Hiawatha (/ˌhaɪ.əˈwɒθə/ HY-ə-WOTH-ə, also US: /-ˈwɔːθə/ -⁠WAW-thə: Haiëñ’wa’tha [hajẽʔwaʔtha];[1] 1525–1595), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American 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.[2] Future generations would know of him through an 1855 epic poem called The Song of Hiawatha by Longfellow. In the stories of Hiawatha, we learn that he was born in the Onondaga tribe.[3] His mother was an Onondagan and loved her son. She believed he would be a strong and great hunter. Hiawatha soon became a husband, and became a father to many daughters. His wife and daughters were killed by an opposing enemy (Tadodaho) leaving Hiawatha grief-stricken. Hiawatha is noted for his speaking skills and message of peace. He was a follower of the Great Peacemaker (Dekanawidah), a Huron prophet and spiritual leader who proposed the unification of the Iroquois peoples, who shared common ancestry and similar languages, but he suffered from a severe speech impediment which hindered him from spreading his proposal. Hiawatha was a skilled orator, and he was instrumental in persuading the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks to accept the Great Peacemaker’s vision and band together to become the Five Nations of the Iroquois confederacy. The Tuscarora people joined the Confederacy in 1722 to become the Sixth Nation. Little else is known of Hiawatha. The reason and time of his death is unknown. However his legacy is still passed on from generation to generation through oral stories, songs, and books.