The Native American honored as a leader of the Iroquois nation in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha" is not an actual person, although Hiawatha (c. 1400) has entered American legend as such. Although the legendary Hiaw atha is usually cited as a member of the Mohawk tribe, some Iroquois traditions hold that he belonged to the Onondaga tribe. Given the uncertainty about his tribal affiliation, it has been suggested that the legendary Hiawatha is in fact a composite of se veral historical personages. The founding of the confederacy and the time of Hiawatha have been assigned to sometime between the late 14th to the early 17th century.

Legend of the Iroquois Confederacy

The Mohawk people once inhabited what is now New York state. They were a fierce, warlike tribe whose members frequently sought to subdue neighboring tribes by attacking them. According to a traditional Iroquois legend recounted...