Laulu Hiawathasta

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Laulu Hiawathasta" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is an epic poem published in 1855. Set along Lake Superior's shores, it follows the fictional adventures of Ojibwe warrior Hiawatha—from his miraculous birth and childhood exploits to his tragic love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman. The poem weaves together Native American legends with Longfellow's own innovations, chronicling Hiawatha's heroic deeds, cultural discoveries, and ultimate farewell as Christianity arrives in his village. Drawing from oral traditions and ethnographic sources, this trochaic tetrameter epic became an immediate bestseller despite scholarly debates about its authenticity.