George Bonga

George Bonga (August 20, 1802 - 1880) was the son of Pierre Bonga, an African-American fur trader who was one of the first black children born in the Northwest, and an Ojibwe mother. Born after 1802, George was schooled in Montreal, and later became a fur trader. He was famous in Minnesota for being, as his brother Stephen claimed "One of the first two white children born in the state." He was also recognized for having tracked down a suspected murderer in 1837, an Ojibwe named Che-Ga Wa Skung, then bringing the perpetrator back to justice at Fort Snelling. The ensuing criminal trial was reputedly the first in Minnesota. [ [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1095/George_Bonga_an_early_settler_in_Minnesota_ African American Registry: George Bonga, an early settler in Minnesota ] ]

Fur Trade

George Bonga was described as standing over six feet tall and weighing 200+ pounds. Reports said he could carry 700 pounds of furs and supplies at once. He served as an interpreter, and was believed to have acted as a guide and translator for artist Eastman Johnson and for governor Lewis Cass as well. Well-respected in the region, the Bonga family remained in the fur trade until the 1860s. George Bonga died in 1880. [Blacks in the West, William Sherman Savage, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1976, pp. 68-70]

Notes

External References

*"African American Stories in Minnesota", Nora Murphy and Mary Murphy Gnatz, Minnesota Historical Society, 2000
* [http://www.tpt.org/northstar/PDF/ns_C2bon_LP.pdf Twin Cities Public Television link on George Bonga]