George Henry (Maungwudaus) | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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George Henry (Maungwudaus)

George Henry, or Maungwudaus, meaning "the great hero," or "courageous," Mississauga (Ojibwa) interpreter, Methodist mission worker, performer (born on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario circa 1807; died after 1851).
Maungwudaus (or George Henry) Chief of the Mississauga First Nation, 1846.
Image: Maun-gua-daus Collection / /Library and Archives Canada / PA-125840.

Educated in Methodist mission schools, George Henry (Maungwudaus) seemed designed for a role in the church as interpreter and translator. A more exciting career, however, attracted him. In 1844 he organized an Indigenous troupe which toured Britain and the continent from 1845-48, putting on dances and exhibitions. After his return from Europe, Maungwudaus performed for several years in Canada and the US, and later became a well-known herbalist. He wrote a pamphlet, An Account of the Chippewa Indians, who have been travelling among the Whites, in the United States, England, Ireland, Scotland, France and Belgium (1848), excerpts from which are found in P. Petrone, First People, First Voices (1983). (See also Ojibwa).