The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made Hiawatha famous in his poem The Song of Hiawatha . But he confused Hiawatha with the Chippewa or Ojibwa, cultural hero, Nanabozho. POWHATAN [?-1618] [by James Axtell] Powhatan was the Indian chief in the romantic story about John Smith and Pocahontas. Smith was a soldier who had helped establish the first permanent English colony in North America, at Jamestown in what is now Virginia. Powhatan was ready to kill Smith when Pocahontas, the Indian's favorite daughter, stopped him and saved Smith's life. No one knows if this story is true. Powhatan is also famous for building the Powhatan Confederacy of Virginia. MASSASOIT [1580?-1661] [by James Axtell] Massasoit was a chief of the Wampanoag tribe who lived in what is now southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He made a treaty with Governor John Carver of Plymouth Colony in the spring of 1621, shortly after the Pilgrims landed in America. He agreed that his people would not harm the Pilgrims as long as he lived. In turn, the Pilgrims guaranteed to protect the Indians and their rights . Massasoit kept the peace all his life. PONTIAC [1720?-1769] [by Rhonda R. Gilman] Pontiac a chief of the Ottawa tribe was an important Indian leader during the 1760's. Pontiac tried to unite the tribes of the Great Lakes area and of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys in order to maintain Indian control of those regions. During the French and Indian War [1754-1763], Pontiac led his tribe in fighting with the French against the British. But he opposed the claims of both sides to the territory west of the Allegheny Mountains. After the British achieved major victories over the French in 1760, they sent a small force to take over the abandoned French forts near the Great Lakes. Pontiac let the British pass through the area. But after he got promises of help from the French traders and officers, he made plans with other tribes of the region to attack the posts. In the spring of 1763, the tribes captured nine British forts in what became known as Pontiac's War. Pontiac led the attack on Fort Pontchartrian, at what is now Detroit. He besieged the post for about five months. However, France sent no help to Pontiac and his forces, and the Indians could not continue the war without more guns and ammunition. Pontiac was probably born in northern Ohio. He agreed with the Indian holy man known as the Delaware Prophet , who preached that Indians should abandon all trade with white people. Pontiac was mysteriously killed at an Indian religious center located in Cahokia, Illinois. LITTLE TURTLE [1752-1812] [by Terry P. Wilson] He was a Miami Indian chief in what is now Indiana and Ohio. He fought United States troops to protect the tribe's land. His forces defeated General Josiah Harmar's troops in 1790, and drove back forces led by General Arthur St. Clair in 1791. Major General "Mad Anthony" Wayne's troops defeated nearly 2,000 Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near what is now Toledo, Ohio when Little Turtle was not in command. He and other Indians signed a treaty that opened southern Ohio to settlement. He was born near the eel River in what is now Indiana. Now that we've had a break, it's back to Indian Conflicts and Wars in Homeland Security-Part 4.