Introductory Note
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he Song of Hiawatha is based on the legends and stories of many NorthAmerican Indian tribes, but especially those of the Ojibway Indians ofnorthern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. They were collected byHenry Rowe Schoolcraft, the reknowned historian, pioneer explorer, andgeologist. He was superintendent of Indian affairs for Michigan from1836 to 1841. Schoolcraft married Jane, O-bah-bahm-wawa-ge-zhe-go-qua (The Woman ofthe Sound Which the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky), Johnston. Janewas a daughter of John Johnston, an early Irish fur trader, andO-shau-gus-coday-way-qua (The Woman of the Green Prairie), who was adaughter of Waub-o-jeeg (The White Fisher), who was Chief of theOjibway tribe at La Pointe, Wisconsin. Jane and her mother are credited with having researched, authenticated,and compiled much of the material Schoolcraft included in his AlgicResearches (1839) and a revision published in 1856 as The Myth ofHiawatha. It was this latter revision that Longfellow used as the basisfor The Song of Hiawatha. Longfellow began Hiawatha on June 25, 1854, he completed it on March29, 1855, and it was published November 10, 1855. As soon as the poemwas published its popularity was assured. However, it also was severelycriticized as a plagiary of the Finnish epic poem Kalevala. Longfellowmade no secret of the fact that he had used the meter of the Kalevala;but as for the legends, he openly gave credit to Schoolcraft in hisnotes to the poem. I would add a personal note here. My father’s roots include OjibwayIndians: his mother, Margaret Caroline Davenport, was a daughter ofSusan des Carreaux, O-gee-em-a-qua (The Chief Woman), Davenport whosemother was a daughter of Chief Waub-o-jeeg. Finally, my mother used torock me to sleep reading portions of Hiawatha to me, especially: “Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly,Little, flitting, white-fire insectLittle, dancing, white-fire creature,Light me with your little candle,Ere upon my bed I lay me,Ere in sleep I close my eyelids!”
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