a precolonial First Nations (in Canadian English) or Native American (in U.S. English) leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he was born an Onondaga but adopted into the Mohawks. Although Hiawatha was a real man, he was mostly known for his legend. Future generations would know of him through an 1855 epic poem called The Song of Hiawatha. In the stories of Hiawatha, we learn that he was born in the Onondaga tribe. His mother was an Onondagan and loved her son. She believed he would be a strong and great hunter.
