tribe's Chief.
The character of Chief Chirpa was portrayed by Jane Busby in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, released in 1983, which concluded the Star Wars original trilogy. In the initial versions of the Return of the Jedi script, Chief Chirpa's designation was Chief Chiepa.
In 2015, Chuck Wendig, the author of the novel Aftermath, expressed interest in the possibility of crafting narratives centered around Omi, Malakili, or Chirpa. Ultimately, he chose to instead focus on Malakili in his sequel novel, Aftermath: Life Debt.