the Indian hero of The Song of Hiawatha, a long narrative poem (1855) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: named for an Indian chief tho ught to have lived in the 16th cent.
See Hiawatha in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(hīˌə-wŏthˈə, -wôˈthə, hēˌə-) fl. 1570.
Onondagan leader who, along with Deganawidah, is credited with the organization of the Iroquois confederacy. His name was given to the hero of Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855).