The Mohawk writer and performer E[mily] Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) was born on 10 March 1861 at Chiefswood, the impressive house built by her father on the Grand River Reservation of the Six Nations near Brantford, Ontario. She was the daughter of George Henry Martin Johnson, also known as the Mohawk chief Teyonnhehkewea, and Emily Susanna Howells Johnson, the English-born cousin of William Dean Howells. A strong influence on Johnson was her paternal grandfather, John "Smoke" Johnson (Sakayengwaraton), a hero of the War of 1812 and a renowned orator in the Iroquois councils. A gifted speaker in his own right, her father frequently made speeches on behalf of his people and served as a liaison between them and the whites.

Johnson was primarily educated at home by her mother, who stimulated a love of literature in Pauline and her sister and two brothers by reading to them works by the English...