Hiawatha was born into the Turtle clan of the Mohawk tribe 
sometime in the sixteenth century. He was a disciple and spokesman 
for the revered Mohawk leader Dekanawida. Together, they founded  
the League of the Iroquois. The  two played a central role in ending 
intertribal warfare among the Iroquois, and are remembered in 
Iroquois legend as possessing mythical powers. The League of the 
Iroquois was run in a democratic fashion and introduced many legal 
and social reforms among the five participating tribes. The famous 
poem, Hiawatha, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is based 
on Chippewa rather than Mohawk legend and is thus Historically 
inaccurate.